# Martha Westcott — The Place Called Dagon character guide > Martha Westcott in The Place Called Dagon by Herbert Gorman. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Martha, Westcott **First appearance:** 0001-the-place-called-dagon ## Snapshot A Westcott woman whose white throat and listening silences draw Dreeme to a burned mill, Martha Westcott trades in promises of revelation and the lure of the name Dagon. ## Who they are Martha Westcott is the woman Dreeme suspects wears an invisible chain of complicity, and whose rendezvous at the burned mill he cannot quite resist. She offers to tell him 'a great many things,' and the word Dagon springs from her orbit into his mind, half snare and half key. Her ambiguous hold on Dreeme is what keeps him in Marlborough when every instinct tells him to leave, making her the story's most dangerous intimacy. ## Relationships ### [Doctor Dreeme](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/characters/doctor_dreeme) _psychological_ Doctor Dreeme uses Martha as a pawn in his schemes, controlling her through fear and dependency. ### [Jeffrey Westcott](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/characters/jeffrey_westcott) _family_ Jeffrey and Martha are siblings, but their relationship is strained by Martha's involvement with Doctor Dreeme. ### [Humphrey Lathrop](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/characters/humphrey_lathrop) _romantic_ Humphrey is romantically interested in Martha, but she is emotionally entangled with Doctor Dreeme, creating a love triangle. ### [Wagner](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/characters/wagner) _psychological_ Martha is both afraid of and dependent on Wagner, who serves as Doctor Dreeme's enforcer and her keeper. ### [Humphrey Lathrop](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/characters/humphrey_lathrop) _romantic_ Humphrey is romantically interested in Martha, but she is emotionally entangled with Doctor Dreeme, creating a love triangle. ### [Doctor Dreeme](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/characters/doctor_dreeme) _psychological_ Doctor Dreeme uses Martha as a pawn in his schemes, controlling her through fear and dependency. ### [Doctor Dreeme](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/characters/doctor_dreeme) _psychological_ Doctor Dreeme uses Martha as a pawn in his schemes, controlling her through fear and dependency. ### [Jeffrey Westcott](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/characters/jeffrey_westcott) _family_ Jeffrey and Martha are siblings, but their relationship is strained by Martha's involvement with Doctor Dreeme. ### [Jeffrey Westcott](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/characters/jeffrey_westcott) _family_ Jeffrey and Martha are siblings, but their relationship is strained by Martha's involvement with Doctor Dreeme. ### [Wagner](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/characters/wagner) _psychological_ Martha is both afraid of and dependent on Wagner, who serves as Doctor Dreeme's enforcer and her keeper. ## In the story ### [Dedication](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/dedication) The dedication is addressed to Martha, calling her a mystery among mysteries. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/i) Mentioned as part of the Westcott family, though Dreeme has never seen her; she is part of the family's mysterious isolation. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/iii) Enters quietly, captivates Dreeme with her intense gaze and Medusa-like mouth, and shows a detached, listening demeanor. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/ii) Martha is described as a walking mystery, a veiled being whose flesh is a veil, and Dreeme is fascinated by her inexplicable presence. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/i) Sends a message to Dreeme requesting a meeting at the burned mill. ### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/ii) Expounds her philosophy of personal freedom and anarchy, attempts to seduce Dreeme, and is fearful when Burroughs passes by. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/i) Described as beautiful but frozen, she moves through the kitchen like a queen and seems to be in a silent, tense communication with Wagner. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/iii) Martha is portrayed as a magnetic and manipulative figure who has asked Dreeme to meet her again at the burned mill, promising to reveal many things. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/iv) Mentioned in Dreeme's thoughts regarding her meeting with him and her husband's control. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/ii) Reveals her childhood, ancestry, and attempts to seduce Dreeme before showing the blue mark on her shoulder. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/viii) Appears anxious and distressed; her interactions with Dreeme hint at hidden fears and family burdens. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/ii) Imagined by Dreeme with remorseless eyes, part of the threatening scene around Deborah. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/characters/martha_westcott - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/characters