# John South — The Woodlanders character guide

> John South in The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** South, old John South

**First appearance:** 0000-i

## Snapshot

Marty's ailing father, who lies watching a tall elm rock in the wind and believes the tree has been waiting his whole life to kill him.

## Who they are

He is the old woodman whose life is legally tied to Winterborne's property, so that his death will mean Giles loses the cottage and the living that go with it. His terror of the elm outside his window is not mere fancy — it is the fixed idea that has replaced his health, and no persuasion can move it. His slow decline forces Giles and Marty into a vigil that binds them closer and quietly sets the terms of Giles's coming ruin.

## In the story

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/ii)

Marty's ailing father, bedridden and obsessively fearful that a tree will cause his death; he confirms the cottage is life-hold property.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/v)

Mentioned as recovering from illness but still obsessed with the tree; his death would affect Giles's lease on the houses.

### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/xiii)

Ailing and terrified that the elm tree will fall and kill him; his life is tied to Winterborne's property.

### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/xiv)

Obsessed with the elm tree, believing it controls his life; dies from shock after the tree is cut down.

### [Chapter XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/xv)

Recently deceased; his death triggers Giles's loss of the houses.

### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/xvi)

Referenced as Marty's deceased father; his death resulted from the felling of a tree ordered by Fitzpiers.

### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/xvii)

Referenced as a parallel: his death from fear of the tree is cited by Grammer as a reason for her own anxiety.

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

Mentioned indirectly; a fragment of his brain is shown under Fitzpiers's microscope.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/characters/john_south
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/characters