# Lias Brewster — Understood Betsy character guide

> Lias Brewster in Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Lias, little ’ Lias Brewster, Little ’ Lias

**First appearance:** 0003-iv-betsy-goes-to-school

## Snapshot

A ragged, wary six-year-old whom Betsy cannot stop thinking about, and whose shyness hides a boy badly in need of a fresh start.

## Who they are

Lias drifts at the edge of the schoolyard, too beaten-down by his stepfather's drinking to lift his head, let alone join the girls at their rock-pile playhouses or the boys at their shouting games. When Betsy overhears the grownups weighing his chances with Mr. Pond, she turns her helpless pity into a plan: sew him new clothes and make him adoptable. His grimy face and cast-off women's shoes become the story's quiet test of whether good intentions can survive contact with real dirt.

## Relationships

### [Elizabeth Ann](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/understood_betsy_se/characters/elizabeth_ann)

_friendship_

Lias Brewster is a hired hand on the farm who teaches Elizabeth Ann practical skills and becomes a trusted friend.

### [Cousin Ann](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/understood_betsy_se/characters/cousin_ann)

_professional_

Cousin Ann employs Lias Brewster as a hired hand and respects his hard work on the farm.

### [Ralph](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/understood_betsy_se/characters/ralph)

_friendship_

Lias Brewster and Ralph are friendly coworkers on the farm, with Lias acting as a mentor to the younger boy.

### [Elizabeth Ann](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/understood_betsy_se/characters/elizabeth_ann)

_friendship_

Lias Brewster is a hired hand on the farm who teaches Elizabeth Ann practical skills and becomes a trusted friend.

### [Cousin Ann](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/understood_betsy_se/characters/cousin_ann)

_professional_

Cousin Ann employs Lias Brewster as a hired hand and respects his hard work on the farm.

### [Ralph](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/understood_betsy_se/characters/ralph)

_friendship_

Lias Brewster and Ralph are friendly coworkers on the farm, with Lias acting as a mentor to the younger boy.

## In the story

### [The New Clothes Fail](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/understood_betsy_se/chapters/ix-the-new-clothes-fail)

'Lias proudly wears his new clothes but remains dirty; later, he is washed by Ralph, but his stepfather sells the clothes, leaving him in rags and crying in the woodshed.

## Links

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