# Stephen Reynard — Short Fiction character guide

> Stephen Reynard in Short Fiction by Thomas Hardy.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Reynard, Stephen, Mr. Reynard, Mr. Stephen Reynard, little Stephen Reynard, the patient Reynard

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

## Snapshot

A patient suitor whose quiet persistence outlasts the more brilliant rival, winning by endurance what others lose by haste.

## Who they are

Stephen Reynard waits while others court and depart, his patience less a strategy than a temperament, and his steadiness a rebuke to the flashier hopes around him. Where Oswald talks of India and Macaulay, Reynard simply remains, and the story's early arc measures his quiet constancy against the noise of more ambitious men. His eventual victory feels less like triumph than like the slow arrival of something the story has been quietly preparing for.

## Relationships

### [Mistress Betty](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/characters/mistress_betty)

_romantic_

Mistress Betty and Stephen Reynard are lovers, their affair causing scandal and emotional turmoil.

### [Mistress Betty](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/characters/mistress_betty)

_romantic_

Mistress Betty and Stephen Reynard are lovers, their affair causing scandal and emotional turmoil.

## In the story

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

Not present in this chapter.

### [The History of the Hardcomes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/the-history-of-the-hardcomes)

First cousin of James Hardcome, a small farmer originally engaged to Olive Pawle. After swapping partners, he marries Emily Darth.

### [Dame the First](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/dame-the-first)

Stephen Reynard is the unwanted husband of Betty; his impending visit triggers Betty's desperate actions.

### [Dame the Tenth: The Honourable Laura](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/dame-the-tenth)

The foreign-looking gentleman who arrives at the hotel with a young woman. He is later revealed to be the husband of Laura Northbrook, returning after a long absence.

## Links

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