# Madame Dorothy — Jurgen character guide

> Madame Dorothy in Jurgen by James Branch Cabell.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Dorothy, Dorothy la Désirée, Countess Dorothy

**First appearance:** 0008-iv-the-dorothy-who-did-not-understand

## Snapshot

Jurgen's first love, Dorothy la Désirée, whose beauty and easy laughter in the garden between dawn and sunrise still hold his heart captive.

## Who they are

Dorothy is the golden girl of Jurgen's youth, dancing on the terrace and promising him exploits he now knows he will never perform. She will give herself to Heitman Michael within two months, a future Jurgen foresees but she cannot, and her light shrug at the older man's attentions is both girlish and cruel. Her presence in the garden between dawn and sunrise forces Jurgen to confront how much of his desire was ever really about her.

## Relationships

### [Jurgen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jurgen_se/characters/jurgen)

_romantic_

Madame Dorothy is a former lover of Jurgen, representing a past romantic entanglement and unresolved feelings.

### [Jurgen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jurgen_se/characters/jurgen)

_romantic_

Madame Dorothy is a former lover of Jurgen, representing a past romantic entanglement and unresolved feelings.

### [Jurgen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jurgen_se/characters/jurgen)

_romantic_

Madame Dorothy is a former lover of Jurgen, representing a past romantic entanglement and unresolved feelings.

## In the story

### [IV: The Dorothy Who Did Not Understand](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jurgen_se/chapters/iv-the-dorothy-who-did-not-understand)

Appears as a young girl of nearly eighteen, innocent and unaware of her future marriage to Heitman Michael.

### [V: Requirements of Bread and Butter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jurgen_se/chapters/v-requirements-of-bread-and-butter)

Mentioned as the woman Jurgen loved in youth, now revealed to be a creation of his own imagination.

### [VII: Of Compromises on a Wednesday](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jurgen_se/chapters/vii-of-compromises-on-a-wednesday)

The object of Jurgen's desire; initially submissive, then ages grotesquely at midnight, later witnesses the murder and agrees to flee with Jurgen.

### [XXVI: In Time's Hourglass](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jurgen_se/chapters/xxvi-in-time-s-hourglass)

Mentioned as the one Queen Helen resembles, stirring Jurgen's emotions.

### [XXIX: Concerning Horvendile's Nonsense](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jurgen_se/chapters/xxix-concerning-horvendile-s-nonsense)

Jurgen believes Queen Helen is Dorothy la Désirée, the woman he has long admired.

### [Economics of King Jurgen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jurgen_se/chapters/xxx-economics-of-king-jurgen)

Identified by Jurgen as the same person as Queen Helen; his youthful love.

### [XLVII: The Vision of Helen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jurgen_se/chapters/xlvii-the-vision-of-helen)

Mentioned as the jill-flirt in whose face Jurgen first seemed to find Helen's loveliness.

### [Candid Opinions of Dame Lisa](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jurgen_se/chapters/xlviii-candid-opinions-of-dame-lisa)

Mentioned by Dame Lisa as the target of her upcoming confrontation.

### [L: The Moment That Did Not Count](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jurgen_se/chapters/l-the-moment-that-did-not-count)

Seeks to pawn a necklace to raise money for her lover, Messire de Nérac, without her husband's knowledge.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jurgen_se/characters/madame_dorothy
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jurgen_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jurgen_se/characters