# Barbara Waters — Those Barren Leaves character guide

> Barbara Waters in Those Barren Leaves by Aldous Huxley.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Barbara, the real Barbara

**First appearance:** 0011-i

## Snapshot

A figure from Chelifer's past, invoked as a measure of the real against the counterfeit in his autobiographical narrative.

## Who they are

Barbara belongs to the remembered life Chelifer carries into Mrs. Aldwinkle's salon, a touchstone of authenticity set against the theatrical versions of experience the villa manufactures. Her presence in his narrative gives his irony a personal stake, a private standard by which the Ideal Home's performances can be judged. She matters less as a player on the terrace than as the memory that makes Chelifer's detachment feel like loss rather than mere cleverness.

## In the story

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

Depicted as selfish, pleasure-seeking, and manipulative, yet still the object of Chelifer's obsessive desire.

## Links

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- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/those_barren_leaves_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/those_barren_leaves_se/characters