The Getting of Wisdom · Character

Mrs. Gurley

The school's formidable matron, all chilly smiles and watchful eyes, who rules the dining hall and the girls' daily lives with brisk, unsparing authority.

supporting

Also known as altogether Mrs. Gurley, old Gurley

First appearance: iii

As a supporting figure in The Getting of Wisdom, Mrs. Gurley is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

The Lady Superintendent of the College, who is stern and rebukes Laura for pointing and commenting on her apron.

In the storyIVOpen this moment free

See Mrs. Gurley in IV Book page

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

Mrs. Gurley is the presiding power of the ladies' college, the woman who escorts Laura into the dining room before fifty-five staring girls and whose bedroom sits conveniently above the piano where girls practise. Her manner is a study in controlled severity: a chill smile for the godmother, then the mask dropped the moment the door closes. She matters because she sets the institutional tone of Laura's school life, the surveillance and small humiliations against which Laura's private world of reading and dreaming must survive.

Continue beside the text

The fuller portrait of Mrs. Gurley sits in Reading Lens — open the free preview to keep reading with notes on the page.

See Mrs. Gurley in iii

Character Web

25 connections

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

Relationship types

Professional
Other

Character groups

Schoolgirls and Family
Protagonist
Elite Social Circle

+20 more in the full Character Web

Open in reader

Narrative arc

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

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

Laura reaches an emotional and psychological peak of isolation and humiliation as she is publicly mocked, aban…

Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.

Follow the arc while reading

Relationships

Laura Rambotham
professional · negative
Laura Rambotham
professional · negative
Laura Rambotham
professional · negative

Laura Rambotham
Mrs. Gurley is the school principal, and Laura's interactions with her are formal and often tense, reflecting Laura's rebellious nature.
Laura Rambotham
Mrs. Gurley is the school principal, and Laura's interactions with her are formal and often tense, reflecting Laura's rebellious nature.
Laura Rambotham
Mrs. Gurley is the school principal, and Laura's interactions with her are formal and often tense, reflecting Laura's rebellious nature.

Relationship notes

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

See Mrs. Gurley in iii

In the story

Mrs. Gurley appears across 5 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

IV
The Lady Superintendent of the College, who is stern and rebukes Laura for pointing and commenting on her apron.
VI
Mrs. Gurley is the head of the College, described as fat and unsmiling; Laura calls her an 'awful old beast.'
VII
The stern headmistress who rules through fear and publicly reprimands Laura for her informal manners.
XIII
Passes by on the verandah, her withering eye keeping the girls industrious momentarily.
XXI
Scolds Laura for playing scales with the forte pedal down while Laura is distracted reading 'A Doll's House' in the drawing-room.

Chapter companion notes

Spoil-light check-ins for Mrs. Gurley unlock in the free preview.

See Mrs. Gurley in iii

See Mrs. Gurley in IV