# Lay Down Your Arms — Character guide

> Key figures in Lay Down Your Arms by Bertha von Suttner.

- [Martha Tilling](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/martha_tilling.md): A countess who learns to see war's true cost through two husbands' departures, she narrates her slow conversion from patriotic pride to anguished pacifism.
- [Frederick Tilling](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/frederick_tilling.md): A colonel who marches to war with horror rather than glory, torn between military duty and the wife he cannot bear to leave behind.
- [Countess Lori Griesbach](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/countess_lori_griesbach.md): Martha's lively confidante, whose warmth and quick sympathy offer relief from the solemnities of wartime grief and aristocratic obligation.
- [Arno Dotzky](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/arno_dotzky.md): A young officer who once rode off to war with joy, his early eagerness for glory becomes the measure against which Martha's later grief is weighed.
- [Aunt Mary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/aunt_mary.md): Martha's kind, traditional aunt, whose domestic wisdom and steady presence anchor the family as its men march off to successive wars.
- [Countess Martha Althaus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/countess_martha_althaus.md): An older noblewoman of youthful spirit and strong opinions, she embodies the martial pride and social expectations Martha must eventually unlearn.
- [Dr. Bresser](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/dr_bresser.md): Dr. Bresser belongs to the small circle of professionals the Tilling household relies on, and his name carries enough weight that Martha can use errands for him as cover for a journey no one at home would permit. His let
- [Conrad Althaus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/conrad_althaus.md): Conrad moves between the family's social world and the front, a cousin whose eagerness for the Prussian campaign is matched only by the pain of leaving Lilly at the threshold of their marriage. His parting—'why did you d
- [Little Rudolf Dotzky](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/little_rudolf_dotzky.md): Rudolf is the household's delight, the boy whose games with Frederick reveal the stepfather's softer, more childish side, and whose inheritance of the Dotzky estate anchors the family's imagined future. Martha and Freder
- [Lilly](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/lilly.md): Lilly belongs to the Grumitz family circle, a young woman whose hesitation over Conrad's proposal suddenly reverses into passionate regret when the marching orders arrive. Her collapse into Martha's arms—'why did I not s
- [Otto](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/otto.md): A servant or family retainer, often mentioned in domestic scenes.
- [Rosa](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/rosa.md): A maid or nurse in the Tilling household, loyal and hardworking.
- [Godfrey v. Tessow](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/godfrey_v_tessow.md): A young officer and friend of the family, who meets a tragic end in battle.
- [Frau Simon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/frau_simon.md): A housekeeper or cook in the Tilling household, known for her practical nature.
- [Aunt Cornelia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/aunt_cornelia.md): Another of Martha's aunts, who provides moral and emotional support.
- [Rudolf Dotzky](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/rudolf_dotzky.md): Arno Dotzky's wife, who struggles with her husband's military career and loss.
- [Father Radetzky](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/father_radetzky.md): A chaplain or priest who provides spiritual counsel to the soldiers.
- [Count Althaus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/count_althaus.md): An elderly general and patriarch of the Althaus family.
- [Martha Dotzky](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/martha_dotzky.md): A relative of the Dotzky family, possibly Arno's sister or cousin.
- [Prince Frederick Charles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/prince_frederick_charles.md): A Prussian prince and military commander referenced in war discussions.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters