# Evelyn Souttar — The Getting of Wisdom character guide

> Evelyn Souttar in The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Evelyn, Evvy

**First appearance:** 0005-iii

## Snapshot

A wealthy, self-possessed schoolmate whose easy glamour captivates Laura, and whose casual cruelties teach some of the novel's hardest lessons.

## Who they are

Evelyn Souttar moves through the school with the assurance of money and good looks, and Laura, hungry for a model, fastens onto her as an idol. The relationship carries the story's central ache: Laura's longing to be chosen by someone she considers superior, set against Evelyn's careless readiness to drop her. Evelyn matters because she embodies the social world Laura is trying to enter, and the pain she deals is part of what Laura must survive on the way to any real wisdom.

## Relationships

### [Laura Rambotham](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/characters/laura_rambotham)

_friendship_

Evelyn is Laura's closest friend at school, offering companionship and emotional support, though their relationship is tested by social pressures.

### [Laura Rambotham](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/characters/laura_rambotham)

_friendship_

Evelyn is Laura's closest friend at school, offering companionship and emotional support, though their relationship is tested by social pressures.

### [Laura Rambotham](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/characters/laura_rambotham)

_friendship_

Evelyn is Laura's closest friend at school, offering companionship and emotional support, though their relationship is tested by social pressures.

## In the story

### [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/xviii)

Evelyn, a pretty girl with twinkling brown eyes, shows a rare moment of kindness, calling Laura 'Poor little Kiddy' before turning away.

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

Wealthy, pretty, and good-natured; she chooses Laura as her roommate, offers kindness and common sense, and becomes Laura's confidante.

### [Gut und böse und Lust und Leid und Ich und Du](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/xxiii)

Evelyn is patient but increasingly weary of Laura's clinginess. She tries to reassure Laura while looking forward to her own future beyond school.

### [XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/xxiv)

Absent from school; Laura deeply misses her and writes long letters to her.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/characters/evelyn_souttar
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/characters