Lady Frances Carfax

Lady Frances Carfax is a young woman of good family who has spent time in America, where she acquired both an American accent and American attitudes toward social convention. Upon her return to England, she marries Lord St. Lord Robert St. Simon in what appears to be a match of considerable social importance. However, Lady Frances proves to be far more independent and self-directed than her new husband—or indeed, the Victorian society around her—expects. She is not content to play the passive role society assigns to her, and her actions throughout the narrative demonstrate her willingness to defy convention when her personal happiness or conscience demands it. Her relationship with her lady's maid Alice suggests she values genuine human connection over social formality. Though she appears only briefly in the narrative, her character emerges as one of considerable strength and integrity, a woman who will not be bound by circumstances, however advantageous they may appear to others.