# Rags Martin-Jones — Short Fiction character guide

> Rags Martin-Jones in Short Fiction by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Martin-Jones, Rags

**First appearance:** 0176-rags-martin-jones-and-the-pr-nce-of-w-les

## Snapshot

A glamorous, married woman who lets a devoted man row out to her in the moonlight before telling him the truth.

## Who they are

Rags Martin-Jones moves through the evening as the object of a young man's whole romantic imagination, and she lets him believe it a little longer than she should. When the boat swings against the companionway and a man's voice floats up asking if that is her, she answers easily and calls Val one of Mrs. Jackson's guests. Her casualness is the story's sharpest instrument: she is not cruel, only already gone, and Val realizes too late how much he cared.

## Relationships

### [John T. Unger](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/characters/john_t_unger)

_romantic_

John is romantically intrigued by the mysterious and wealthy Rags, leading to a relationship built on deception and allure.

### [John T. Unger](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/characters/john_t_unger)

_romantic_

John is romantically intrigued by the mysterious and wealthy Rags, leading to a relationship built on deception and allure.

### [John T. Unger](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/characters/john_t_unger)

_romantic_

John is romantically intrigued by the mysterious and wealthy Rags, leading to a relationship built on deception and allure.

## In the story

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/iv)

Referred to as 'Babe', the mulatto acting skipper who knows the island and assists with navigation and provisioning.

### [Rags Martin-Jones and the Pr‑nce of W‑les](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/rags-martin-jones-and-the-pr-nce-of-w-les)

The central female character, a sophisticated and capricious woman who tests her suitor's devotion through elaborate schemes.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/i)

Returns to New York after five years in Europe; inherits seventy-five million dollars; pushes John M. Chestnut into the Hudson River.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/ii)

The wealthy, jaded heiress who dismisses John's advances but is excited by the prospect of seeing the Prince of Wales.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/iii)

Rags is the central figure in this chapter, experiencing excitement for the first time in four years as she visits the rooftop garden and is invited to join the royal party.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/iv)

Rags is the central figure of the chapter, initially thrilled by the prince's attention, then terrified by John's apparent crisis, and finally overwhelmed by the revelation that it was all a staged performance.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/v)

Visits John Chestnut in his skyscraper office, questions the reality of his grand gesture, and playfully accepts his proposal.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/characters/rags_martin_jones
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/characters