EDIT: A quick note, because I tried to catch my own wording on this but I'm not sure I've always succeeded - Mrs. Wolverton is looking for a titled match for Dinah, not necessarily specifically a husband or a wife, etc. Title is her focus, and she's trying her best to make as many "good introductions" as possible. The "suitor" connection is open to anyone interested, whether it's for romantic or practical/financial or other reasons!
Character Name: Miss Dinah Wolverton (she/her) Age: 21
Height: 5’4”
Hair: Chestnut brown
Eyes: Green
Marital status: Unmarried and on the market
Family: Mr. Edgar Wolverton (Father)
Mrs. Margaret Wolverton (Mother)
Mr. Geoffrey Wolverton (brother) The Wolvertons are new to money and society, but Mrs. Wolverton is the ambitious sort, and not shy about seeking introductions for her daughter into society. Beautiful and wealthy, Dinah is caught between trying to please her mother (by marrying into a family as high up the social ladder as she can) and living a life she wants to live (marrying for love and nurturing the most beautiful gardens.) She's artistic, sweet, a little naive, and eager to please, with a particular interest in botany. Margaret Wolverton, however, is the opposite of her daughter's temperament in nearly every way. Highly ambitious and eager to move from the accomplishment of wealth to a corresponding accomplishment in societal position. She will do nearly anything to transform that dream to reality, and her best chance of success rides upon the shoulders of her daughter. Dinah's brother is set to inherit the family's business, and while he will likely marry well (although he has not, so far, shown very much interest), Mrs. Wolverton does not expect him to marry ambitiously, nor to seek entry into the upper reaches of society's ranks. Dinah, however, is another story. Margaret has secured as many proper introductions for her daughter as she can, sometimes overstepping herself in the process. (Note: Think Mrs. Bennet and you'll have an idea of her general demeanor.) To her credit, however, Margaret also conspired with her husband to ensure that their children were well-educated, beginning even before the family's great good-fortune. They were the family's first investments, as it were, and so Dinah's education was first-class even when the family was...not. Be that as it may, however, she is more concerned with not misstepping/saying the wrong thing/etc than she is showing off that good education, and so she can be somewhat reluctant to speak of anything deeper than surface level, leading to an impression that she's less intelligent than she is. Get her talking about plants and flowers, however, and her confidence blossoms. (Pun fully intended.) Dinah has an avid interest in plants and flowers, particularly in growing them and cross-breeding to create her own varieties.
Dinah is somewhat caught between two worlds: her family's old societal standing and the new, her mother's expectations and her own wants, the grand places of society and the gardens she would rather spend her time. (Dinah is very loosely modeled after Jane Bennet, had she been a member of the upper-middle class, if the comparison helps at all with character understanding/for connection building!) Wanted Connections:
FRIENDS, MENTORS: Rather new to society and newly very wealthy, Dinah nevertheless lacks the sort of social connections that would make introductions into this new world easy. She's definitely in need of friends to confide in, and those who know their way around society to take her under their wing! FAMILY: I don't have anything like a filled-in family tree for Dinah, but she could absolutely have aunts, uncles, cousins, and the like. Long-lost or unknown relatives, even? The world is our oyster.
MONEY-SEEKERS: What the Wolvertons lack in social connections they make up for in money. Befriending (or courting) Miss. Dinah could mean the Wolvertons taking an interest in your business that needs a new influx of coin, or a crumbling family estate for the land-rich. SUITORS: While Dinah herself is rather ambivalent toward the idea of marriage, she desperately wants to make her mother happy, and is certainly open to suitors. The key to catching this one's heart, however, comes from more than just pretty words - - that will take a true and deep connection. (But heart, as we all know, does not always mean hand, and perhaps Dinah will have to choose between heart and title, somewhere down the line.) ENEMIES/FRENEMIES/RELUCTANT FRIENDS/SUSPICIOUS SOCIETY/ETC: Margaret Wolverton really will do or say almost anything to secure introductions for her daughter, and she has stepped on her fair share of toes. Will the mother's missteps (and the father's infuriating indifference to them) reflect poorly on the daughter? Or will her own good nature win out in the end? PLANT ENTHUSIASTS: Dinah has long been fascinated by plants of all kinds: herbs, trees, shrubs, and flowers. She would love to share that interest! ART FRIENDS: Second only to her interest in plants is her interest in the arts, particularly in drawing and painting. While rather shy of sharing her own work, Dinah delights in drawing and painting and could talk at length of her favorite artists. She also likes music and poetry, though she does not consider herself any sort of superior talent at either. Still, she would very much enjoy conversation around such topics.
If you want someone to encourage Dinah to follow her heart even if it's not the most sensible thing, Lady Violet is there for you! (If she's met Dinah at social functions and noticed her dynamic with her mother she's probably very sympathetic.)
@Miss. Dinah Wolverton (Melissa) — I have an idea for a tie. My character’s mother, the Dowager Duchess of Somerset, is involved in the arts and philanthropy. Mary Richmond is generally a good sort who is friendly and generous to a point. But she’s lost two children and has only one remaining child (James).
What I am thinking is our mothers became acquainted through either the arts or philanthropy. It started off very cordial and polite, but perhaps Margaret played her hand a bit too hard, a bit too fast, in trying to match us up. The end result is that my mother has shunned Margaret to screen and protect James from Dinah.
Of course, is is horrifically unfair, but I think it’s pretty in line. Feel free to message me if you’d like to refine the tie.
@Miss. Dinah Wolverton (Melissa) Hello! I play Duchess of Devon- our gardens are well known, each year we host a garden party. Eudora is very interested in botany & flowers, and would love to write to you and even send some samples of her flowers she has pressed from years past in the gardens of her estates!
Nicholas could be a high society contact/friend of some capacity. He's not exactly... Reputable, but that could cause some entertaining conflict, potentially. Personally, he is also somewhat into the arts (although he's not a particularly good artist himself), so it's possible they might have met at related functions. Otherwise his recently-deceased father of course had business deals and whatnot with people, which Nicholas has of course inherited, so that could potentially be a way for them to know each other. Nicholas' affairs do tend to be a bit messy though so I understand if it's not a kind of connection that appeals to you lol.
It would delight me if Miss Dinah and Miss Beatrice became friends! Beatrice is a little older than Dinah, but her family has had a similar call to grace from mercantile status, and I would love to have more friends raised outside of the confines of Society to navigate with.