# Joshua Halborough — Short Fiction character guide

> Joshua Halborough in Short Fiction by Thomas Hardy.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Halborough, Joshua, old Halborough

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

## Snapshot

A rough old farmer whose easy ownership of his land and his nephew's liberties sets the social weather for the young people around him.

## Who they are

Joshua Halborough presides over his garden and greenhouse with the unbothered authority of a man who has always had them, and his nephew James Bellston moves through the estate as though it were his own. The squire's voice calling for a dance to be started and his impatience with shyness reveal a man who expects the world to arrange itself around his convenience. His presence establishes the rural hierarchy against which the romantic choices of the younger generation are measured, and his casual assumptions quietly shape what is possible for them.

## In the story

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

Not present in this chapter.

### [A Tragedy of Two Ambitions](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/a-tragedy-of-two-ambitions)

The ambitious eldest brother, a schoolmaster, who schemes to advance his and his sister's social standing.

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

The elder brother, angry and frustrated by their father's drinking and the loss of their mother's savings, which prevented them from attending university.

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

Now a theological student, ambitious for ordination, deeply concerned about social advancement and burdened by his father's disgrace.

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

The new curate who delivers a powerful first sermon and strategically uses his sister Rosa to advance his social standing.

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

The curate, anxious for his sister Rosa to marry Albert Fellmer to secure social advancement; he and Cornelius hesitate to save their drowning father.

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

Joshua conducts the burial of the unknown body and struggles with the secret of their father's death.

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

A figure from Ella's past, embodying the romantic possibility she once dreamed of.

## Links

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