# Mattie — If I Had a Father character guide

> Mattie in If I Had a Father by George MacDonald.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Susan, Sue, Mattie Susan, Susie, Mattie Susie

**First appearance:** 0000-act-i

## Snapshot

A London seamstress whose fierce warnings to her sister Susan about gentlemen's false promises mask her own terror of being found, and whose quiet dignity holds a starving household together.

## Who they are

Mattie stitches buttonholes by lamplight in a garret where she and Susan stretch crusts and borrowed chops across the week, yet she refuses to let hunger push her toward the smooth-tongued men Susan dreams of. When a boy named Bill reports a gold-chained swell asking after her, Mattie goes white and begs him not to bring the stranger near. Her dread of a father she may or may not want, and her stubborn honesty in a world that rewards neither, make her the moral center of the early story.

## Relationships

### [Bill](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/if_i_had_a_father_se/characters/bill)

_family_

Bill is Mattie's father, and their relationship is central, marked by deep emotional conflict and a search for connection.

### [Gervaise](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/if_i_had_a_father_se/characters/gervaise)

_friendship_

Gervaise and Mattie share a supportive, confiding friendship, often acting as each other's sounding boards.

### [Arthur](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/if_i_had_a_father_se/characters/arthur)

_friendship_

Arthur and Mattie share a friendly, easygoing rapport, often bonding over their mutual concern for Gervaise.

### [Constance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/if_i_had_a_father_se/characters/constance)

_friendship_

Constance and Mattie are close friends, with Constance often providing practical support and advice to Mattie.

### [Thomas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/if_i_had_a_father_se/characters/thomas)

_friendship_

Mattie and Thomas share a quiet, understanding friendship, often finding common ground in their loyalty to Gervaise.

### [Jack](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/if_i_had_a_father_se/characters/jack)

_romantic_

Jack is romantically interested in Mattie, but his advances are often awkward and unreciprocated, creating tension.

### [Mrs. Clifford](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/if_i_had_a_father_se/characters/mrs_clifford)

_social_

Mattie and Mrs. Clifford are acquaintances, with Mrs. Clifford often treating Mattie with condescension.

### [Bill](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/if_i_had_a_father_se/characters/bill)

_family_

Bill is Mattie's father, and their relationship is central, marked by deep emotional conflict and a search for connection.

### [Bill](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/if_i_had_a_father_se/characters/bill)

_family_

Bill is Mattie's father, and their relationship is central, marked by deep emotional conflict and a search for connection.

### [Thomas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/if_i_had_a_father_se/characters/thomas)

_friendship_

Mattie and Thomas share a quiet, understanding friendship, often finding common ground in their loyalty to Gervaise.

### [Constance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/if_i_had_a_father_se/characters/constance)

_friendship_

Constance and Mattie are close friends, with Constance often providing practical support and advice to Mattie.

### [Jack](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/if_i_had_a_father_se/characters/jack)

_romantic_

Jack is romantically interested in Mattie, but his advances are often awkward and unreciprocated, creating tension.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/if_i_had_a_father_se/characters/mattie
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/if_i_had_a_father_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/if_i_had_a_father_se/characters