# Mr. Welland — The Age of Innocence character guide

> Mr. Welland in The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** a Mr. Welland

**First appearance:** 0001-i

## Snapshot

May's mild-mannered father, a gentleman whose drives and delicate health set the household's clock and whose nerves buckle under the Beaufort disgrace.

## Who they are

Mr. Welland is a quiet fixture of the Welland routines, his afternoon drives and fragile constitution shaping the family's daily arrangements. He belongs to the older generation that dislikes 'Bohemian' quarters and the poverty, more than the art, of the people who live there. When the Beaufort bank fails, the idea of the disgrace sends him to his room with a temperature, showing how thoroughly his peace depends on the world staying in order.

## In the story

### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_innocence_se/chapters/xvi)

Mentioned as being sensitive to domestic discomfort; the Wellands are installed for the winter in a rented house in St. Augustine.

### [XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_innocence_se/chapters/xxii)

Anxious about the awkward timing of the Sillerton party, which interferes with his medical regimen and drive.

### [Chapter XXVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_innocence_se/chapters/xxviii)

Anxious about health; becomes preoccupied with Dr. Bencomb's reliability.

## Links

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