# Mrs. Sylvester — The Sword of Damocles character guide

> Mrs. Sylvester in The Sword of Damocles by Anna Katharine Green.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Pope Mrs. Sylvester

**First appearance:** 0010-vii-mrs-sylvester

## Snapshot

A woman seared by the death of her own child, she takes in a lame boy whose blue eyes and white skin remind her bitterly of the mother she hates.

## Who they are

Known in the tenements as Mrs. Smith, she moves through the novel's darkest corridors with a heart that alternates between faint kindness and gusts of passion, drawing the crippled child to her fire even as she defies heaven for taking her own. Her rage is aimed at the boy's mother, whose child lives and is beloved while hers lies dead, and her hideous laugh and smothered heart betray a grief that has curdled into something dangerous. Mr. Sylvester's glimpse of her carrying the child away plants an unease that shadows the early arc.

## Relationships

### [Paula](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sword_of_damocles_se/characters/paula)

_family_

Mrs. Sylvester is Paula's mother or guardian, caring for her but also complicit in the family's manipulations.

### [Paula](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sword_of_damocles_se/characters/paula)

_family_

Mrs. Sylvester is Paula's mother or guardian, caring for her but also complicit in the family's manipulations.

### [Paula](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sword_of_damocles_se/characters/paula)

_family_

Mrs. Sylvester is Paula's mother or guardian, caring for her but also complicit in the family's manipulations.

## In the story

### [Mrs. Sylvester](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sword_of_damocles_se/chapters/vii-mrs-sylvester)

Interrupts the conversation, displaying worldliness and challenging her husband's remarks on marriage.

### [XI: Miss Stuyvesant](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sword_of_damocles_se/chapters/xi-miss-stuyvesant)

Triumphant over the Stuyvesant visit, discusses Paula's potential arrival, and shows a superficial, fashion-focused nature.

### [XIII: The End of My Lady's Picture](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sword_of_damocles_se/chapters/xiii-the-end-of-my-lady-s-picture)

Spends an evening at home, eagerly awaiting the arrival of her cousin Paula; engages in light conversation with Bertram.

### [XVI: The Sword of Damocles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sword_of_damocles_se/chapters/xvi-the-sword-of-damocles)

Reclining in luxurious ease, she shows little interest in Paula's tale, though she blanches at the mention of the sword.

### [XVII: Grave and Gay](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sword_of_damocles_se/chapters/xvii-grave-and-gay)

Points out Mr. Ensign to her husband, approving of him as a match for Paula.

### [The Dregs in the Cup](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sword_of_damocles_se/chapters/xx-the-dregs-in-the-cup)

Recently deceased in a carriage accident; her death triggers the chapter's events.

### [XXII: Hopgood](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sword_of_damocles_se/chapters/xxii-hopgood)

Recently deceased, her death is mentioned as a cause of Hopgood's agitation.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sword_of_damocles_se/characters/mrs_sylvester
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sword_of_damocles_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sword_of_damocles_se/characters