# Olivia Primrose — The Vicar of Wakefield character guide > Olivia Primrose in The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith. **Role:** major **Also known as:** miss Olivia, poor Olivia **First appearance:** 0002-i ## Snapshot The elder Primrose daughter, romantic and headstrong, whose taste for fine feeling and finer company draws the squire's eye and her family's worry. ## Who they are Olivia is the sister who reads novels, dreams of elegance, and finds the quiet of Wakefield narrower than her ambitions. Her beauty and sensibility attract Thornhill's attention, and her willingness to believe in refined sentiment makes her vulnerable to his designs. Her choices test the vicar's philosophy of cheerful endurance more sharply than any sermon could. ## In the story ### [The Vicar of Wakefield](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_vicar_of_wakefield_se/chapters/the-vicar-of-wakefield) The eldest daughter, described as beautiful and accomplished. ### [Chapter I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_vicar_of_wakefield_se/chapters/i) Elder daughter, about eighteen, with luxuriant beauty and a coquettish nature. ### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_vicar_of_wakefield_se/chapters/ii) One of the narrator's daughters, who along with her sister does not consider Miss Wilmot completely pretty. ### [A Proof That Even the Humblest Fortune May Grant Happiness](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_vicar_of_wakefield_se/chapters/iv) One of the daughters who dresses in former splendour and later cuts up her train. ### [A New and Great Acquaintance Introduced](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_vicar_of_wakefield_se/chapters/v) Olivia secretly admires Mr. Thornhill, though she outwardly criticizes his impudence and poor guitar playing. ### [Chapter VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_vicar_of_wakefield_se/chapters/vii) Charmed by Thornhill's humor and appearance, she whispers admiration for him during dinner. ### [Chapter IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_vicar_of_wakefield_se/chapters/ix) Dances with Mr. Thornhill and is the object of his improper proposal. ### [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_vicar_of_wakefield_se/chapters/x) Told by a fortune-teller she will marry a squire within a year, she begins to believe she is in love with Mr. Thornhill. ### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_vicar_of_wakefield_se/chapters/xi) She acts as the family's spokesperson, explaining their absence from church by saying they were thrown from their horses. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_vicar_of_wakefield_se/chapters/xii) One of the daughters, whose prospects of going to town are discussed by her mother. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_vicar_of_wakefield_se/chapters/xiv) One of the daughters whose planned trip to London is canceled, leaving her in tears. ### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_vicar_of_wakefield_se/chapters/xv) Joins in condemning Burchell after the letter is read. ### [The Family Use Art, Which Is Opposed with Still Greater](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_vicar_of_wakefield_se/chapters/xvi) The eldest daughter, object of Mr. Thornhill's attentions; she agrees to marry a rival if Thornhill does not propose. ### [Chapter XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_vicar_of_wakefield_se/chapters/xvii) Torn between her love for Thornhill and her father's demands, she ultimately elopes with Thornhill, causing the family's distress. ### [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_vicar_of_wakefield_se/chapters/xviii) Has eloped; the Vicar pursues her. ### [Chapter XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_vicar_of_wakefield_se/chapters/xxi) Olivia is discovered at an inn, destitute, and confesses that Mr. Thornhill seduced her and that she was privately married. ### [XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_vicar_of_wakefield_se/chapters/xxii) Returns home after her elopement, pale and trembling, and is received with coldness by her mother. ### [Chapter XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_vicar_of_wakefield_se/chapters/xxiii) Grieves deeply over her seduction; her beauty and health decline; she rejects Farmer Williams's renewed addresses and is further afflicted by news of Thornhill's marriage. ### [Chapter XXIV: Fresh Calamities](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_vicar_of_wakefield_se/chapters/xxiv) Sings a melancholy song about betrayed love, reflecting her guilt and sorrow; she faints from anguish when the arrest occurs. ### [Chapter XXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_vicar_of_wakefield_se/chapters/xxv) Enfeebled by a slow fever, she is carried behind an officer on horseback. ### [Chapter XXVII: The Vicar's Reform of the Prisoners](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_vicar_of_wakefield_se/chapters/xxvii) Mentioned among the family who disapprove of the Vicar's scheme. ### [Chapter XXVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_vicar_of_wakefield_se/chapters/xxviii) Olivia visits her father in prison, looking deathly ill, and urges him to submit to Mr. Thornhill. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_vicar_of_wakefield_se/characters/olivia - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_vicar_of_wakefield_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_vicar_of_wakefield_se/characters