# Mrs. Thornbury — The Voyage Out character guide

> Mrs. Thornbury in The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Thornbury, old numskull Thornbury

**First appearance:** 0003-iv

## Snapshot

A warm, garrulous matron who greets every engagement as her own triumph and dispenses honeymoon wisdom with the confidence of long experience.

## Who they are

Mrs. Thornbury seizes Rachel's arm to announce she guessed the match from the start, then folds the news into reminiscences of typhoid in Venice and the stricter courtships of her youth. She is endlessly kind and endlessly conventional, mothering the hotel's invalids and offering young people a happiness she insists will only improve with time. Her cheerful certainties form the social backdrop against which Rachel's more private, unclassifiable feelings stand out.

## In the story

### [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_voyage_out_se/chapters/x)

Characterized by Hewet as sweet but trivial in her maternal egoism.

### [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_voyage_out_se/chapters/xviii)

Mrs. Thornbury is cited as an example of a long-married woman who skillfully brings her husband into conversation, yet their private life remains opaque.

### [XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_voyage_out_se/chapters/xxii)

Described by Terence as having a kind of elemental beauty, like a large old tree or a river.

### [Chapter XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_voyage_out_se/chapters/xxiv)

Kindly questions Rachel about her father, reminisces about meeting Mr. Vinrace, and plans a party.

### [Chapter XXVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_voyage_out_se/chapters/xxvi)

Reflects on Rachel's death, seeking order and meaning in life, and comforts her husband by discussing politics.

### [XXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_voyage_out_se/chapters/xxvii)

Comforts St. John with gentle words and tears, asking about the consolation of the deceased.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_voyage_out_se/characters/mrs_thornbury
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_voyage_out_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_voyage_out_se/characters