# Ursula — On a Pincushion character guide

> Ursula in On a Pincushion by Mary De Morgan.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** little Ursula, the Princess Ursula, Princess Ursula, the real Ursula, Poor Ursula, poor Ursula

**First appearance:** 0003-the-story-of-the-opal

## Snapshot

A princess raised by cold court ladies in a nursery without toys, whose quiet pallor moves a fairy to buy her a double from a wizard's shop.

## Who they are

Ursula is the motherless heir whose christening, mourning, and upbringing are managed with impeccable politeness and no warmth; she is scolded for saying she doesn't want dinner and left to watch birds through the window. Her loneliness is the engine of the tale: the fairy Taboret, spying on the nursery, finds a pale child with no playthings and resolves to act. What Taboret purchases — a made-to-order Princess from a wizard's shop of spells — sets the story's central doubling in motion.

## Relationships

### [Taboret](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_pincushion_se/characters/taboret)

_professional_

Taboret and Ursula have a servant-mistress or employer-employee dynamic, with Taboret likely serving Ursula.

### [Princess Pyra](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_pincushion_se/characters/princess_pyra)

_rivalry_

Princess Pyra and Ursula are rivals or antagonists, possibly competing for power or affection.

### [Taboret](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_pincushion_se/characters/taboret)

_professional_

Taboret and Ursula have a servant-mistress or employer-employee dynamic, with Taboret likely serving Ursula.

### [Taboret](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_pincushion_se/characters/taboret)

_professional_

Taboret and Ursula have a servant-mistress or employer-employee dynamic, with Taboret likely serving Ursula.

## In the story

### [A Toy Princess](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_pincushion_se/chapters/a-toy-princess)

The real princess, spirited away to a fisherman's cottage, grows up healthy and merry, planning to marry Oliver.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_pincushion_se/characters/ursula
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_pincushion_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_pincushion_se/characters