Mrs. Strickland

Charles Strickland

Strickland abandons his wife and children without warning, showing complete indifference to family obligations in pursuit of art.

Colonel MacAndrew

Colonel MacAndrew is Mrs. Strickland's brother, supporting her after Strickland's desertion and sharing her outrage.

Dirk Stroeve

Dirk Stroeve is a sympathetic acquaintance who tries to help Mrs. Strickland after her husband leaves, though she finds him ridiculous.

Charles Strickland

Strickland abandons his wife and children without warning, showing complete indifference to family obligations in pursuit of art.

Dirk Stroeve

Dirk Stroeve is a sympathetic acquaintance who tries to help Mrs. Strickland after her husband leaves, though she finds him ridiculous.

Colonel MacAndrew

Colonel MacAndrew is Mrs. Strickland's brother, supporting her after Strickland's desertion and sharing her outrage.

Colonel MacAndrew

Colonel MacAndrew is Mrs. Strickland's brother, supporting her after Strickland's desertion and sharing her outrage.

I

Mentioned in a letter from Strickland where he calls her 'an excellent woman' but wishes she were in hell.

IV

Introduced as a pleasant, simple woman who enjoys hosting literary figures; she is a lion-hunter with a genuine passion for reading.

V

The narrator frequently visits her flat for luncheons and tea-parties; she is described as having a gift of sympathy, being an excellent housekeeper and mother, and speaking affectionately of her husband.

VI

Hosts the dinner party; attempts to make light of her husband's presence and keeps an anxious eye on him.

VII

Seen with her children making final purchases before leaving London; proud and devoted to her family.

Chapter VIII

Found in distress, with swollen face from tears; tries to maintain composure during the narrator's visit.

IX

Discussed as the abandoned wife, left with little money and furniture.

Chapter X

Devastated by her husband's abandonment, she refuses to divorce him and pleads for his return.

XI

Her distress and prepared tears are recalled by the narrator; he questions whether she wants her husband back out of love or fear of scandal.

XIV

Referenced as 'Amy'; Strickland tells the narrator to inform her not to follow him.

XV

Expresses shock and anger upon learning her husband left to become a painter, not for another woman; declares she will never forgive him.

XVI

Shows resilience and shrewdness by concealing her anguish and allowing a false story about her husband's elopement to circulate, which helps her gain sympathy and clients for her new typing business.

XVII

Has built a successful typing business, but is preoccupied with social status and her children's futures.

XLI

Briefly referenced by Strickland as an example of a woman trying to imprison a man's soul.

XLIII

Mentioned hypothetically as a character who could have been drawn differently in a novel, but the narrator chooses to stick with the facts.

LVIII

Now a widow in her late fifties, living comfortably on Campden Hill; she entertains Mr. Van Busche Taylor and presents herself as the wife of a genius, while subtly rewriting her marital history.