# Dr. Gresham — Iola Leroy character guide

> Dr. Gresham in Iola Leroy by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Gresham

**First appearance:** 0004-ii-contraband-of-war

## Snapshot

A handsome Union surgeon of abolitionist stock who loves Iola by the bedsides of the wounded and dying, unaware of the barrier she hides.

## Who they are

Nurtured by a devoted Abolitionist father and an aristocratic mother who would call the match a mistake, Gresham embodies the ideal of Iola's girlhood daydreams. She admires his manliness, misses him when absent, and finds her heart entwining around him even as she resolves never to marry a white man while her mother remains lost. His kindness is a new experience for her, and her silence about her birth threatens to cost them both unnecessary suffering.

## Relationships

### [Iola Leroy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters/iola_leroy)

_romantic_

Dr. Gresham is a white suitor who pursues Iola romantically, but she ultimately rejects him due to racial and moral differences.

### [Robert Johnson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters/robert_johnson)

_social_

Dr. Gresham and Robert are acquaintances with a strained dynamic due to Gresham's romantic interest in Iola and racial tensions.

### [Iola Leroy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters/iola_leroy)

_romantic_

Dr. Gresham is a white suitor who pursues Iola romantically, but she ultimately rejects him due to racial and moral differences.

### [Iola Leroy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters/iola_leroy)

_romantic_

Dr. Gresham is a white suitor who pursues Iola romantically, but she ultimately rejects him due to racial and moral differences.

### [Robert Johnson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters/robert_johnson)

_social_

Dr. Gresham and Robert are acquaintances with a strained dynamic due to Gresham's romantic interest in Iola and racial tensions.

### [Robert Johnson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters/robert_johnson)

_social_

Dr. Gresham and Robert are acquaintances with a strained dynamic due to Gresham's romantic interest in Iola and racial tensions.

## In the story

### [Iola Leroy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/iola-leroy)

A white doctor who becomes Iola's suitor and proposes to her.

### [VII: Tom Anderson’s Death](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/vii-tom-anderson-s-death)

Hospital physician who pronounces Tom dead.

### [VIII: The Mystified Doctor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/viii-the-mystified-doctor)

Confesses his admiration and confusion about Iola to Colonel Robinson; struggles with his feelings after learning she was a slave.

### [A Rejected Suitor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/xiii-a-rejected-suitor)

Proposes to Iola, is rejected, and engages in a discussion about racial prejudice and the future of the negro race.

### [Flames in the Schoolroom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/xvii-flames-in-the-schoolroom)

Visits Iola and Robert after a furlough; suggests Iola teach and offers his assistance.

### [An Old Friend](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/xxv-an-old-friend)

Recovering from illness, he encounters Iola and visits her home. He discusses the effects of slavery, lynching, and the need for law and order. He invites Robert to bring a strong equal rights advocate to meet a Southern Bourbon at his hotel.

### [Open Questions](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/xxvi-open-questions)

Dr. Gresham hosts the gathering, advocates for teaching the ballot's proper use, and argues for justice and moral sentiment.

### [XXVII: Diverging Paths](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/xxvii-diverging-paths)

Dr. Gresham proposes to Iola, but after a heartfelt debate, he accepts her decision to follow her own path, though with sadness.

### [Dr. Latrobe’s Mistake](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/xxviii-dr-latrobe-s-mistake)

Meets Dr. Latrobe in the parlor and discusses Dr. Latimer's paper; later reveals he knew Dr. Latimer's racial identity all along and enjoys Dr. Latrobe's mistake.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters/dr_gresham
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters