# Selina — Short Fiction character guide

> Selina in Short Fiction by Thomas Hardy.

**Role:** supporting

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

## Snapshot

A woman whose romantic choices set in motion consequences she could neither foresee nor easily undo.

## Who they are

Selina moves within a tight rural society where a woman's reputation is a form of currency, and where desire is expected to yield to propriety. Her attachments are sincere but poorly calculated, and the gap between what she wants and what her world permits becomes the engine of the plot. She matters because her decisions expose how mercilessly such communities police the women who make them.

## In the story

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

Not present in this chapter.

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

The father's new wife, a gipsy woman with brass earrings, accompanying him on his visit.

### [For Conscience’ Sake](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/for-conscience-sake)

The woman Mr. Millborne abandoned years ago, now living with their daughter and struggling with the return of her former lover.

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

The young woman from Toneborough to whom Millborne promised marriage; now believed to be a music teacher in Exonbury.

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

The daughter of the Paddocks, who receives a letter from her presumed-dead former fiancé.

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

Selina is anxious about the arrival of John Clark, her presumed-dead fiancé, and the awkward situation with Mr. Miller, whom she has agreed to marry.

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

Reunites with Sergeant-Major Clark, dances with him, and reveals her recent engagement to Mr. Miller.

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

Selina dances with Clark and reveals her engagement to Bartholomew Miller, causing her distress when Clark collapses and dies.

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

Now living as Mrs. John Clark, running a small shop and attending market in Ivell; she mourns Clark as her true husband and rejects Miller's proposal.

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

Selina discovers the sergeant-major had a legitimate wife and son, shattering her belief that she was his intended widow.

## Links

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