# Ellie Dunn — Heartbreak House character guide

> Ellie Dunn in Heartbreak House by George Bernard Shaw.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Ellie, Miss Ellie, Ellie Dunn, Ellie Dropping, Ellie Almost, Ellie Protesting, Ellie Groaning, Ellie Hesione, Ellie Nobody, Ellie Rising, Ellie Flushing, Ellie Musically, Ellie Quite, Ellie Certainly, Ellie Shakespeare, Ellie Othello

**First appearance:** 0033-heartbreak-house

## Snapshot

A poor but clear-eyed young woman who agrees to marry a man she doesn't love, then calmly rewrites everyone's romantic arithmetic.

## Who they are

Ellie arrives at Heartbreak House as Boss Mangan's fiancée, a transaction she defends with unnerving composure: 'a woman's business is marriage.' She is in love with Hector Hushabye, a fact she shares with his wife, and she matches Mangan's cynicism with her own. Her cool bargaining exposes the play's central question—whether love, money, and power can ever be disentangled.

## Relationships

### [Hesione Hushabye](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heartbreak_house_se/characters/hesione_hushabye)

_psychological_

Ellie is drawn into Hesione's manipulative orbit, with Hesione acting as a charismatic but controlling influence over Ellie's romantic and life choices.

### [Mazzini Dunn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heartbreak_house_se/characters/mazzini_dunn)

_family_

Ellie is the devoted daughter of Mazzini, who is a gentle but ineffectual father figure, and she feels protective of him.

### [Captain Shotover](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heartbreak_house_se/characters/captain_shotover)

_psychological_

Captain Shotover forms a strange, almost mystical bond with Ellie, seeing her as a kindred spirit and potential heir to his wisdom and cynicism.

### [Hector Hushabye](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heartbreak_house_se/characters/hector_hushabye)

_romantic_

Ellie is initially infatuated with Hector's romantic charm, but later sees through his illusions, leading to a complex emotional entanglement.

### [Lady Utterword](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heartbreak_house_se/characters/lady_utterword)

_social_

Ellie and Lady Utterword are polite but distant acquaintances, with Lady Utterword viewing Ellie as a naive young woman.

### [Randall Utterword](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heartbreak_house_se/characters/randall_utterword)

_social_

Ellie finds Randall to be a silly, posturing man, and their interactions are marked by mild flirtation and mutual incomprehension.

### [Nurse Guinness](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heartbreak_house_se/characters/nurse_guinness)

_professional_

Nurse Guinness is the household servant who attends to Ellie with a mix of practicality and gruffness.

### [The Burglar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heartbreak_house_se/characters/the_burglar)

_social_

Ellie is startled by the burglar's intrusion but later treats him with a mixture of pity and amusement.

### [Boss Mangan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heartbreak_house_se/characters/boss_mangan)

_romantic_

Boss Mangan is a wealthy industrialist who expects to marry Ellie for her youth and beauty, but she ultimately rejects him.

### [Nurse Guinness](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heartbreak_house_se/characters/nurse_guinness)

_professional_

Nurse Guinness is the household servant who attends to Ellie with a mix of practicality and gruffness.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heartbreak_house_se/characters/ellie_dunn
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heartbreak_house_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heartbreak_house_se/characters