# Dolly Fussell — Howards End character guide

> Dolly Fussell in Howards End by E. M. Forster.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Fussell, Miss Dolly Fussell

**First appearance:** 0000-i

## Snapshot

Charles Wilcox's pretty, golf-playing bride, whose cheerful silliness and triangular face charm her robust husband while quietly baffling everyone with more subtle tastes.

## Who they are

Dolly enters the Wilcox orbit through a mixed foursome on the links, and her photograph — signed 'For dear Mims' — announces her as a new daughter-in-law eager to please. She is sweet, trivial, and entirely at home in the Wilcox world of motorcars and money, a foil to the intellectual Schlegel sisters. Her small vanities and unthinking loyalties help define the family she has married into, and the gulf between Howards End and Wickham Place.

## Relationships

### [Margaret Schlegel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/howards_end_se/characters/margaret_schlegel)

_social_

Acquaintances through marriage, with Dolly's gossipy and shallow demeanor irritating Margaret.

### [Charles Wilcox](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/howards_end_se/characters/charles_wilcox)

_family_

Husband and wife, a conventional marriage lacking deep emotional connection.

### [Helen Schlegel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/howards_end_se/characters/helen_schlegel)

_social_

Superficial acquaintances, with Dolly viewing Helen as eccentric and unpredictable.

### [Margaret Schlegel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/howards_end_se/characters/margaret_schlegel)

_social_

Acquaintances through marriage, with Dolly's gossipy and shallow demeanor irritating Margaret.

### [Helen Schlegel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/howards_end_se/characters/helen_schlegel)

_social_

Superficial acquaintances, with Dolly viewing Helen as eccentric and unpredictable.

### [Helen Schlegel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/howards_end_se/characters/helen_schlegel)

_social_

Superficial acquaintances, with Dolly viewing Helen as eccentric and unpredictable.

### [Charles Wilcox](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/howards_end_se/characters/charles_wilcox)

_family_

Husband and wife, a conventional marriage lacking deep emotional connection.

### [Margaret Schlegel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/howards_end_se/characters/margaret_schlegel)

_social_

Acquaintances through marriage, with Dolly's gossipy and shallow demeanor irritating Margaret.

### [Charles Wilcox](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/howards_end_se/characters/charles_wilcox)

_family_

Husband and wife, a conventional marriage lacking deep emotional connection.

## In the story

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/howards_end_se/chapters/viii)

Mentioned as Charles's new wife; her photograph is shown to Margaret.

### [Chapter IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/howards_end_se/chapters/ix)

Mentioned by Mrs. Wilcox as being like Charles in her quickness.

### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/howards_end_se/chapters/xi)

Interrupts with naive comments about the note's legality, is rebuked by Charles, and feels bored and out of place during the family discussion.

### [Chapter XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/howards_end_se/chapters/xxi)

Deflects Charles's accusations and shows defiance, though she admits her role in the matchmaking.

### [XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/howards_end_se/chapters/xxiv)

Joins Henry and Margaret for tea, shares gossip about Miss Avery and the Wilcox family history.

### [XXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/howards_end_se/chapters/xxv)

Suggests that she and Uncle Percy pretend to break off their engagement to pressure Mr. Wilcox, but Charles dismisses the idea.

### [XXXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/howards_end_se/chapters/xxxii)

Dolly visits Margaret, bringing news of Miss Avery's actions and recounting the earlier conflict over Evie's gift.

### [XXXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/howards_end_se/chapters/xxxv)

Dolly is present at the start of the chapter, showing vulgar excitement when Henry plans to leave without Margaret.

### [XXXVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/howards_end_se/chapters/xxxviii)

Briefly appears offering tea and is told to wheel the baby away.

### [XLII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/howards_end_se/chapters/xlii)

Kept dinner waiting for Margaret; remains uninformed about the unfolding events.

### [XLIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/howards_end_se/chapters/xliv)

Nervous and tactless, she mentions Mrs. Wilcox's original bequest of Howards End to Margaret, inadvertently revealing the old secret.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/howards_end_se/characters/dolly_fussell
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/howards_end_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/howards_end_se/characters