# Mrs. Barnet — Short Fiction character guide

> Mrs. Barnet in Short Fiction by Thomas Hardy.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Barnet

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

## Snapshot

A commanding wife whose sharp outbreaks and refusal to soften have driven her husband into a solitude of memory and regret.

## Who they are

Mrs. Barnet moves through the borough as a tall, commanding presence, her marriage to Barnet reduced to separate meals and locked doors. Her outbreaks are the talk of the town-council room, and Downe's cheerful 'it will be all right' only exposes how far from right things stand. Her refusal to yield is the pressure that pushes Barnet's mind back toward a gentler face from his past, making her the quiet cause of his dangerous nostalgia.

## In the story

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

Avoids her husband upon his return, staying with the dressmaker.

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

Barnet's wife, seen passing in the street; she agrees to go for a drive with Mrs. Downe.

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

Lies near death after drowning; Barnet observes signs of life and works to revive her.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/vi)

Leaves Barnet, taking her jewels, and writes a note requesting her belongings be sent to a relative near London.

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

Not present in this chapter.

## Links

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