# Hermione Roddice — Women in Love character guide > Hermione Roddice in Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Hermione, Roddice, Poor Hermione **First appearance:** 0001-ii-shortlands ## Snapshot 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. ## Who they are 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. ## Relationships ### [Ursula Brangwen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/women_in_love_se/characters/ursula_brangwen) _rivalry_ Antagonistic competitors for intellectual and romantic dominance, especially over Birkin. ### [Gudrun Brangwen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/women_in_love_se/characters/gudrun_brangwen) _social_ Acquaintances bound by social circles, with underlying disdain and rivalry. ### [Rupert Birkin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/women_in_love_se/characters/rupert_birkin) _romantic_ Former lovers with a toxic, power-driven dynamic that ends in bitterness. ### [Diana Crich](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/women_in_love_se/characters/diana_crich) _social_ Acquaintances through upper-class social gatherings, with no significant bond. ### [Ursula Brangwen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/women_in_love_se/characters/ursula_brangwen) _rivalry_ Antagonistic competitors for intellectual and romantic dominance, especially over Birkin. ### [Ursula Brangwen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/women_in_love_se/characters/ursula_brangwen) _rivalry_ Antagonistic competitors for intellectual and romantic dominance, especially over Birkin. ### [Gudrun Brangwen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/women_in_love_se/characters/gudrun_brangwen) _social_ Acquaintances bound by social circles, with underlying disdain and rivalry. ### [Rupert Birkin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/women_in_love_se/characters/rupert_birkin) _romantic_ Former lovers with a toxic, power-driven dynamic that ends in bitterness. ### [Gudrun Brangwen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/women_in_love_se/characters/gudrun_brangwen) _social_ Acquaintances bound by social circles, with underlying disdain and rivalry. ### [Rupert Birkin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/women_in_love_se/characters/rupert_birkin) _romantic_ Former lovers with a toxic, power-driven dynamic that ends in bitterness. ### [Diana Crich](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/women_in_love_se/characters/diana_crich) _social_ Acquaintances through upper-class social gatherings, with no significant bond. ### [Diana Crich](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/women_in_love_se/characters/diana_crich) _social_ Acquaintances through upper-class social gatherings, with no significant bond. ## In the story ### [Sisters](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/women_in_love_se/chapters/i-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/women_in_love_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/women_in_love_se/chapters/iii-classroom) Engages in a tense intellectual duel with Birkin, mocking his satanism and inviting Ursula to Breadalby, viewing her as a rival. ### [Diver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/women_in_love_se/chapters/iv-diver) Briefly appears with Laura Crich at a gate, struggling with the latch. ### [VIII: Breadalby](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/women_in_love_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/women_in_love_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/women_in_love_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/women_in_love_se/chapters/xvi-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/women_in_love_se/chapters/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. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/women_in_love_se/characters/hermione_roddice - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/women_in_love_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/women_in_love_se/characters