Dorothy Character Analysis

Dorothy, a widow, is Harriet’s mother and she is Harriet and David’s primary source of childcare throughout the novel, as the couple has more children than they can handle on their own. Though she maintains an apartment of her own in London, there’s no question that she will come live with Harriet and David when they begin having children, as family is of the utmost importance to her. Dorothy is a voice of pragmatism, often recommending to Harriet and David that they think more carefully about the decisions they’re making and whether they can handle the responsibility. When the extended family descends upon the Lovatt home for holidays three times a year, it is Dorothy who takes on the bulk of the work hosting them, and on multiple occasions she calls out the fact that Harriet and David treat her as though she is a servant, receiving little thanks for her labor. Though she wants to provide help, her other daughters are jealous of the assistance she gives to Harriet and David and eventually Dorothy absents herself from the Lovatt household to help care for her other grandchildren, taking in their daughter Jane when Jane can no longer tolerate life at home.