# Isopel Berners — Lavengro character guide

> Isopel Berners in Lavengro by George Borrow.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Isopel, Berners, Miss Isopel Berners, Miss Berners

**First appearance:** 0004-i

## Snapshot

A tall, independent woman whose long absences from the dingle leave Lavengro pacing the roads and listening for wheels at midnight.

## Who they are

Isopel Berners comes and goes from the dingle on her own errands, and her departures unsettle Lavengro more than he will admit. He rehearses a cool reception for her return, then berates himself when the wheels he hears belong to someone else. Her independence and his anxious waiting form the emotional center of the middle chapters, testing whether his philosophy can survive genuine attachment.

## In the story

### [The Sap-engro and the Gypsy Encounter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/v)

Not present in this chapter.

### [LXXXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/lxxxv)

Identified as Belle, born in Long Melford, of Christian parents.

### [LXXXVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/lxxxvi)

Serves tea, recounts her life story from birth in the workhouse to her travels, and promises to protect Lavengro.

### [XCI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/xci)

Lives with Lavengro, learns Armenian, tells anecdotes of road characters, and longs to travel to America.

### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/ii)

Mentioned as having requested the narrator to deposit the Hollands and glass in the tent.

### [Ursula's Virtue and the Gypsy's Temptations](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/x)

Thought of by the narrator; he wonders where she is and how long she will stay away.

### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/xi)

Mentioned by Ursula in the context of living with the narrator in Mumpers' Dingle.

### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/xii)

Shares tea with Lavengro, then insists on parting ways; she is learning Armenian from him.

### [The Fair and the Departure](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/xv)

Stands at the mouth of the dingle as Lavengro leaves; later departs without leaving a message.

### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/xvi)

Sends a farewell letter from a seaport, explaining her departure to America and her reasons for leaving without saying goodbye.

### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/xix)

Thought of by the narrator with sadness as he leaves the dingle.

### [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/xxiii)

Mentioned in the narrator's thoughts; he laments losing her and the possibility of a life together in the New World.

### [On Canting Nonsense](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/viii-on-canting-nonsense)

Cited as an example of a woman who takes her own part and strikes back; her stately height and athletic proportions are mentioned.

### [Complete List of English Gypsy Words Scattered Through Lavengro and Romany Rye](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/complete-list-of-english-gypsy-words-scattered-through-lavengro-and-romany-rye)

A character associated with the Gypsy world, though not directly named in the glossary.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/characters/isopel_berners
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/characters