# Cousin Molly Lathrop — Understood Betsy character guide

> Cousin Molly Lathrop in Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Cousin Molly, Molly, little Molly, May, Little Molly, Maria Wendell

**First appearance:** 0000-i-aunt-harriet-has-a-cough

## Snapshot

A lively, tearful little cousin whose panic at a country fair forces Betsy to discover she can be the brave one.

## Who they are

Molly is the child Betsy must look after — younger, quicker to weep, and utterly dependent when the two are stranded eight miles from Putney Farm with ten cents and no way home. Her wailing 'What will we do, Betsy?' is the pressure that turns Betsy from a frightened girl into a protector. In that moment Molly matters less as a personality than as the mirror in which Betsy first sees her own new steadiness.

## In the story

### [Aunt Harriet Has a Cough](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/understood_betsy_se/chapters/i-aunt-harriet-has-a-cough)

A reluctant temporary guardian who is ordered by her mother-in-law to send Elizabeth Ann to the Putney cousins instead.

### [What Grade Is Betsy?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/understood_betsy_se/chapters/v-what-grade-is-betsy)

Molly helps Elizabeth Ann over a log and shows friendliness, though Betsy doesn't understand much of what she says.

### [VII: Elizabeth Ann Fails in an Examination](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/understood_betsy_se/chapters/vii-elizabeth-ann-fails-in-an-examination)

Visits Betsy, gets lost in the woods, and falls into the Wolf Pit.

### [Betsy Starts a Sewing Society](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/understood_betsy_se/chapters/viii-betsy-starts-a-sewing-society)

Molly participates in the sewing society and is the youngest; she doesn't fully grasp the discussion about motives but joins the expedition to deliver the clothes.

### [Betsy Has a Birthday](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/understood_betsy_se/chapters/x-betsy-has-a-birthday)

Accompanies Betsy to the fair; remains cheerful and trusting in Betsy's ability to handle their predicament.

### [Understood Aunt Frances](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/understood_betsy_se/chapters/xi-understood-aunt-frances)

Joins Betsy in the hayloft to see the kittens and later laughs with her as the kittens learn to drink milk.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/understood_betsy_se/characters/cousin_molly
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/understood_betsy_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/understood_betsy_se/characters