# Philip Herriton — Where Angels Fear to Tread character guide > Philip Herriton in Where Angels Fear to Tread by E. M. Forster. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Philip, Mr. Philip, Uncle Phil **First appearance:** 0000-i ## Snapshot A cultured English aesthete who worships Italian romance from a safe distance, until his family's scandal drags him into the messy, unromantic reality of Monteriano. ## Who they are Philip is the clever, sardonic son of a domineering Sawston family, dispatched to Italy to manage his sister-in-law's disgraceful marriage. He adores Italy as an idea — Etruscan ruins, Renaissance beauty — but recoils when the actual Italians turn out to be dentists' sons with pretty faces and no money. His fastidious snobbery and his genuine longing for beauty pull against each other, making him both the novel's sharpest observer and its most self-deceived. ## Relationships ### [Caroline Abbott](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/where_angels_fear_to_tread_se/characters/caroline_abbott) _romantic_ Caroline and Philip share a deep, evolving emotional bond that moves from friendship to romantic tension, ultimately revealing mutual affection and understanding. ### [Gino Carella](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/where_angels_fear_to_tread_se/characters/gino_carella) _rivalry_ Gino and Philip are antagonists locked in a cultural and personal conflict over Lilia and her child, marked by hostility and grudging respect. ### [Lilia Theobald](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/where_angels_fear_to_tread_se/characters/lilia_theobald) _family_ Lilia is Philip's sister-in-law, and their relationship is strained by Philip's condescending interference in her life and marriage. ### [Harriet Herriton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/where_angels_fear_to_tread_se/characters/harriet_herriton) _family_ Harriet is Philip's sister, and their relationship is characterized by her domineering, narrow-minded control and his reluctant compliance. ### [Mrs. Herriton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/where_angels_fear_to_tread_se/characters/mrs_herriton) _family_ Mrs. Herriton is Philip's mother, a manipulative matriarch who exerts emotional control over him and orchestrates family decisions. ### [Irma](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/where_angels_fear_to_tread_se/characters/irma) _family_ Irma is Philip's niece, and their relationship is distant and formal, with Philip showing little genuine affection for her. ### [Caroline Abbott](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/where_angels_fear_to_tread_se/characters/caroline_abbott) _romantic_ Caroline and Philip share a deep, evolving emotional bond that moves from friendship to romantic tension, ultimately revealing mutual affection and understanding. ### [Caroline Abbott](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/where_angels_fear_to_tread_se/characters/caroline_abbott) _romantic_ Caroline and Philip share a deep, evolving emotional bond that moves from friendship to romantic tension, ultimately revealing mutual affection and understanding. ### [Gino Carella](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/where_angels_fear_to_tread_se/characters/gino_carella) _rivalry_ Gino and Philip are antagonists locked in a cultural and personal conflict over Lilia and her child, marked by hostility and grudging respect. ### [Lilia Theobald](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/where_angels_fear_to_tread_se/characters/lilia_theobald) _family_ Lilia is Philip's sister-in-law, and their relationship is strained by Philip's condescending interference in her life and marriage. ### [Mrs. Herriton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/where_angels_fear_to_tread_se/characters/mrs_herriton) _family_ Mrs. Herriton is Philip's mother, a manipulative matriarch who exerts emotional control over him and orchestrates family decisions. ### [Lilia Theobald](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/where_angels_fear_to_tread_se/characters/lilia_theobald) _family_ Lilia is Philip's sister-in-law, and their relationship is strained by Philip's condescending interference in her life and marriage. ## In the story ### [Chapter I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/where_angels_fear_to_tread_se/chapters/i) Philip is reluctantly sent to Italy to stop Lilia's engagement, despite his previous enthusiasm for Italian culture. ### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/where_angels_fear_to_tread_se/chapters/ii) Arrives in Italy to intervene in Lilia's engagement; disgusted by Gino's behavior and social class. ### [Chapter V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/where_angels_fear_to_tread_se/chapters/v) Philip is cautious about the plan to retrieve the baby, initially refuses to return to Italy, and later engages in a revealing conversation with Miss Abbott, showing his dry, satirical manner and philosophical bent. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/where_angels_fear_to_tread_se/chapters/vi) Philip is the central consciousness of the chapter, experiencing a shift in mood as he rediscovers romance in Italy and feels attracted to Caroline Abbott. He is amused by the expedition's humors and approaches the mission with indifference. ### [Chapter VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/where_angels_fear_to_tread_se/chapters/vii) Arrives to find Caroline and Gino in a tender scene; is left confused by Caroline's emotional breakdown. ### [Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/where_angels_fear_to_tread_se/chapters/viii) Tries to calm Harriet and understand Miss Abbott's change of heart; reflects on his own growth and the charm of Monteriano. ### [Chapter IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/where_angels_fear_to_tread_se/chapters/ix) Takes responsibility for the baby's death and returns to Gino to confess; endures a brutal attack but undergoes a moral conversion. ### [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/where_angels_fear_to_tread_se/chapters/x) Reflects on his friendship with Gino and his love for Caroline Abbott, struggling to understand her feelings. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/where_angels_fear_to_tread_se/characters/philip_herriton - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/where_angels_fear_to_tread_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/where_angels_fear_to_tread_se/characters