# Mrs. Pulsifer — Hudson River Bracketed character guide

> Mrs. Pulsifer in Hudson River Bracketed by Edith Wharton.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** old Pulsifer, this strange Mrs. Pulsifer, the Pulsifer, Pulsifer, Mrs. Pulsifer

**First appearance:** 0017-xii

## Snapshot

A wealthy, nervously shy salon hostess who awards the New Hour's literary prize, collecting authors the way others collect curiosities.

## Who they are

Mrs. Pulsifer presides over the glittering parties where the New Hour's contributors are paraded and appraised, though she lives in quiet terror that every writer introduced to her will angle for the prize. Halo Tarrant calls her a 'symptom' rather than a person—one of those who catch each new literary fashion and pass it on—yet her shyness gives her an oddly human edge. For Vance Weston, fresh from Euphoria and attending his first real party, she becomes the gatekeeper of the world he is trying to enter.

## In the story

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

The prize-giver, nervous about authors seeking her prize, yet eager to meet Vance.

### [XXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hudson_river_bracketed_se/chapters/xxvii)

Invites Vance to dine; he asks for a loan of two thousand dollars, which she awkwardly refuses, citing her staff and the prize.

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

Takes Laura Lou away from the exhibition; noted for her uneasiness about a past mistake regarding Vance's short story.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hudson_river_bracketed_se/characters/old_pulsifer
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hudson_river_bracketed_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hudson_river_bracketed_se/characters