# Edith Ethel Duchemin — Some Do Not … character guide

> Edith Ethel Duchemin in Some Do Not … by Ford Madox Ford.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Edie, Ethel, Duchemin, Mrs. Duchemin, Edith Ethel

**First appearance:** 0000-part-i-i

## Snapshot

A married woman of serious, chastity-preaching dignity whose stored-up rage and coarse tongue Valentine Wannop overhears by candlelight.

## Who they are

Edith Ethel Duchemin presides over the rectory as an intellectual hostess, holding forth on the beauty of lifelong fidelity while conducting a long affair with Vincent Macmaster. When Valentine witnesses her screaming coarse hatred at her lover — the dirty little Port of Leith fish-handler — the whole edifice of refined renunciation collapses. She matters because her hypocrisy is the novel's sharpest exposure of the gap between the talk of the educated class and its appetites, and because her coming marriage to Macmaster reshapes the social circle around the Tietjens.

## Relationships

### [Vincent Macmaster](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_do_not_se/characters/vincent_macmaster)

_romantic_

Edith Ethel and Vincent are lovers, with her manipulating him to advance her social standing while he is infatuated with her.

### [Valentine Wannop](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_do_not_se/characters/valentine_wannop)

_friendship_

Edith Ethel and Valentine are close friends and confidantes, though Edith Ethel's ambitions sometimes strain the bond.

### [Christopher Tietjens](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_do_not_se/characters/christopher_tietjens)

_friendship_

Christopher respects Edith Ethel as an intellectual companion and ally, though he is wary of her manipulative nature.

### [Sylvia Tietjens](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_do_not_se/characters/sylvia_tietjens)

_rivalry_

Edith Ethel and Sylvia are social rivals, each vying for status and influence within their circle.

### [Valentine Wannop](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_do_not_se/characters/valentine_wannop)

_friendship_

Edith Ethel and Valentine are close friends and confidantes, though Edith Ethel's ambitions sometimes strain the bond.

### [Vincent Macmaster](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_do_not_se/characters/vincent_macmaster)

_romantic_

Edith Ethel and Vincent are lovers, with her manipulating him to advance her social standing while he is infatuated with her.

### [Vincent Macmaster](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_do_not_se/characters/vincent_macmaster)

_romantic_

Edith Ethel and Vincent are lovers, with her manipulating him to advance her social standing while he is infatuated with her.

### [Valentine Wannop](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_do_not_se/characters/valentine_wannop)

_friendship_

Edith Ethel and Valentine are close friends and confidantes, though Edith Ethel's ambitions sometimes strain the bond.

### [Sylvia Tietjens](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_do_not_se/characters/sylvia_tietjens)

_rivalry_

Edith Ethel and Sylvia are social rivals, each vying for status and influence within their circle.

### [Christopher Tietjens](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_do_not_se/characters/christopher_tietjens)

_friendship_

Christopher respects Edith Ethel as an intellectual companion and ally, though he is wary of her manipulative nature.

### [Sylvia Tietjens](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_do_not_se/characters/sylvia_tietjens)

_rivalry_

Edith Ethel and Sylvia are social rivals, each vying for status and influence within their circle.

### [Christopher Tietjens](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_do_not_se/characters/christopher_tietjens)

_friendship_

Christopher respects Edith Ethel as an intellectual companion and ally, though he is wary of her manipulative nature.

## In the story

### [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_do_not_se/chapters/part-i-iii)

Macmaster visits the Duchemin rectory and is strongly impressed by Mrs. Duchemin, finding her the most influential woman he has met.

### [Chapter V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_do_not_se/chapters/part-i-v)

Hosts the breakfast, reveals her humble Scottish origins to Macmaster, and shares a passionate kiss with him in the yew walk.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_do_not_se/chapters/part-ii-i)

Referenced as backing Macmaster and representing higher morality for nice Scots.

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

Now married to Macmaster; her past heroism in caring for her lunatic husband is recounted.

### [Chapter IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_do_not_se/chapters/part-ii-iv)

Revealed to have been Macmaster's mistress; displays harsh language and rage; later marries Macmaster.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_do_not_se/chapters/part-ii-v)

Referenced in Valentine's reflections as the source of earlier revelations about sexuality and as a possible rival for Tietjens' affections.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_do_not_se/chapters/part-ii-vi)

Explains Macmaster's knighthood as for special services; Tietjens notes she does not know the original work was his.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_do_not_se/characters/edith_ethel_duchemin
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_do_not_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_do_not_se/characters