# Helen Saville — The Vortex character guide

> Helen Saville in The Vortex by Noël Coward.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Helen, Helen Florence, Helen Smiling, Helen Present, Helen Well, Helen Splendid, Helen Tom Veryan, Helen Lightly, Helen Poor Nicky, Helen Fascinating, Helen—you've

**First appearance:** 0002-the-vortex

## Snapshot

Helen Saville loves Florence enough to tell her the truth, and is repaid with empty endearments that make her angrier than any insult could.

## Who they are

Helen moves through Florence's circle as the one person willing to name what she sees, admiring the moonlit valley while Florence puffs smoke and calls it soothing. She is torn between loyalty to a friend she believes capable of real feeling and disgust at how quickly that feeling is being varnished over with returning vanity. When she refuses to stay in Florence's room as Nicky arrives, her exit marks the moment the play's private griefs stop being containable by good manners.

## Relationships

### [Nicky Lancaster](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_vortex_se/characters/nicky_lancaster)

_social_

Helen Saville is a social acquaintance of Nicky, part of the fashionable world.

## Links

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