# Aunt Catherine — The Rover character guide

> Aunt Catherine in The Rover by Joseph Conrad.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** old Catherine, Catherine, Mademoiselle Catherine

**First appearance:** 0003-i

## Snapshot

The aged mistress of Escampobar who sits upright as an old queen on her throne, guarding the farm's generations of secrets with fearless, fireless eyes.

## Who they are

Catherine has held Escampobar for a lifetime, preserving the upright carriage of a family rooted there for generations and facing alone the anguish of a forbidden love and terrors like the Judgment Day. She watches her niece Arlette with quiet, unsentimental pity, certain that the girl's outcast body is fit for no man's arms. Her silence and immobility make her the moral anchor of the farm, a figure whose withheld knowledge shapes everything the others do.

## Relationships

### [Peyrol](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rover_se/characters/peyrol)

_family_

A deep, protective familial bond, with Catherine acting as a moral anchor and surrogate mother figure to the aging Peyrol.

### [Arlette](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rover_se/characters/arlette)

_family_

A nurturing, protective relationship where Catherine serves as Arlette's guardian and emotional refuge from her violent past.

### [Lieutenant Réal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rover_se/characters/lieutenant_real)

_social_

A wary but respectful acquaintance, with Catherine cautiously assessing Réal's intentions toward Arlette and the household.

### [The Officer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rover_se/characters/the_officer)

_social_

A polite but guarded acquaintance, with Catherine treating the officer with formal respect while keeping him at arm's length.

### [Peyrol](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rover_se/characters/peyrol)

_family_

A deep, protective familial bond, with Catherine acting as a moral anchor and surrogate mother figure to the aging Peyrol.

### [Peyrol](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rover_se/characters/peyrol)

_family_

A deep, protective familial bond, with Catherine acting as a moral anchor and surrogate mother figure to the aging Peyrol.

### [Lieutenant Réal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rover_se/characters/lieutenant_real)

_social_

A wary but respectful acquaintance, with Catherine cautiously assessing Réal's intentions toward Arlette and the household.

### [The Officer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rover_se/characters/the_officer)

_social_

A polite but guarded acquaintance, with Catherine treating the officer with formal respect while keeping him at arm's length.

### [Arlette](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rover_se/characters/arlette)

_family_

A nurturing, protective relationship where Catherine serves as Arlette's guardian and emotional refuge from her violent past.

### [Arlette](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rover_se/characters/arlette)

_family_

A nurturing, protective relationship where Catherine serves as Arlette's guardian and emotional refuge from her violent past.

### [Lieutenant Réal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rover_se/characters/lieutenant_real)

_social_

A wary but respectful acquaintance, with Catherine cautiously assessing Réal's intentions toward Arlette and the household.

## In the story

### [The Rover](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rover_se/chapters/the-rover)

An elderly figure at the farm, providing a sense of stability.

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

Aunt Catherine peeps at Peyrol fearfully from the kitchen door.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rover_se/chapters/iv)

Compliments Peyrol on his appearance, now addressing him as 'Monsieur Peyrol' instead of 'citoyen.'

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

Anxious and silent, she serves the household and watches over the interactions with concern.

### [The Watch on the Peninsula](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rover_se/chapters/x)

Sits in the kitchen, watches Arlette with fear and concern, and recalls past terrors.

### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rover_se/chapters/xi)

Catherine warns Peyrol about Scevola's jealousy and fears for Arlette's safety.

### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rover_se/chapters/xiv)

Mentioned as having a room with a door ajar; her words about 'death making a sign' echo in Peyrol's mind.

### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rover_se/chapters/xv)

Catherine is anxious about Scevola's disappearance and tells Peyrol about Réal's honesty. She is frightened by Arlette's scream.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rover_se/characters/aunt_catherine
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rover_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rover_se/characters