# Peggy Norton — Short Fiction character guide

> Peggy Norton in Short Fiction by P. G. Wodehouse.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Peggy, V Peggy

**First appearance:** 0000-when-papa-swore-in-hindustani

## Snapshot

A sharp-eyed chorus girl who visits George's flat after the theatre, testing the loyalty of a man already spoken for.

## Who they are

Peggy is a Broadway girl who drops in on Rutherford after her shows, settling onto his table and needling him about the girl in the photograph back in England. Their easy intimacy — the cigarette, the laugh, the step nearer — carries a charge that Rutherford meets with steady, deliberate loyalty. She matters because she is the temptation that proves what Rutherford's heart is really made of, and her grey eyes see more than she lets on.

## Relationships

### [Rutherford Maxwell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/characters/rutherford_maxwell)

_romantic_

Peggy and Rutherford are involved in a romantic relationship, marked by tension and attraction.

### [George Barnert Callender](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/characters/george_barnert_callender)

_social_

George Barnert Callender and Peggy Norton are social acquaintances, possibly with romantic undertones.

### [George Barnert Callender](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/characters/george_barnert_callender)

_social_

George Barnert Callender and Peggy Norton are social acquaintances, possibly with romantic undertones.

### [Rutherford Maxwell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/characters/rutherford_maxwell)

_romantic_

Peggy and Rutherford are involved in a romantic relationship, marked by tension and attraction.

### [Rutherford Maxwell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/characters/rutherford_maxwell)

_romantic_

Peggy and Rutherford are involved in a romantic relationship, marked by tension and attraction.

## In the story

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/chapters/i)

A lively, trim girl with grey eyes and a determined chin; she retrieves Gladys from Rutherford's room and is the same Peggy he had heard singing in the hall.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/chapters/ii)

A lively chorus girl from 'The Island of Girls' who visits Rutherford's room. She is direct and playful, teasing him about his manners and encouraging him to leave the bank.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/chapters/iii)

Visits Rutherford regularly, loves Broadway, becomes jealous of Alice Halliday, and has an emotional breakdown before leaving for Chicago.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/chapters/iv)

Returns to New York after a stint in the 'Wild West'; meets Rutherford at Herald Square, has supper with him, and shares a kiss in the cab.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/chapters/v)

Resumes nightly visits, provides notes and suggestions that shape the character of Willie.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/chapters/vi)

Waits up for Rutherford, congratulates him, but refuses his proposal, insisting he belongs elsewhere.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/characters/peggy_norton
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/characters