# Mr. Wodehouse — The Perpetual Curate character guide

> Mr. Wodehouse in The Perpetual Curate by Margaret Oliphant.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Wodehouse, poor stupid Mr. Wodehouse

**First appearance:** 0002-i

## Snapshot

Lucy's father, a well-meaning gentleman whose foolishness and shabby habits make him the first man everyone suspects when scandal breaks.

## Who they are

Mr. Wodehouse hovers at the edge of Wharfside society as Lucy's father — feckless, shabby, and easy to patronise, kept in breakfasts and small kindnesses by a Curate who cannot quite despise him. When a mystery threatens Frank Wentworth's reputation, Wodehouse's guilt is the conclusion instinct leaps to, even as Frank's reasonable mind refuses to convict him without proof. He matters because he embodies the story's central anxiety: that character, once clouded by vague stigma, may never be cleared, and that the people we condescend to are the ones whose actions can undo us.

## Relationships

### [Frank Wentworth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_perpetual_curate_se/characters/frank_wentworth)

_social_

Mr. Wodehouse is Lucy's father, initially suspicious of Frank but gradually becoming more cordial.

### [Lucy Wodehouse](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_perpetual_curate_se/characters/lucy_wodehouse)

_family_

Mr. Wodehouse is Lucy's father, and they have a loving but sometimes strained relationship due to his protectiveness.

### [Jack Wentworth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_perpetual_curate_se/characters/jack_wentworth)

_social_

Jack and Mr. Wodehouse are acquaintances who meet in social and church circles.

### [Frank Wentworth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_perpetual_curate_se/characters/frank_wentworth)

_social_

Mr. Wodehouse is Lucy's father, initially suspicious of Frank but gradually becoming more cordial.

### [Frank Wentworth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_perpetual_curate_se/characters/frank_wentworth)

_social_

Mr. Wodehouse is Lucy's father, initially suspicious of Frank but gradually becoming more cordial.

### [Jack Wentworth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_perpetual_curate_se/characters/jack_wentworth)

_social_

Jack and Mr. Wodehouse are acquaintances who meet in social and church circles.

### [Jack Wentworth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_perpetual_curate_se/characters/jack_wentworth)

_social_

Jack and Mr. Wodehouse are acquaintances who meet in social and church circles.

### [Lucy Wodehouse](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_perpetual_curate_se/characters/lucy_wodehouse)

_family_

Mr. Wodehouse is Lucy's father, and they have a loving but sometimes strained relationship due to his protectiveness.

### [Lucy Wodehouse](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_perpetual_curate_se/characters/lucy_wodehouse)

_family_

Mr. Wodehouse is Lucy's father, and they have a loving but sometimes strained relationship due to his protectiveness.

## In the story

### [The Perpetual Curate](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_perpetual_curate_se/chapters/the-perpetual-curate)

Lucy's father, whose illness and death impact the plot.

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

Lucy's father, a churchwarden who hosts a dinner party for the Rector and his wife, and remarks on Lucy's growing prettiness.

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

Reported by Elsworthy to be unwell, described as a stout man at risk of sudden illness.

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

Lying on the sofa, looking less rosy than usual, as if startled by a possible shadow of a ghost.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_perpetual_curate_se/chapters/ix)

Mentioned in passing as hosting a small party in the evening.

### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_perpetual_curate_se/chapters/xiii)

Confronts his daughters with scandalous rumors about Frank Wentworth, expressing confusion and disapproval.

### [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_perpetual_curate_se/chapters/xviii)

Referred to as the Squire; deeply troubled by Gerald's conversion and Jack's behavior, showing signs of age and feebleness.

### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_perpetual_curate_se/chapters/xix)

Suffers a severe illness after receiving the telegram and learning of Jack's involvement.

### [Chapter XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_perpetual_curate_se/chapters/xx)

Has suffered a stroke; Elsworthy suggests it may be related to his son's reappearance.

### [XXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_perpetual_curate_se/chapters/xxvii)

Lies on his deathbed, barely conscious; roused by talk of a will but is calmed by Lucy before he can speak.

### [XXXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_perpetual_curate_se/chapters/xxxii)

Recently deceased; his funeral is the central event of the chapter.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_perpetual_curate_se/characters/mr_wodehouse
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_perpetual_curate_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_perpetual_curate_se/characters