# Mrs. Merry — Pastors and Masters character guide

> Mrs. Merry in Pastors and Masters by Ivy Compton-Burnett.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Merry

**First appearance:** 0000-i

## Snapshot

The schoolmaster's wife who manages marmalade, tea, and her husband's contradictions with a patience that borders on quiet exasperation.

## Who they are

Mrs. Merry runs the domestic machinery of the school while her husband Mr. Merry lectures the boys and second-guesses her housekeeping. She defends her preserves against his vague accusations of watering them, correcting his logic without raising her voice. Her steady, unglamorous competence quietly exposes the gap between the school's public dignity and its daily muddle.

## Relationships

### [Mr. Merry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pastors_and_masters_se/characters/mr_merry)

_family_

Mr. Merry and Mrs. Merry are married, sharing a domestic partnership within the story.

### [Emily Herrick](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pastors_and_masters_se/characters/emily_herrick)

_social_

Emily and Mrs. Merry are acquaintances, interacting in the social orbit of the school community.

### [Emily Herrick](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pastors_and_masters_se/characters/emily_herrick)

_social_

Emily and Mrs. Merry are acquaintances, interacting in the social orbit of the school community.

### [Mr. Merry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pastors_and_masters_se/characters/mr_merry)

_family_

Mr. Merry and Mrs. Merry are married, sharing a domestic partnership within the story.

### [Mr. Merry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pastors_and_masters_se/characters/mr_merry)

_family_

Mr. Merry and Mrs. Merry are married, sharing a domestic partnership within the story.

### [Emily Herrick](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pastors_and_masters_se/characters/emily_herrick)

_social_

Emily and Mrs. Merry are acquaintances, interacting in the social orbit of the school community.

## In the story

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

Appears at breakfast with a grieved expression; later receives a birthday gift from the boys, becoming emotional; described as mild and overburdened.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pastors_and_masters_se/characters/mrs_merry
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pastors_and_masters_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pastors_and_masters_se/characters