# Marty South — The Woodlanders character guide > Marty South in The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Marty, South, Marty South **First appearance:** 0000-i ## Snapshot A tireless village girl with cropped hair and patient hands, who loves Giles Winterborne in silence while tending a father terrified of a tree. ## Who they are Marty labors in the woods and at her father's bedside, where old John South's obsession with a swaying elm is slowly killing him and, by extension, threatening Giles's hold on his property. She loves Giles without hope and without complaint, watching him give his heart to Grace and offering help anyway. Her unglamorous fidelity stands as the novel's quiet counterweight to the vanity and calculation of its more prominent characters. ## Relationships ### [Grace Melbury](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/characters/grace_melbury) _friendship_ Grace and Marty share a quiet, sympathetic bond as women navigating love and loss in the woodland community. ### [Giles Winterborne](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/characters/giles_winterborne) _friendship_ Marty South harbors unrequited love for Giles, but he treats her with kindness and respect as a loyal friend. ### [Felice Charmond](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/characters/felice_charmond) _professional_ Felice Charmond employs Marty South as a servant and sometimes confidante, though the power dynamic is unequal. ### [Grace Melbury](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/characters/grace_melbury) _friendship_ Grace and Marty share a quiet, sympathetic bond as women navigating love and loss in the woodland community. ### [Giles Winterborne](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/characters/giles_winterborne) _friendship_ Marty South harbors unrequited love for Giles, but he treats her with kindness and respect as a loyal friend. ### [Giles Winterborne](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/characters/giles_winterborne) _friendship_ Marty South harbors unrequited love for Giles, but he treats her with kindness and respect as a loyal friend. ### [Grace Melbury](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/characters/grace_melbury) _friendship_ Grace and Marty share a quiet, sympathetic bond as women navigating love and loss in the woodland community. ### [Felice Charmond](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/characters/felice_charmond) _professional_ Felice Charmond employs Marty South as a servant and sometimes confidante, though the power dynamic is unequal. ### [Felice Charmond](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/characters/felice_charmond) _professional_ Felice Charmond employs Marty South as a servant and sometimes confidante, though the power dynamic is unequal. ## In the story ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/ii) A young woman making spars by firelight; she is pressured by Percombe to sell her hair but refuses, valuing her looks and independence. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/iii) Overhears Melbury's plan and realizes Giles is not for her; cuts off her hair in sorrow and later feels ashamed when Giles notices. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/iv) Mentioned in connection with her earlier departure from the wagon-sheds; her reasons for cutting her hair are noted. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/v) Walks to Sherton Abbas carrying her shorn hair; accepts rides from Giles and later Mrs. Charmond. She reflects on her poverty and the loss of her hair. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/viii) Assists Giles in planting trees despite a cold from cutting her hair; reflects on the sighing of the trees as a metaphor for life. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/ix) Advises Giles on the potential of a Christmas party with dancing to bring matters to a head; observes Giles's interest in Grace. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/xii) Marty is mentioned as likely to lose her father, John South, which would affect Giles's property. ### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/xiii) Distressed by her father's condition; fetches Giles to help; unconsciously strokes her cropped head when Grace admires Mrs. Charmond's hair. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/xiv) Cares for her father John South and reports his worsening condition to Giles and the doctor. ### [Chapter XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/xv) Grieves her father's death; writes the prophetic lines on Giles's wall; later denies altering them. ### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/xvi) Passes through Fitzpiers's gate in mourning, soiling her black frock; reminds Fitzpiers of her father's death. ### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/xix) Marty pours tea at the picnic and offers to take a cup to Grace. She later approaches Grace and Fitzpiers, commenting on two quarreling birds, and walks home with Grace after being led away. ### [XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/xx) Reluctantly helps Grammer Oliver by guiding Grace's path, and observes the romantic entanglements without participating in the spell. ### [XXXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/xxxi) Mentioned as the model of simplicity Grace wishes to emulate. ### [XXXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/xxxiii) Working in the coppice, she speaks with Mrs. Charmond and reveals her concern for Giles and Grace. ### [XXXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/xxxiv) Gives Fitzpiers a letter revealing she is the original owner of Mrs. Charmond's hair. ### [XLIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/xliii) Arrives after Giles's death; her letter about her hair contributed to the quarrel between Fitzpiers and Mrs. Charmond. ### [XLIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/xliv) Polishes Giles's tools, reveals his sacrifice to Fitzpiers, and later visits Giles's grave with Grace. ### [XLV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/xlv) Accompanies Grace to the meeting with Fitzpiers and joins her in mourning Winterborne by tending his grave. ### [XLVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/xlvi) Accompanies Grace to Giles Winterborne's grave to place flowers. ### [XLVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/chapters/xlviii) Waits for Grace to join her in placing flowers on Giles's grave, then goes alone and whispers a heartfelt vow of eternal remembrance. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/characters/marty_south - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_woodlanders_se/characters