Women in Love · Character

Hermione Roddice

A wealthy, intellectual woman with a long past with Birkin, Hermione Roddice would have been his slave — if only he had asked her to subserve him.

supporting

Also known as Hermione, Roddice, Poor Hermione

First appearance: II: Shortlands

As a supporting figure in Women in Love, Hermione Roddice is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Hermione is tortured by her need for Rupert Birkin, feeling vulnerable despite her social and intellectual standing.

In the storySistersOpen this moment free

Hermione arrives at the Crich garden party in trailing embroidered silk, striking and almost macabre, so strongly entrenched in class superiority that she can collect people out of curiosity. She talks with Ursula about Birkin's demands with a slow, sardonic patience, and behind her mild singsong lies a shuddering desire to prostrate herself before a man who would worship her in return. She is like a man, believing only in men's things, and her betrayal of the woman in herself shadows Ursula's own choices.

See Hermione Roddice in Sisters Book page

Free preview opens at this moment — character cards, Character Web, and themes sit beside the text as you read.

Character Web

17 connections

A slice of how Hermione Roddice sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Rivalry
Other

Character groups

Artistic and destructive passions
Family and social backdrop
Bohemian and Continental circle
Protagonist

+12 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

In this passage, Ursula reaches her emotional and psychological peak by confronting the absolute nullity of he…

Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.

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Relationships

Ursula Brangwen
rivalry · negative
Antagonistic competitors for intellectual and romantic dominance, especially over Birkin. How this plays out →
Gudrun Brangwen
social · negative
Rupert Birkin
romantic · negative
Diana Crich
social · neutral
Ursula Brangwen
rivalry · negative
Antagonistic competitors for intellectual and romantic dominance, especially over Birkin. How this plays out →
Ursula Brangwen
rivalry · negative
Antagonistic competitors for intellectual and romantic dominance, especially over Birkin. How this plays out →
Gudrun Brangwen
social · negative
Rupert Birkin
romantic · negative
Gudrun Brangwen
social · negative
Rupert Birkin
romantic · negative
Diana Crich
social · neutral
Diana Crich
social · neutral

Ursula Brangwen
Antagonistic competitors for intellectual and romantic dominance, especially over Birkin.
Gudrun Brangwen
Acquaintances bound by social circles, with underlying disdain and rivalry.
Rupert Birkin
Former lovers with a toxic, power-driven dynamic that ends in bitterness.
Diana Crich
Acquaintances through upper-class social gatherings, with no significant bond.
Ursula Brangwen
Antagonistic competitors for intellectual and romantic dominance, especially over Birkin.
Ursula Brangwen
Antagonistic competitors for intellectual and romantic dominance, especially over Birkin.
Gudrun Brangwen
Acquaintances bound by social circles, with underlying disdain and rivalry.
Rupert Birkin
Former lovers with a toxic, power-driven dynamic that ends in bitterness.
Gudrun Brangwen
Acquaintances bound by social circles, with underlying disdain and rivalry.
Rupert Birkin
Former lovers with a toxic, power-driven dynamic that ends in bitterness.
Diana Crich
Acquaintances through upper-class social gatherings, with no significant bond.
Diana Crich
Acquaintances through upper-class social gatherings, with no significant bond.

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Hermione Roddice in II: Shortlands

In the story

Hermione Roddice appears across 9 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Sisters
Hermione is tortured by her need for Rupert Birkin, feeling vulnerable despite her social and intellectual standing. She craves his connection to fill her inner void.
II: Shortlands
Participates in the debate about rivalry and emulation, displaying a domineering and cold demeanor, and later threatens to kill anyone who takes her hat.
Classroom
Engages in a tense intellectual duel with Birkin, mocking his satanism and inviting Ursula to Breadalby, viewing her as a rival.
Diver
Briefly appears with Laura Crich at a gate, struggling with the latch.
VIII: Breadalby
Hosts the gathering, ridicules Birkin, watches the dance with intense interest, and later experiences a violent inner turmoil after Birkin's harsh words.
X: Sketchbook
Arrives in the boat with Gerald; insists on seeing the sketchbook, causing it to fall in the water, and feels nullified by the bond between Gerald and Gudrun.
XII: Carpeting
Hermione seeks Ursula's validation in rejecting intellectual analysis, asserts her will in measuring and carpeting Birkin's rooms, and displays a possessive intimacy with Birkin.
Man to Man
Referenced by Gerald as the one who suggested Gudrun teach Winifred; also appears in Birkin's thoughts as an example of the possessive Magna Mater.
XXII: Woman to Woman
Returns from Aix and engages Ursula in a conversation about Birkin, subtly condescending to her and suggesting she would be better suited to a more traditional man.

Chapter companion notes

Spoil-light check-ins for Hermione Roddice unlock in the free preview.

See Hermione Roddice in II: Shortlands

See Hermione Roddice in Sisters