# Miriam — The Tunnel character guide > Miriam in The Tunnel by Dorothy M. Richardson. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Vi, Mistress Miriam, Dreadful Miriam **First appearance:** 0001-the-tunnel ## Snapshot A fiercely private London lodger and dental secretary who guards her hard-won independence, yet aches for the intellectual and social world she can only glimpse from outside it. ## Who they are Miriam scrapes a living on a pound a week while hoarding a secret inner life of lectures, concerts, and half-formed ambitions. She bristles at being managed — by landladies, by well-meaning Miss Dears, by her own longing for company — and her anger flares whenever her careful self-possession is breached. Watching her negotiate tea-table traps and rented rooms is watching a woman try to build a self on almost nothing. ## Relationships ### [Mag](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/characters/mag) _family_ Mag and Miriam share a close, possibly familial bond, with frequent and intimate interactions. ### [Alma Wilson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/characters/alma_wilson) _rivalry_ Alma Wilson and Miriam have a tense, competitive relationship marked by frequent conflict. ### [Mr. Grove](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/characters/mr_grove) _professional_ Miriam and Mr. Grove have a formal, possibly employer-employee or mentor relationship. ### [Mr. Taunton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/characters/mr_taunton) _professional_ Miriam and Mr. Taunton have a formal, possibly work-related or authoritative relationship. ### [Jan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/characters/jan) _friendship_ Jan and Miriam have a supportive friendship, with frequent and warm interactions. ### [Mag](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/characters/mag) _family_ Mag and Miriam share a close, possibly familial bond, with frequent and intimate interactions. ### [Mag](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/characters/mag) _family_ Mag and Miriam share a close, possibly familial bond, with frequent and intimate interactions. ### [Jan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/characters/jan) _friendship_ Jan and Miriam have a supportive friendship, with frequent and warm interactions. ### [Alma Wilson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/characters/alma_wilson) _rivalry_ Alma Wilson and Miriam have a tense, competitive relationship marked by frequent conflict. ### [Jan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/characters/jan) _friendship_ Jan and Miriam have a supportive friendship, with frequent and warm interactions. ### [Mr. Taunton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/characters/mr_taunton) _professional_ Miriam and Mr. Taunton have a formal, possibly work-related or authoritative relationship. ### [Mr. Grove](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/characters/mr_grove) _professional_ Miriam and Mr. Grove have a formal, possibly employer-employee or mentor relationship. ## In the story ### [The Tunnel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/the-tunnel) The protagonist, grappling with her identity and desires. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/i) The protagonist, arriving at a new boarding house and reflecting on her past. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/ii) Experiences a mix of liberation and oppression; plays piano to perform the 'ideal woman' role; feels trapped by men's expectations; writes to Alma to share her freedom. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/iii) Endures the monotony of cleaning instruments, questions the value of her work, and shares an aesthetic moment with Mr. Hancock over a broken plaque. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/iv) Receives a letter from Alma, feels joy and freedom in her London life, and engages in a tense conversation with Mag and Jan about Alma's marriage and the sheltered life. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/v) Attends a scientific lecture with Mr. Hancock, feels alienated and self-conscious about her appearance and social skills, reflects on her own intellectual aspirations and the nature of femininity. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/vi) Feels emotionally numb and disconnected, reflects on her visit to the Wilsons and her encounter with Mr. Grove. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/viii) Feels equal to anything, works with swiftness and ease, reflects on her social standing and the impact of her associations. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/ix) Recovers from the shame of her cycling lesson by riding buses through central London, then dines with Jan and Mag, sharing her enthusiasm for cycling and her ambivalence about marriage. ### [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/x) Reflects on her job and freedom, shares her art exhibition experience, and feels frustrated during the studio tour. ### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/xi) Struggles with social anxiety and a sense of not belonging during the lunch conversation; accepts the theatre invitation with mixed feelings. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/xii) Recounts her disastrous cycling lesson to Mr. Hancock, feeling both embarrassed and grateful for the family's kindness. ### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/xiii) Observes and critiques the other guests at Miss Szigmondy's party, reflecting on their superficiality and lack of artistic depth. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/xiv) Struggles to write a letter describing her theatre experience, feeling that words spoil the beauty of the memory. ### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/xv) Attends the Lyceum Theatre, deeply contemplates Shakespeare's characters, gender roles, and historical conflicts. ### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/xvi) Attends a lecture with Mr. Hancock, feeling like an upstart and alien among the cultured Hampstead audience; struggles with self-consciousness and suppressed laughter. ### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/xvii) Feels scorned by the aunt and cousins but asserts her intellectual superiority; finds energy in work and dreams of freedom. ### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/xix) Feels excluded and tormented by her outsider status at the festival, unable to belong despite the welcome and kindliness. ### [Chapter XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/xx) Experiences shock and indignation at Mr. Hancock's changed tone; reflects on their past interactions and feels betrayed. ### [XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/xxi) Receives and reacts to a decisive letter from Mr. Hancock, grappling with feelings of insult, independence, and the need to assert truth over false courtesy. ### [XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/xxii) Miriam reflects on her capacity for happiness, her feelings of alienation in social settings, and experiences a transcendent moment of joy and clarity while waking on the cliffs. ### [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/xxiii) Feels strong and possessive of her own life, anticipates summer freedom with joy. ### [XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/xxiv) Overwhelmed by despair and rage at the patriarchal structures she encounters in science and literature, she contemplates suicide. ### [XXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/xxv) Arrives exhausted and anxious, feeling battered and nervous; finds temporary relief in Harriett's company. ### [XXVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/xxvi) Miriam is the central figure, undertaking a long bicycle ride alone, grappling with themes of independence, physical limits, and societal expectations. ### [XXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/xxvii) Experiences a mix of misery and wild happiness, feeling misunderstood by others and longing for London and intellectual freedom. ### [XXVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/xxviii) Receives Miss Dear's visit with brisk formality, then reflects angrily on her own motives for sending concert tickets. ### [XXIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/xxix) Visits Miss Dear, feels trapped and impatient, agrees to ask her landlady about storing a box. ### [Hospital Visit and Reflections](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/xxx) Visits Miss Dear in the hospital, reads to her, and reflects on death, gender roles, and intellectual aspirations. ### [XXXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/xxxi) Struggles with the responsibility of caring for Miss Dear, feels the brutalizing effect of poverty, and seeks medical help. ### [XXXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/xxxii) Visits Mr. Taunton, observes his character, and reflects on gender dynamics and her own reluctance to become involved in Miss Dear's affairs. ### [XXXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/xxxiii) Enters the dining-room reluctantly, observes its details, and listens to Mrs. Bailey's plans with a mix of admiration and doubt. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/characters/miriam - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_tunnel_se/characters