# Mrs. Mountchessington — Our American Cousin character guide

> Mrs. Mountchessington in Our American Cousin by Tom Taylor.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mrs. Mountchessington, Mrs. Mountchessington Old Mark Trenchard, Mrs. Mountchessington Soft, Mrs. Mountchessington Hush, Mrs. Mountchestnut

**First appearance:** 0003-scene-1

## Snapshot

A social-climbing mother who drills her daughters in flattery, reads up on America to snare a rich heir, and calls every vulgarism an elegant expression.

## Who they are

Mrs. Mountchessington steers her daughters through the Trenchard drawing room like a field commander, instructing Augusta to study Bancroft and Sam Slick before greeting the American visitor. She greets Asa's every blunt remark with smooth approval, even when he is openly mocking her, and dismisses his rudeness as some elegant American idiom. Her relentless matchmaking turns the household's social rituals into a contest of appetites, and her schemes give Asa's plain speaking something worth puncturing.

## Relationships

### [Asa Trenchard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_american_cousin_se/characters/asa_trenchard)

_rivalry_

Asa and Mrs. Mountchessington are antagonists, as she schemes to marry her daughter to a wealthy man while Asa thwarts her plans.

## Links

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