# Lotta Schmidt — Short Fiction character guide

> Lotta Schmidt in Short Fiction by Anthony Trollope.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Lo, Lotta, regarded Lotta Schmidt

**First appearance:** 0032-lotta-schmidt

## Snapshot

A Viennese woman whose life takes a dramatic turn amid suitors, ambition, and the pull between love and worldly advantage.

## Who they are

Lotta Schmidt lives in a Vienna of music, courtship, and social calculation, where a man's rise may depend on the wife he chooses. She is caught between the claims of genuine affection and the worldly counsel of those who urge a more advantageous match, and her story turns on the question of whether the heart can hold its own against ambition. Her choices shape the early and middle arc as suitors and mothers alike weigh her against the prizes of rank and connection.

## Relationships

### [Fritz Planken](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_4_se/characters/fritz_planken)

_friendship_

Fritz Planken and Lotta Schmidt are cheerful, platonic friends who enjoy each other's company in a lighthearted social circle.

### [Herr Crippel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_4_se/characters/herr_crippel)

_psychological_

Herr Crippel harbors an obsessive, possessive fixation on Lotta Schmidt, creating an unsettling dynamic.

### [Captain Broughton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_4_se/characters/captain_broughton)

_romantic_

Captain Broughton is a charming, flirtatious suitor to Lotta Schmidt, though his intentions may not be entirely serious.

### [Herr Crippel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_4_se/characters/herr_crippel)

_psychological_

Herr Crippel harbors an obsessive, possessive fixation on Lotta Schmidt, creating an unsettling dynamic.

### [Captain Broughton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_4_se/characters/captain_broughton)

_romantic_

Captain Broughton is a charming, flirtatious suitor to Lotta Schmidt, though his intentions may not be entirely serious.

### [Fritz Planken](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_4_se/characters/fritz_planken)

_friendship_

Fritz Planken and Lotta Schmidt are cheerful, platonic friends who enjoy each other's company in a lighthearted social circle.

### [Fritz Planken](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_4_se/characters/fritz_planken)

_friendship_

Fritz Planken and Lotta Schmidt are cheerful, platonic friends who enjoy each other's company in a lighthearted social circle.

### [Captain Broughton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_4_se/characters/captain_broughton)

_romantic_

Captain Broughton is a charming, flirtatious suitor to Lotta Schmidt, though his intentions may not be entirely serious.

### [Herr Crippel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_4_se/characters/herr_crippel)

_psychological_

Herr Crippel harbors an obsessive, possessive fixation on Lotta Schmidt, creating an unsettling dynamic.

## In the story

### [Lotta Schmidt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_4_se/chapters/lotta-schmidt)

Protagonist; torn between the attentions of Herr Crippel and Fritz Planken, she asserts her independence after a quarrel.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_4_se/characters/lotta_schmidt
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_4_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_4_se/characters