# Ellen Burnet — Short Fiction character guide

> Ellen Burnet in Short Fiction by Mary Shelley.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Helena, Ellen, dear Ellen, fair Ellen

**First appearance:** 0000-a-tale-of-the-passions

## Snapshot

Raised in Scottish seclusion on Greek and Roman heroes rather than the news of the day, a young woman of deep understanding whose beauty and integrity hold a husband in thrall.

## Who they are

Ellen Burnet, called Helena, lost her mother young and was educated by a father whose peculiar ideas left her versed in ancient worthies and nearly ignorant of the passing events of the day. After his death she passes under the cold protection of an aunt who keeps her in a remote part of a Loch Lomond estate, seeing her only rarely. Her retired life, her sweetness, and the firmness of her integrity make her the still centre around which the story's early griefs and attachments gather.

## In the story

### [The Mourner](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_38_se/chapters/the-mourner)

The mourner; a deeply sorrowful woman who dies and is buried in an unmarked grave.

### [The Elder Son](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_38_se/chapters/the-elder-son)

The narrator is addressed as 'Ellen' by Clinton, indicating her name is Ellen Burnet.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_38_se/characters/helena_burnet
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_38_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_38_se/characters