# Harry Cresswell — The Quest of the Silver Fleece character guide > Harry Cresswell in The Quest of the Silver Fleece by W. E. B. Du Bois. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Mr. Harry Cresswell, Harry, Mr. Cresswell **First appearance:** 0010-viii-mr-harry-cresswell ## Snapshot The Colonel's charming son, Harry Cresswell woos Mary Taylor with practiced tenderness while hiding the swamp secrets that shadow his name. ## Who they are Harry is the polished heir to the Cresswell estate, courting Mary Taylor with flowers chosen to match her mood and a confession of past sins that wins her heart. He blames Elspeth's cabin for his youthful ruin and presents himself as a man reformed by a good woman's love. Yet his easy charm and his family's ruthless cotton dealings make him both a romantic prize and a moral hazard at the center of the novel's tangled loyalties. ## Relationships ### [Zora Cresswell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_quest_of_the_silver_fleece_se/characters/zora_cresswell) _family_ Harry is Zora's brother, but their relationship is strained by his resentment of her independence and his own failures. ### [Mrs. Vanderpool](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_quest_of_the_silver_fleece_se/characters/mrs_vanderpool) _romantic_ Harry and Mrs. Vanderpool have a flirtatious, manipulative relationship, each using the other for social and financial gain. ### [Mary Taylor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_quest_of_the_silver_fleece_se/characters/mary_taylor) _romantic_ Harry pursues Mary Taylor as a mistress, but his advances are predatory and rooted in his sense of entitlement. ### [Colonel Cresswell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_quest_of_the_silver_fleece_se/characters/colonel_cresswell) _family_ Colonel Cresswell is Harry's father, and their relationship is marked by disappointment and conflict over Harry's reckless behavior. ### [Zora Cresswell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_quest_of_the_silver_fleece_se/characters/zora_cresswell) _family_ Harry is Zora's brother, but their relationship is strained by his resentment of her independence and his own failures. ### [Zora Cresswell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_quest_of_the_silver_fleece_se/characters/zora_cresswell) _family_ Harry is Zora's brother, but their relationship is strained by his resentment of her independence and his own failures. ### [Mrs. Vanderpool](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_quest_of_the_silver_fleece_se/characters/mrs_vanderpool) _romantic_ Harry and Mrs. Vanderpool have a flirtatious, manipulative relationship, each using the other for social and financial gain. ### [Mrs. Vanderpool](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_quest_of_the_silver_fleece_se/characters/mrs_vanderpool) _romantic_ Harry and Mrs. Vanderpool have a flirtatious, manipulative relationship, each using the other for social and financial gain. ### [Mary Taylor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_quest_of_the_silver_fleece_se/characters/mary_taylor) _romantic_ Harry pursues Mary Taylor as a mistress, but his advances are predatory and rooted in his sense of entitlement. ### [Colonel Cresswell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_quest_of_the_silver_fleece_se/characters/colonel_cresswell) _family_ Colonel Cresswell is Harry's father, and their relationship is marked by disappointment and conflict over Harry's reckless behavior. ### [Colonel Cresswell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_quest_of_the_silver_fleece_se/characters/colonel_cresswell) _family_ Colonel Cresswell is Harry's father, and their relationship is marked by disappointment and conflict over Harry's reckless behavior. ### [Mary Taylor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_quest_of_the_silver_fleece_se/characters/mary_taylor) _romantic_ Harry pursues Mary Taylor as a mistress, but his advances are predatory and rooted in his sense of entitlement. ## In the story ### [Mr. Harry Cresswell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_quest_of_the_silver_fleece_se/chapters/viii-mr-harry-cresswell) Visits the school to intimidate Miss Smith, but is charmed by Mary Taylor. He accuses Zora of being 'utterly depraved' and demands her expulsion. ### [X: Mr. Taylor Calls](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_quest_of_the_silver_fleece_se/chapters/x-mr-taylor-calls) Hosts Mary Taylor on a ride, showing her the plantation and its workers, while also engaging in the business discussion with John Taylor. ### [XIII: Mrs. Grey Gives a Dinner](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_quest_of_the_silver_fleece_se/chapters/xiii-mrs-grey-gives-a-dinner) Articulates the Southern paternalistic stance on Negro education, advocating limited training and warning against 'amalgamation.' ### [Revelation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_quest_of_the_silver_fleece_se/chapters/xv-revelation) Furious about Mrs. Grey's education plans, he conspires with Taylor and Easterly to control Negro education, revealing his deep-seated racial and economic motivations. ### [XVI: The Great Refusal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_quest_of_the_silver_fleece_se/chapters/xvi-the-great-refusal) Mr. Cresswell is present at the meeting and is the primary object of Miss Smith's objection. He agrees with the idea of Black development but differs on its applications, and he moves to the window when Miss Smith refuses the offer. ### [The Rape of the Fleece](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_quest_of_the_silver_fleece_se/chapters/xvii-the-rape-of-the-fleece) Oversees the Christmas settlement. He acknowledges the quality of Zora's cotton but calculates her earnings to leave her in debt, effectively stealing the Silver Fleece. ### [The Cotton Corner](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_quest_of_the_silver_fleece_se/chapters/xviii-the-cotton-corner) Deeply involved in the cotton corner scheme, he becomes increasingly nervous and desperate as prices fall, risking his family's entire fortune. ### [XX: The Weaving of the Silver Fleece](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_quest_of_the_silver_fleece_se/chapters/xx-the-weaving-of-the-silver-fleece) In favor of hastening his sister's marriage and his own, he suggests sending the prize cotton bales to John Taylor as a gift. ### [The Marriage Morning](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_quest_of_the_silver_fleece_se/chapters/xxi-the-marriage-morning) Harry observes Zora's transformation with amusement and is involved in the wedding preparations, though his motives remain ambiguous. ### [XXVI: Congressman Cresswell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_quest_of_the_silver_fleece_se/chapters/xxvi-congressman-cresswell) Elected to Congress through family influence; actively plots against Bles Alwyn's appointment. ### [The Annunciation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_quest_of_the_silver_fleece_se/chapters/xxviii-the-annunciation) Attends the inaugural ball with his wife, where he is irritated by the Negro ball and later confronts Mary about her Civic Club work, demanding she quit. ### [A Parting of Ways](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_quest_of_the_silver_fleece_se/chapters/xxxi-a-parting-of-ways) He is the focus of his wife's renewed ambitions, but he remains distant and is drawn to social engagements outside the home, causing Mary to fear losing him. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_quest_of_the_silver_fleece_se/characters/harry_cresswell - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_quest_of_the_silver_fleece_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_quest_of_the_silver_fleece_se/characters