# Bertha Rowan — Exiles character guide

> Bertha Rowan in Exiles by James Joyce.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Bertha Archly, Bertha Smiling, Bertha Gravely, Bertha Hurriedly, Bertha Sinking, Bertha Rises, Bertha Bitterly, Bertha Warmly, Bertha O, Bertha Motionless, Bertha Laughs

**First appearance:** 0000-dramatis-personae

## Snapshot

Richard's wife, once the woman he courted by letter, now keeps watch at a dark window, torn between loyalty to a husband who will not hold her and a suitor who will.

## Who they are

Bertha Rowan rose before dawn, sleepless, and stands between two men who each believe they know what she should want. She reads Robert's newspaper tribute to her husband and hears, in the same hour, that Robert is packing to leave. Her old servant Brigid remembers when Richard's whole world was Bertha; that remembered certainty is exactly what has slipped, and her quiet panic drives the play's first morning.

## Relationships

### [Robert Hand](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/exiles_se/characters/robert_hand)

_romantic_

Bertha is caught between her past romantic attraction to Robert and her loyalty to Richard, creating a tense love triangle.

### [Richard Rowan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/exiles_se/characters/richard_rowan)

_family_

Married couple with a strained, emotionally charged bond marked by Richard's intellectual detachment and Bertha's yearning for intimacy.

### [Beatrice Justice](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/exiles_se/characters/beatrice_justice)

_friendship_

A tense, polite friendship overshadowed by their shared connection to Richard and unspoken jealousy.

### [Archie Rowan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/exiles_se/characters/archie_rowan)

_family_

Mother and son with a warm, protective bond; Archie is a source of comfort and normalcy for Bertha.

### [Brigid](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/exiles_se/characters/brigid)

_professional_

Employer and servant; Bertha relies on Brigid for household help, with a cordial but distant dynamic.

### [Mrs. Rowan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/exiles_se/characters/mrs_rowan)

_family_

Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law with a strained, formal relationship due to Richard's family tensions.

## In the story

### [Dramatis Personae](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/exiles_se/chapters/dramatis-personae)

Introduced as Richard's partner and mother of Archie.

### [Exiles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/exiles_se/chapters/exiles)

Richard's partner, caught between loyalty to Richard and the pull of Robert's attention.

### [First Act](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/exiles_se/chapters/first-act)

Returns home, receives roses from Robert, questions the meaning of a note he gave her.

### [Second Act](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/exiles_se/chapters/second-act)

Arrives at the cottage, self-possessed and calm, discusses her openness with Richard and her acceptance of his freedom, and gently deflects Robert's advances.

### [Third Act](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/exiles_se/chapters/third-act)

Confronts Beatrice about her intimacy with Richard, expresses feelings of inadequacy and suffering, argues with Richard about love and freedom, and declares him a stranger.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/exiles_se/characters/bertha_rowan
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/exiles_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/exiles_se/characters