# Baptista Trewthen — Short Fiction character guide

> Baptista Trewthen in Short Fiction by Thomas Hardy.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Baptista

**First appearance:** 0002-destiny-and-a-blue-cloak

## Snapshot

A new wife in Giant's Town whose hasty marriage to an older man draws prying eyes and a cunning glazier's dangerous curiosity.

## Who they are

Baptista has barely settled into married life when a decayed glazier and a sailor gossip outside her wall about the wedding she signed for in August, and about the husband who is seldom seen at her side. She turns pale when David Heddegan appears at the garden's end, and pays the glazier to buy his silence — a transaction that only sharpens his appetite for the riddle. Her unease makes her the still center of a story about what a marriage can hide.

## Relationships

### [David Heddegan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/characters/david_heddegan)

_family_

Baptista and David are married, their relationship strained by secrets and lack of genuine affection.

### [David Heddegan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/characters/david_heddegan)

_family_

Baptista and David are married, their relationship strained by secrets and lack of genuine affection.

### [David Heddegan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/characters/david_heddegan)

_family_

Baptista and David are married, their relationship strained by secrets and lack of genuine affection.

## In the story

### [Short Fiction](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/short-fiction)

A woman whose secret marriage leads to rumors and personal turmoil.

### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/xvii)

Not present in this chapter.

### [A Mere Interlude](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/a-mere-interlude)

The protagonist who marries Charles Stow and later discovers her former lover is alive.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/i)

The protagonist, a young schoolmistress who reluctantly agrees to marry the older David Heddegan.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/ii)

Delayed in Pen-zephyr after missing the boat; encounters Charles and reveals her upcoming marriage to Mr. Heddegan; ultimately agrees to Charles's proposal to marry him instead.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/iii)

Newly married to Charles Stow, she witnesses his drowning and becomes his widow within hours of the wedding.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/iv)

Struggles with the secret of her marriage to Charles Stow and ultimately decides not to reveal it, going through with her wedding to Heddegan.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/v)

Baptista's earlier self, referenced in the context of her secret marriage to Charles Stow.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/vii)

Baptista is blackmailed by the glazier and ultimately confesses her secret marriage to David, fearing his wrath.

### [On the Western Circuit](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/on-the-western-circuit)

A young woman whose choices drive the plot.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/characters/baptista_trewthen
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/characters