# Ellen Vernon — Hester character guide

> Ellen Vernon in Hester by Margaret Oliphant.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Ellen, Nell, Nelly, Cousin Ellen

**First appearance:** 0002-i-vernon-s

## Snapshot

Hester's glittering cousin, married into the Merridew money, whose pearls, parties, and easy confidence make her both a rival and a mirror for Hester's plainer life.

## Who they are

Ellen Vernon has become Ellen Merridew, a tall, well-dressed hostess whose Chinese lanterns and careless extravagance set the social weather for the young set around Redborough. Her marriage to Algernon Merridew gives her a stage, and she uses it — half-kindly, half-carelessly — to draw Hester into a world of flirtation and display that the Vernonry cannot afford. Her chatter and her jibes about Edward and Hester carry the community's assumptions, and her presence makes visible the gap between what Hester has and what Hester might become.

## Relationships

### [Hester Vernon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hester_se/characters/hester_vernon)

_family_

Ellen is Hester's younger sister, and their bond is tender but overshadowed by Ellen's illness and dependency.

### [Catherine Vernon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hester_se/characters/catherine_vernon)

_family_

Catherine is Ellen's mother, and she cares for her with deep tenderness, especially due to Ellen's frail health.

### [Catherine Vernon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hester_se/characters/catherine_vernon)

_family_

Catherine is Ellen's mother, and she cares for her with deep tenderness, especially due to Ellen's frail health.

### [Hester Vernon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hester_se/characters/hester_vernon)

_family_

Ellen is Hester's younger sister, and their bond is tender but overshadowed by Ellen's illness and dependency.

### [Hester Vernon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hester_se/characters/hester_vernon)

_family_

Ellen is Hester's younger sister, and their bond is tender but overshadowed by Ellen's illness and dependency.

### [Catherine Vernon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hester_se/characters/catherine_vernon)

_family_

Catherine is Ellen's mother, and she cares for her with deep tenderness, especially due to Ellen's frail health.

## In the story

### [III: The Vernonry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hester_se/chapters/iii-the-vernonry)

Harry's sister, described as young and headstrong, who keeps Catherine at arm's length and shows little affection for her.

### [VII: Settling Down](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hester_se/chapters/vii-settling-down)

Fair and fashionably dressed; holds her own court apart from Catherine's influence, dazzling Hester with her beauty.

### [XIV: Harry's View](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hester_se/chapters/xiv-harry-s-view)

Referenced as having managed the household in the past, with a 'fast and noisy' style that Harry now finds less advantageous.

### [A Centre of Life](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hester_se/chapters/xxvii-a-centre-of-life)

Proud and delighted that her house has become the center of Vernon social life, she dismisses her husband's concerns about expenses.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hester_se/characters/ellen_vernon
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hester_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hester_se/characters