# Henderson Neal — There Is Confusion character guide

> Henderson Neal in There Is Confusion by Jessie Redmon Fauset.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Neal, Henderson, Mr. Neal

**First appearance:** 0003-i

## Snapshot

A well-traveled, self-made man who has been everything from farmer to valet, Henderson Neal courts Maggie with a car, European stories, and a carefully guarded past.

## Who they are

Neal enters Maggie's orbit as an attentive suitor, arriving in a fine automobile and speaking of London, Paris, and a life spent in service to a wealthy white employer. He reads Maggie's thoughts too easily, a habit that both flatters and unsettles her, and his deliberately unpolished speech masks a shrewd, worldly intelligence. His courtship pulls at Maggie's loyalties and introduces a practical, older alternative to the ideals she associates with Philip and the Bye family.

## Relationships

### [Maggie Ellersley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/there_is_confusion_se/characters/maggie_ellersley)

_romantic_

Henderson is a suitor to Maggie, but their relationship is fraught with tension due to his possessiveness.

### [Maggie Ellersley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/there_is_confusion_se/characters/maggie_ellersley)

_romantic_

Henderson is a suitor to Maggie, but their relationship is fraught with tension due to his possessiveness.

### [Maggie Ellersley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/there_is_confusion_se/characters/maggie_ellersley)

_romantic_

Henderson is a suitor to Maggie, but their relationship is fraught with tension due to his possessiveness.

## In the story

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/there_is_confusion_se/chapters/ix)

Henderson Neal is a mysterious, older boarder with apparent wealth who shows interest in Maggie, prompting Philip's disapproval.

### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/there_is_confusion_se/chapters/xi)

Finds Maggie crying and proposes marriage, offering her security and a way to escape her troubles.

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

Maggie's husband, revealed to be a cardsharp and gambler. He is generous and kind to Maggie but has a terrible temper and threatens her when she confronts him.

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

Maggie's estranged husband, a gambler who left her but occasionally threatens her; he is the subject of Maggie's divorce proceedings.

### [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/there_is_confusion_se/chapters/xxiii)

Maggie's ex-husband, whose threatening presence makes her feel unsafe and eager to marry Peter for protection.

### [XXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/there_is_confusion_se/chapters/xxv)

Maggie's ex-husband, a gambler who plunged her into obscurity.

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

Identified by Maggie as the one who stabbed her out of jealousy over her plan to marry Peter.

### [XXXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/there_is_confusion_se/chapters/xxxi)

Maggie's deceased husband; his suicide is a key trigger for her breakdown.

### [XXXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/there_is_confusion_se/chapters/xxxii)

Maggie's former husband; Philip recalls his jealousy when she married Neal.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/there_is_confusion_se/characters/henderson_neal
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/there_is_confusion_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/there_is_confusion_se/characters