# Godmother — The Getting of Wisdom character guide

> Godmother in The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0003-i

## Snapshot

The prosperous, well-meaning patron whose money sends Laura to the Ladies' College and whose expectations quietly shape the girl's future.

## Who they are

Laura's godmother holds the purse strings that lift her out of the family's cramped, shabby world and into the Ladies' College, an act of generosity that comes with invisible strings. Warmth is not her currency; duty and propriety are, and Laura feels the weight of being a charity child even as she benefits from the arrangement. Her presence hovers over Laura's school years as both opportunity and obligation, a reminder that the getting of wisdom is tangled up with being beholden to someone else's kindness.

## Relationships

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

_family_

Godmother is a wealthy relative who provides Laura with material gifts and occasional advice, but their relationship is distant and formal.

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

_family_

Godmother is a wealthy relative who provides Laura with material gifts and occasional advice, but their relationship is distant and formal.

## In the story

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/iv)

Laura's godmother, who is brusque and sharp-tongued, accompanies Laura to the school and interacts with Mrs. Gurley.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/viii)

Godmother is Laura's host, who shows little warmth and engages in snappish family arguments.

### [XXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/xxv)

Godmother insists that driving to fetch Laura is unnecessary, leading to Pin arriving on foot.

## Links

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