# Henry Willowes — Lolly Willowes character guide

> Henry Willowes in Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Caroline, Henry, a Miss Caroline Fawcett, the Willowes, grandfather Henry, Willowes, Even Henry and Caroline

**First appearance:** 0000-i

## Snapshot

Laura's brother and the family's conventional head, whose sense of duty absorbs his sister into his household without ever asking what she wants.

## Who they are

Henry is the Willowes who inherited the name, the house, and the settled expectations that go with them; when his father dies, he and Caroline take Laura in as a matter of course, and he is right that Lolly ought to come to them. The family's history runs through him—the stuffed parrot Ratafee, great-aunt Emma's green harp, the obstinacy that moved the Willowes home across the county border. He stands for the respectable London life Laura must leave behind, and his disapproval shadows her independence once she claims it.

## Relationships

### [Laura Willowes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lolly_willowes_se/characters/laura_willowes)

_family_

Henry is Laura's controlling older brother who expects her to be a dutiful spinster aunt in his household.

### [Titus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lolly_willowes_se/characters/titus)

_family_

Henry tolerates Titus as Laura's pet but sees the cat as an eccentricity that further isolates her from proper society.

### [Laura Willowes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lolly_willowes_se/characters/laura_willowes)

_family_

Henry is Laura's controlling older brother who expects her to be a dutiful spinster aunt in his household.

### [Laura Willowes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lolly_willowes_se/characters/laura_willowes)

_family_

Henry is Laura's controlling older brother who expects her to be a dutiful spinster aunt in his household.

## In the story

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lolly_willowes_se/chapters/i)

Laura's brother, a lawyer who marries Caroline and later opposes selling family furniture after James's death.

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

Laura's brother, who is grieved and astonished by her decision to leave. He tries to dissuade her, appealing to her sense of duty and family, but ultimately fails.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lolly_willowes_se/characters/henry_willowes
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lolly_willowes_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lolly_willowes_se/characters