# Irene Marlowe — In the Midst of Life character guide

> Irene Marlowe in In the Midst of Life by Ambrose Bierce.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Irene

**First appearance:** 0066-the-eyes-of-the-panther

## Snapshot

A young wife in an isolated forest cabin whose unremembered nightmare of disaster comes true the moment her husband walks out the door with his rifle.

## Who they are

Irene has made a cheerful home of her awful isolation, finding sufficiency in light chores, her child, her husband, and a few foolish books. When she begs Marlowe not to hunt because of a dreadful dream she cannot fully recall, he laughs, and she yields because she lacks the gift of humor to hold out against his kindly badinage. Her dream—a second cradle, a dead father, barred windows, a child's face that is a wild animal's—is the story's dark prophecy, and her long night of waiting is the vigil the reader keeps with her.

## In the story

### [The Man Out of the Nose](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/in_the_midst_of_life_se/chapters/the-man-out-of-the-nose)

Mentioned as Mrs. Barwell, the woman with whom Hardshaw had an affair; she later fell from a window to her death, an event that haunts Hardshaw.

### [A Lady from Redhorse](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/in_the_midst_of_life_se/chapters/a-lady-from-redhorse)

The recipient of the letter, a confidante to Mary.

### [The Eyes of the Panther](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/in_the_midst_of_life_se/chapters/the-eyes-of-the-panther)

Central character whose eyes are described as panther-like, linked to a childhood trauma.

### [One Does Not Always Marry When Insane](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/in_the_midst_of_life_se/chapters/i-one-does-not-always-marry-when-insane)

Reveals she is insane and refuses to marry Jenner Brading despite loving him.

### [A Room May Be Too Narrow for Three, Though One Is Outside](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/in_the_midst_of_life_se/chapters/ii-a-room-may-be-too-narrow-for-three-though-one-is-outside)

Marlowe's wife, who dreams of disaster and accidentally suffocates her child while protecting it from a panther.

### [III: The Theory of the Defense](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/in_the_midst_of_life_se/chapters/iii-the-theory-of-the-defense)

Reveals her belief that she is insane due to being born after her mother's death; recounts her family's tragic history.

### [IV: An Appeal to the Conscience of God](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/in_the_midst_of_life_se/chapters/iv-an-appeal-to-the-conscience-of-god)

The beautiful but eccentric daughter of Old Man Marlowe; she rejected Brading's marriage proposal and is later found dead in the forest.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/in_the_midst_of_life_se/characters/irene_marlowe
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/in_the_midst_of_life_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/in_the_midst_of_life_se/characters