# Doll Tearsheet — Henry IV, Part II character guide

> Doll Tearsheet in Henry IV, Part II by William Shakespeare.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Doll, Mistress Doll Tearsheet, Mistress Tearsheet

**First appearance:** 0010-act-ii-scene-iv

## Snapshot

A sharp-tongued prostitute who trades tender insults with Falstaff and defends her dignity with fists when the beadles come.

## Who they are

Doll Tearsheet holds her own in the Boar's Head tavern, matching Falstaff's wit and mocking his aging body even as she professes to love him. She sees through the men around her—calling Pistol a braggart and skewering Falstaff's vanity—yet her attachment to the fat knight leaves her exposed. Dragged off by beadles in a brawl, she becomes the play's starkest image of how the old world's revels end in punishment and disease.

## In the story

### [Scene II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/henry_iv_part_ii_se/chapters/act-ii-scene-ii)

Mentioned as a woman supping with Falstaff at the tavern.

### [Scene IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/henry_iv_part_ii_se/chapters/act-ii-scene-iv)

Affectionate with Falstaff, defends him, and expresses her love despite his age.

### [Scene IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/henry_iv_part_ii_se/chapters/act-v-scene-iv)

Arrested alongside the Hostess, she threatens the beadles and claims she may miscarry.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/henry_iv_part_ii_se/characters/doll_tearsheet
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/henry_iv_part_ii_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/henry_iv_part_ii_se/characters