# Bradley Headstone — Our Mutual Friend character guide

> Bradley Headstone in Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Mr. Headstone, Mr. Bradley Headstone, Bradley

**First appearance:** 0019-i-of-an-educational-character

## Snapshot

A disciplined, self-made schoolmaster whose rigid respectability cracks under an obsession with Lizzie Hexam that he cannot govern or confess.

## Who they are

Headstone has climbed from poverty to a respectable teaching post, and he approaches Lizzie through her brother Charley, who is his pupil and eager ally. Awkward, intense, and painfully aware that he shows worst when he most wants to show best, he proposes in a churchyard while Charley walks away to leave them alone. His thwarted passion and his rivalry with Eugene Wrayburn turn the novel's quietest figure into its most dangerous, exposing the violence beneath respectable self-control.

## Relationships

### [Roger Riderhood](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/characters/roger_riderhood)

_rivalry_

Bradley Headstone, a jealous schoolmaster, and Roger Riderhood, a river rat, become deadly enemies after Riderhood discovers Headstone's murderous secret.

### [Roger Riderhood](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/characters/roger_riderhood)

_rivalry_

Bradley Headstone, a jealous schoolmaster, and Roger Riderhood, a river rat, become deadly enemies after Riderhood discovers Headstone's murderous secret.

### [Roger Riderhood](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/characters/roger_riderhood)

_rivalry_

Bradley Headstone, a jealous schoolmaster, and Roger Riderhood, a river rat, become deadly enemies after Riderhood discovers Headstone's murderous secret.

## In the story

### [I: Of an Educational Character](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/i-of-an-educational-character)

A highly certificated, mechanically learned schoolmaster who agrees to visit Lizzie Hexam with Charley; he shows a suspicious and calculating interest in Lizzie.

### [A Riddle Without an Answer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/vi-a-riddle-without-an-answer)

Supports Charley's demands, struggles with his own passionate nature, and reveals deep resentment toward Eugene's social superiority.

### [XI: Some Affairs of the Heart](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/xi-some-affairs-of-the-heart)

Preoccupied and brooding, visits Miss Peecher to leave his key, then heads to Lizzie Hexam's home.

### [XV: The Whole Case So Far](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/xv-the-whole-case-so-far)

Desperately proposes to Lizzie Hexam in a churchyard, revealing his obsessive love and self-described ruin.

### [Scouts Out](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/x-scouts-out)

Seen lurking in the dark, his face twisted with jealousy and anger, haunting Lightwood.

### [In the Dark](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/xi-in-the-dark)

Consumed by murderous rage and jealousy, he stalks Eugene Wrayburn and forms an alliance with Rogue Riderhood.

### [I: Setting Traps](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/i-setting-traps)

Returns to Riderhood after tracking Eugene Wrayburn; confirms Wrayburn is meeting Lizzie Hexam; shows signs of violent obsession and physical distress.

### [Better to Be Abel Than Cain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/vii-better-to-be-abel-than-cain)

Returns to Riderhood's lock-house after two nights away, showing signs of a violent struggle; later tormented by obsessive thoughts of perfecting his crime.

### [Effect Is Given to the Dolls’ Dressmaker’s Discovery](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/xi-effect-is-given-to-the-dolls-dressmaker-s-discovery)

Appears at the station, inquiring about Lizzie Hexam with a nervous and constrained manner.

### [XV: What Was Caught in the Traps That Were Set](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/xv-what-was-caught-in-the-traps-that-were-set)

Tormented by guilt and rage after his attack on Eugene; blackmailed by Riderhood; trapped and decaying.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/characters/bradley_headstone
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/characters