The Clever Woman of the Family · Character

Colin Keith

A soldier-relative of the Keith family who, amid a dying brother's tangled affairs, asks Ermine to marry him with startling speed and no finery.

supporting

Also known as Colin, Colin A. Keith, Dear Colin, Mrs. Colin Keith

First appearance: iv the hero

As a supporting figure in The Clever Woman of the Family, Colin Keith is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Reunites with Ermine and learns of her condition, struggling to accept her refusal.

In the storyVI: Ermine's ResolutionOpen this moment free

Colin Keith returns from the East to find his brother broken in health and spirits, burdened by a young son and by guardianship schemes designed to check every claimant. In the midst of that unceasing trouble he presses Ermine for a swift, plain wedding, offering her his poverty and lameness as frankly as his love. His loyalty to his brother and his blunt, unornamented devotion make him the steady counterweight to the novel's schemes and suspicions, and the marriage he proposes is a gamble on plainness over parade.

See Colin Keith in VI: Ermine's Resolution Book page

Free preview opens at this moment — character cards, Character Web, and themes sit beside the text as you read.

Character Web

53 connections

A slice of how Colin Keith sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Other

Character groups

Keith Extended Family
Temple Household
Full Character Roster

+48 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This is the dramatic climax because it compresses the emotional and psychological peak of the entire novel int…

Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.

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Relationships

Ermine Williams
romantic · ambivalent
Colin Keith is Ermine's former suitor, and their past relationship is a source of… How this plays out →
Ermine Williams
romantic · ambivalent
Colin Keith is Ermine's former suitor, and their past relationship is a source of… How this plays out →
Ermine Williams
romantic · ambivalent
Colin Keith is Ermine's former suitor, and their past relationship is a source of… How this plays out →

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Colin Keith in iv the hero

In the story

Colin Keith appears across 6 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

VI: Ermine's Resolution
Reunites with Ermine and learns of her condition, struggling to accept her refusal.
VII: Waiting for Rose
Announces his brother's visit and discusses Rachel with Ermine.
XVI: An Apparition
Returns from his brother's wedding, vexed by Harry Beauchamp's refusal to come home and critical of Rachel's journal project.
XX: The Saracen’s Head
Investigates Mauleverer's crimes, reveals the Saracen's Head seal, and plans to bring Edward home.
Dear Alexander
Despite his illness, visits Ermine to comfort her after Edward's letter. He resolves to travel to bring Edward back himself.
At Last
On his wedding day, he receives urgent news of his brother's declining health and resolves to leave immediately after the ceremony, showing his sense of duty and composure under strain.

Chapter companion notes

Spoil-light check-ins for Colin Keith unlock in the free preview.

See Colin Keith in iv the hero

See Colin Keith in VI: Ermine's Resolution