# George Dorset — The House of Mirth character guide

> George Dorset in The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mr. George Dorset, George, Dorset, Mr. Dorset

**First appearance:** 0004-iv

## Snapshot

Bertha Dorset's heavy, unhappy husband endures his wife's cruelties in public and nurses his own fixations in private.

## Who they are

Dorset is the barometer Judy Trenor watches: his sullen manner telegraphs Bertha's next mischief before anyone else sees it. Long-suffering and not especially perceptive, he nonetheless becomes fixated on Lily, drawn to her as an antidote to his marriage. His unhappiness matters because it makes him both a possible ally and a liability, and because Bertha's treatment of him is the clearest measure of what she is capable of.

## Relationships

### [Lily Bart](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_mirth_se/characters/lily_bart)

_psychological_

A fraught dynamic where George confides in Lily about his wife's infidelity, making Lily a pawn in the Dorsets' marital war.

### [Lily Bart](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_mirth_se/characters/lily_bart)

_psychological_

A fraught dynamic where George confides in Lily about his wife's infidelity, making Lily a pawn in the Dorsets' marital war.

### [Lily Bart](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_mirth_se/characters/lily_bart)

_psychological_

A fraught dynamic where George confides in Lily about his wife's infidelity, making Lily a pawn in the Dorsets' marital war.

## In the story

### [Chapter V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_mirth_se/chapters/v)

Complains to Lily about his jealousy of Bertha and his digestive troubles, revealing his marital anxieties.

### [Chapter I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_mirth_se/chapters/i)

George is blind to his wife's affair, and Lily distracts him; he is described as jealous and easily manipulated.

### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_mirth_se/chapters/ii)

George is mentioned as having been in a state and sent to see a doctor, used by Bertha in her manipulation.

### [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_mirth_se/chapters/iii)

Shows a changed attitude after Selden's intervention, but remains apathetic and avoids Lily, suggesting an alien influence has weakened his will.

### [Chapter V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_mirth_se/chapters/v)

Carry Fisher reports that George Dorset is nearing the end of his patience with Bertha and might be open to a new relationship.

### [Chapter VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_mirth_se/chapters/vi)

Meets Lily by chance on Long Island and apologizes for his past role in Bertha's scheme, but Lily rejects his overtures.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_mirth_se/chapters/vii)

George Dorset is mentioned as a potential alternative for Lily—he would marry her if she revealed what she knows—but Rosedale dismisses that course as less advantageous.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_mirth_se/characters/george_dorset
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_mirth_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_mirth_se/characters