# Mary Alice Pope — Short Fiction character guide > Mary Alice Pope in Short Fiction by Fritz Leiber. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Mary, Mary Alice, Alice **First appearance:** 0004-a-pail-of-air ## Snapshot A girl kept on an island behind a fence, told it is 1933 and she was born in 1916, who trembles when a stranger tosses her newspapers with 1951 datelines. ## Who they are Mary Alice Pope stands behind a fence watching for Jack, speaking in a hushed, hurried voice and warning him to go away before her aunts find him. She has been made to believe she was born around 1916 and that it is 1933, her world sustained by old papers, faked radio, and the boxes a mysterious man sends her. When Jack tells her the truth and asks her to come to the mainland, she draws back, torn between his love and the life she cannot tell is a lie. ## Relationships ### [Jack Barr](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/jack_barr) _romantic_ Jack Barr is secretly in love with Mary Alice Pope, though she remains unaware of his feelings. ### [Martin Kesserich](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/martin_kesserich) _social_ Martin Kesserich and Mary Alice Pope are neighbors who exchange pleasantries and small talk. ### [Jack Barr](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/jack_barr) _romantic_ Jack Barr is secretly in love with Mary Alice Pope, though she remains unaware of his feelings. ### [Martin Kesserich](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/martin_kesserich) _social_ Martin Kesserich and Mary Alice Pope are neighbors who exchange pleasantries and small talk. ### [Jack Barr](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/jack_barr) _romantic_ Jack Barr is secretly in love with Mary Alice Pope, though she remains unaware of his feelings. ### [Martin Kesserich](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/martin_kesserich) _social_ Martin Kesserich and Mary Alice Pope are neighbors who exchange pleasantries and small talk. ## In the story ### [Yesterday House](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/yesterday-house) Mary Alice is present in the chapter, her interactions with Jack highlighting themes of love and possession within the house's confines. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/i) Young woman living on the island with her aunts, isolated for 18 years, receiving anonymous gifts. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/ii) Martin Kesserich's deceased fiancée, died in a railway accident in 1933. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/v) Deceased; her ovum is used to create a child carried by Mrs. Kesserich. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/vi) The cloned Mary, confused and torn between Jack and Kesserich; returns to save Kesserich from the surf. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/vii) Mary is found asleep in the stern of the Annie O., having been missing along with Martin Kesserich. ### [The Night of the Long Knives](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/the-night-of-the-long-knives) Present during the turmoil, her fate intertwined with Jack's actions. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/i) The girl with blue eyes and a jaunty scar, encountered by the narrator in the Deathlands. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/ii) The girl with a maimed arm and a scar, who shares a tense but cooperative bond with Jack after the plane lands. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/iii) Alice; has a burned hand and a stump with a knife; shares Ray's excitement about escaping. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/iv) Alice makes the decisive choice to continue to Atla-Hi, rejecting the idea of returning to the corpse, and engages in sharp debate with Pop. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/v) Alice gathers food cans and attempts to substitute them for the steel cubes during the drop, leading to a physical struggle with Pop. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/vi) Referred to as Alice; shares her traumatic past involving her father's murder by werewolves and her first murder of the gang leader. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/vii) Helps care for the Pilot's woman and later sews the Pilot's body into a blanket with the narrator. ### [The 64-Square Madhouse](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/the-64-square-madhouse) Associated with Jack Barr in a rescue scenario, highlighting themes of love and possession. ### [The Snowbank Orbit](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/the-snowbank-orbit) Present as a companion in the surreal landscape, her identity questioned. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/i) Referred to as Daisy, Gusterson's wife, who participates in the conversation from the kitchen. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/iii) Daisy is present, observes Fay's behavior with unease, and is kissed by Fay; she worries about the building's safety. ### [No Great Magic](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/no-great-magic) Key figure interacting with Jack and others. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/mary_alice_pope - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters