# Clelia — Suspense character guide

> Clelia in Suspense by Joseph Conrad.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Signorina Clelia

**First appearance:** 0001-suspense

## Snapshot

A feverish girl lying in a dismantled palace, known only as the Count's niece, whose obstinate silence turns a sickbed into a quiet battlefield of wills.

## Who they are

Clelia lies in a grand, half-furnished room where a priest, a gaunt woman, and Count Helion circle her bed, her flushed cheek and tangled black hair the only signs of life beneath the pulled-up blanket. She answers the Count's questions, orders, coaxings, and even his barbed 'I thought you loved me' with a silence so complete that one eye glittering with tears becomes her sole reply. Her refusal to speak makes her the still center of a household already whispering about possession and old devils.

## In the story

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

Mentioned as having been sent to bed by Adèle.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/suspense_se/chapters/part-ii-vii)

In a state of high agitation, expressing hatred for the society around her and a passionate, obsessive desire for Cosmo Latham.

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

Mentioned as the cause of the Count's jealousy; described as a 'little savage' by the doctor.

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

Arrives at Madame de Montevesso's residence, interrupting her conversation with Doctor Martel.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/suspense_se/characters/clelia
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/suspense_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/suspense_se/characters