# Mrs. Coleman — The Revolution in Tanner’s Lane character guide

> Mrs. Coleman in The Revolution in Tanner’s Lane by Mark Rutherford.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Coleman, Presently Mrs. Coleman, Accordingly Mrs. Coleman

**First appearance:** 0001-the-revolution-in-tanner-s-lane

## Snapshot

Zachariah's mother, a devout and traditional woman whose quiet piety and Johnsonian reading shape her son's conscience more than any sermon.

## Who they are

Mrs. Coleman belongs to the older, sober generation of Tanner's Lane believers, the kind of woman who keeps a copy of The Idler by her bed and quotes it to husband and son. Her faith is undramatic but steady, a counterweight to the fervours and fevers around her. Through her influence on Zachariah, she quietly anchors the novel's concern with how ordinary domestic piety survives in an age of revolution and revival.

## In the story

### [V: The Horizon Widens](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_revolution_in_tanner_s_lane_se/chapters/v-the-horizon-widens)

Zachariah's wife, pious and cold, notices his absence from prayer meeting and suggests converting the Major.

### [VI: Tea à la Mode](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_revolution_in_tanner_s_lane_se/chapters/vi-tea-la-mode)

Zachariah's wife, busy with Sunday tea preparations, uses casuistry to justify buying watercresses on Sunday, and is scandalized by Pauline's behavior.

### [VII: Jephthah](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_revolution_in_tanner_s_lane_se/chapters/vii-jephthah)

Stays behind to speak about a Sunday-school tea-meeting; walks home between the Major and Zachariah, asking the Major how he enjoyed the service.

### [XII: One Body and One Spirit](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_revolution_in_tanner_s_lane_se/chapters/xii-one-body-and-one-spirit)

Feels neglected and jealous; quarrels with Zachariah, then secretly watches him with Pauline, gets caught in the rain, and falls ill.

### [XIII: To the Greeks Foolishness](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_revolution_in_tanner_s_lane_se/chapters/xiii-to-the-greeks-foolishness)

Lies ill with fever; Zachariah leaves her in Mrs. Carter's care.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_revolution_in_tanner_s_lane_se/characters/mrs_coleman
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_revolution_in_tanner_s_lane_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_revolution_in_tanner_s_lane_se/characters