# Miss Clara Pemberton — The Marrow of Tradition character guide

> Miss Clara Pemberton in The Marrow of Tradition by Charles W. Chesnutt.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Miss Clara, Clara, Clara Pemberton

**First appearance:** 0005-iv-theodore-felix

## Snapshot

A young white woman of Wellington society, courted by the charming Tom Delamere and the steadier Mr. Ellis, and unaware how much rides on her choice.

## Who they are

Clara Pemberton sits at the center of a quiet rivalry between two suitors: the dashing Tom Delamere, whom Ellis judges mercilessly as unfit, and Ellis himself, too honorable to press his own case. Her marriageability is tangled with the Carteret family's pride and the town's rigid social codes, and the major's hope that she is old enough to wed signals how tightly her future is bound to the old order. Her decision will quietly shape the alliances and resentments that drive the novel's middle chapters.

## In the story

### [X: Delamere Plays a Trump](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_marrow_of_tradition_se/chapters/x-delamere-plays-a-trump)

Holds the baby and becomes indignant upon hearing the rumors about Tom; begins to suspect Ellis's motives.

### [XI: The Baby and the Bird](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_marrow_of_tradition_se/chapters/xi-the-baby-and-the-bird)

Holds Dodie and nearly drops him out the window while watching a mockingbird.

### [XVI: Ellis Takes a Trick](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_marrow_of_tradition_se/chapters/xvi-ellis-takes-a-trick)

Rides with the party; shows annoyance at Ellis's presence; asks Ellis to find Tom; thanks Ellis at the end.

### [XIX: A Midnight Walk](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_marrow_of_tradition_se/chapters/xix-a-midnight-walk)

The object of Ellis's affection; he hopes to win her favor now that Delamere is discredited.

### [Fiat Justitia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_marrow_of_tradition_se/chapters/xxxvi-fiat-justitia)

Pale and trembling, she opens the door for Carteret and expresses her distress to Ellis.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_marrow_of_tradition_se/characters/miss_clara
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_marrow_of_tradition_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_marrow_of_tradition_se/characters