# Natalie — When the World Shook character guide

> Natalie in When the World Shook by H. Rider Haggard.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** III Natalie

**First appearance:** 0004-iii-natalie

## Snapshot

Arbuthnot's lost love, a dead woman whose memory still governs his heart as he drifts toward the unearthly Yva.

## Who they are

Natalie belongs to Arbuthnot's past, the reason he first resists his growing love for Yva even as it possesses him. Her hold on him is the quiet counterweight to the star-born affection drawing him forward, and he measures every new feeling against her memory. That tension shapes his inner life through the middle of the book, making his surrender to Yva feel earned rather than easy.

## In the story

### [III: Natalie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/when_the_world_shook_se/chapters/iii-natalie)

Natalie is introduced as Sir Alfred Upton's daughter; Arbuthnot sees her at dinner, her head framed by lilies.

### [IV: Death and Departure](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/when_the_world_shook_se/chapters/iv-death-and-departure)

Dies in childbirth after foretelling a temporary separation and a future reunion; her last words are mysterious and hopeful.

### [XXI: Love's Eternal Altar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/when_the_world_shook_se/chapters/xxi-love-s-eternal-altar)

Recalled by Arbuthnot; Yva suggests that Natalie may have had the gift of dreams and that her words about seeking her elsewhere may be fulfilled.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/when_the_world_shook_se/characters/natalie
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/when_the_world_shook_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/when_the_world_shook_se/characters