# Martha Tilling — Lay Down Your Arms character guide > Martha Tilling in Lay Down Your Arms by Bertha von Suttner. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Martha, Tilling, Martha and Tilling **First appearance:** 0003-i ## Who they are 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. ## Relationships ### [Frederick Tilling](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/frederick_tilling) _family_ Frederick and Martha are husband and wife, sharing a deep marital bond. ### [Aunt Mary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/aunt_mary) _family_ Aunt Mary is Martha's aunt, providing familial care and advice. ### [Father Radetzky](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/father_radetzky) _friendship_ Father Radetzky is a trusted spiritual counselor and friend to Martha. ### [Conrad Althaus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/conrad_althaus) _friendship_ Conrad and Martha are close friends, often sharing confidences and support. ### [Countess Lori Griesbach](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/countess_lori_griesbach) _rivalry_ Countess Lori and Martha are rivals for Frederick's affection, creating tension. ### [Aunt Mary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/aunt_mary) _family_ Aunt Mary is Martha's aunt, providing familial care and advice. ### [Frederick Tilling](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/frederick_tilling) _family_ Frederick and Martha are husband and wife, sharing a deep marital bond. ### [Father Radetzky](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/father_radetzky) _friendship_ Father Radetzky is a trusted spiritual counselor and friend to Martha. ### [Countess Lori Griesbach](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/countess_lori_griesbach) _rivalry_ Countess Lori and Martha are rivals for Frederick's affection, creating tension. ### [Frederick Tilling](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/frederick_tilling) _family_ Frederick and Martha are husband and wife, sharing a deep marital bond. ### [Conrad Althaus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/conrad_althaus) _friendship_ Conrad and Martha are close friends, often sharing confidences and support. ### [Countess Lori Griesbach](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/countess_lori_griesbach) _rivalry_ Countess Lori and Martha are rivals for Frederick's affection, creating tension. ## In the story ### [Lay Down Your Arms](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/chapters/lay-down-your-arms) Narrator and protagonist, reflecting on her life and the horrors of war. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/chapters/i) Narrator and protagonist; reflects on her youthful war enthusiasm and conflicted feelings at the outbreak of war. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/chapters/ii) Narrator and protagonist; struggles with fear and patriotic duty as her husband Arno leaves for war. ### [First Years of Widowhood—Solitude, Study, Enlarged Views—I Return Into Society—Renewed Enjoyment of Life—Thoughts of Second Marriage—I Chaperon My Younger Sisters—I Am Introduced to Baron Tilling—He Brings Me an Account of the Manner of Arno's Death](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/chapters/iii) Narrator and protagonist; reflects on her grief, intellectual awakening, and return to society. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/chapters/iv) Narrator; realizes she is in love with Frederick Tilling after a painful moment of jealousy. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/chapters/v) Narrator and protagonist; reflects on her love for Frederick and her father's disapproval. ### [Chapter VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/chapters/vi) Narrator and protagonist, deeply anxious about the war and critical of nationalist justifications, yet struggling with her own conflicting emotions. ### [Chapter VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/chapters/vii) Narrates the chapter, reflecting on her husbands' departures to war and her fears. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/chapters/viii) Narrator; overjoyed at Frederick's return; persuades him to quit the army; loses her fortune later. ### [Chapter IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/chapters/ix) Narrator and protagonist; reflects on her arguments with her father about war and peace, and observes the New Year's celebration. ### [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/chapters/x) Narrator and letter writer; expresses deep disgust with war and traumatic visions of her husband's death. ### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/chapters/xi) The recipient of Frederick's letter; he addresses her directly and dreams of her. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/chapters/xii) Travels to Königgrätz to nurse Frederick, but is overcome by the horrors and faints; returns to Vienna with Dr. Bresser. ### [Chapter XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/chapters/xiii) Narrates the chapter, reflects on war's horrors, argues against prudery and for facing reality. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/chapters/xiv) Narrator and central figure; reflects on love and compassion amid the cholera epidemic and deaths. ### [Chapter XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/chapters/xv) Narrator and protagonist; reflects on war's horrors and her own grief. ### [Chapter XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/chapters/xvi) Narrator and compiler of The Protocol of Peace; reflects on her experiences in Parisian society and her hopes for peace. ### [Chapter XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/chapters/xvii) Narrator and observer of the pre-war atmosphere in Paris; records her anxiety and reflections on war. ### [Chapter XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/chapters/xviii) Narrator; reflects on war's absurdity, records siege events, and suffers Frederick's execution. ### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/chapters/xix) Narrator; describes her mental illness, grief, and peace activism. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters/martha_tilling - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lay_down_your_arms_se/characters