# Ella Marchmill — Short Fiction character guide

> Ella Marchmill in Short Fiction by Thomas Hardy.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Ella, Marchmill, Nelly

**First appearance:** 0159-an-imaginative-woman

## Snapshot

A restless wife whose imaginative longings spill into real entanglements, and who weeps at another woman's knees over what she has done.

## Who they are

Ella Marchmill moves between her respectable household and the dangerous pull of a lover, and when the consequences can no longer be hidden she sinks down at Edith Harnham's knees in a flood of tears. Her confession forces Edith into the role of go-between, drafting the letters and managing the delicate business of keeping a young man's romantic interest alive. Ella's helplessness and her dependence on another woman's judgment make her the emotional center of a story about how private fantasy becomes public consequence.

## Relationships

### [Robert Trewe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/characters/robert_trewe)

_psychological_

Ella is obsessed with the poet Robert Trewe, idealizing him from afar, which leads to psychological fixation.

### [Robert Trewe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/characters/robert_trewe)

_psychological_

Ella is obsessed with the poet Robert Trewe, idealizing him from afar, which leads to psychological fixation.

## In the story

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

Not present in this chapter.

### [An Imaginative Woman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/an-imaginative-woman)

The imaginative wife who becomes obsessed with the poet Robert Trewe, finding emotional sustenance in his belongings and writings.

### [The Spectre of the Real](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/the-spectre-of-the-real)

The protagonist, a woman trapped in a loveless marriage, whose romantic ideals clash with the drabness of her domestic existence.

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

Ella is mentioned as the friend who comments on the engagement, expressing concern for Laura.

## Links

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