# Hesione Hushabye — Heartbreak House character guide

> Hesione Hushabye in Heartbreak House by George Bernard Shaw.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Mrs. Hushabye, Hesione, Mrs. Hushabye To Mangan, Mrs. Hushabye Hector, Mrs. Hushabye Lady Utterword, Mrs. Hushabye One, Mrs. Hushabye Laughing, Mrs. Hushabye Papa, Mrs. Hushabye Hospitably shaking hands, Mrs. Hushabye Who, Mrs. Hushabye Rising, Mrs. Hushabye Impatiently, Mrs. Hushabye Anybody, Mrs. Hushabye Ellie, Mrs. Hushabye Poor Ellie, Mrs. Hushabye Stop, Mrs. Hushabye Alfred, Mrs. Hushabye Slain, Mrs. Hushabye Desdemona, Mrs. Hushabye Ah

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

## Snapshot

The magnetic, meddling mistress of Heartbreak House, who collects admirers and arranges other people's lives as casually as she breathes.

## Who they are

Hesione presides over her father's chaotic house with charm, laughter, and an unnerving talent for emotional manipulation. She has told Ellie she knows of the girl's love for Hector, and she keeps Mangan dangling as a suitor while her husband drifts in fantasy. Her hospitality is genuine and predatory at once, making her the play's engine of romantic mischief and its most seductive embodiment of the house's moral vacuum.

## Relationships

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

_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)

_social_

Hesione treats Mazzini with amused condescension as a harmless old acquaintance and the father of her protégée Ellie.

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

_family_

Captain Shotover is Hesione's eccentric and disapproving father, often clashing with her frivolous lifestyle.

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

_family_

Hesione and Lady Utterword are sisters, with a relationship marked by rivalry, teasing, and underlying affection.

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

_romantic_

Hector and Hesione are married, but their relationship is strained by Hector's flirtations and Hesione's manipulative games.

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

_social_

Hesione teases and dismisses Randall as a foolish admirer of her sister, treating him with playful contempt.

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

_social_

Hesione treats the burglar with theatrical fascination, turning his intrusion into a social game.

### [Addy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heartbreak_house_se/characters/addy)

_family_

Addy is likely a nickname for Lady Utterword (Ariadne), making this a sibling relationship with underlying tension.

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

_professional_

Nurse Guinness serves as the household's practical servant, often exasperated by Hesione's whims.

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

_psychological_

Hesione manipulates Boss Mangan, playing on his vanity and desire for Ellie to further her own schemes.

## Links

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