Line #15 Characters/TheChildrensHour


1	!!Karen Wright
2	* AdaptationalAngstUpgrade: In the play Karen has a stoic reaction to [[spoiler:Martha's suicide]] but in the 1961 film she's in tears.
3	* AmbiguouslyBi: She's very close to Martha, to the point where characters have their suspicions, but it's never explicitly stated if she ever loved Martha in a romantic way.
4	* EarnYourHappyEnding: In ''These Three'' she is reunited with Joe in the end [[spoiler:after he leaves her for believing that he's cheating with Martha]].
5	* MistakenForCheating: Due to Mary, people begin to believe that she's sleeping with her best friend behind her fiance's back.
6	* MistakenForGay: Mary spreads rumors that she and Martha are lovers.
7	* OfficialCouple: With Joe, [[spoiler:until he breaks up with her because he believes she's cheating on him with Martha (Or, in ''These Three,'' because she believes he's cheating on her with Martha).]] In ''These Three'' they end up together in the end but other versions end on NoRomanticResolution.
8	* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: She's the girly girl to Martha's tomboy. Lampshaded in the 1961 adaptation when Martha says that she's fine with plain clothes but Karen likes to be dressed up.
9	* TwoTeacherSchool: Karen and Martha are the only two teachers at the all-girls boarding school they own.
10
11	!!Martha Dobie
12	* AdaptationalAngstUpgrade: {{Inverted\|Trope}} in ''These Three''. She doesn't suffer from nearly as much stress and trauma in the 1939 film as she does in the play. This largely due to, despite being a huge scandal, being MistakenForCheating with a man wasn't as scorned as being mistaken for cheating with a woman.
13	* AdaptationDyeJob: Is normally a brunette but is played the blonde Miriam Hopkins in ''These Three''.
14	* AdaptationalSexuality: Due to UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode she was changed from [[spoiler:lesbian]] to [[spoiler:straight]] in ''These Three''.
15	* AllLoveIsUnrequited: She has feelings for [[spoiler:her best friend Karen]] in the play and most adaptations, for [[spoiler:Joe]] in ''These Three''.
16	* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove:
17	** She delivers a screaming, sobbing confession to [[spoiler:Karen]] in the final act after [[spoiler:Joe leaves her]].
18	** Subverted in ''These Three''. Her confession of love [[spoiler:to Joe]] is very quiet and lowkey.
19	* BoyishShortHair: In most adaptations and revivals she has her hair cut in a bob. She's tomboyish, especially when contrasted with Karen.
20	* CallingTheOldManOut: Martha rants out her aunt after she [[spoiler:comes back despite avoiding the court hearing,which led to Martha and Karen losing the suit]].
21	* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation: In the play she [[spoiler:shoots herself]] but in the 1961 film she [[spoiler:hangs herself]].
22	* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:She hangs herself (shoots herself in the play) after confessing to Karen near the end]].
23	* ForcedOutOfTheCloset: Accidentally done by [[spoiler:Mary. She was lying, but her accusations of Martha being in love with Karen were actually true]]. This turns out terribly because Martha wasn't remotely ready to come out.
24	* {{Gayngst}}: [[spoiler:Martha suffers from a lot of repression and angst, not helped by the fact she felt that her feelings ruined her and Karen's lives]].
25	* GayngstInducedSuicide: [[spoiler:Martha kills herself near the end soon after confessing to Karen. In her case, it was due to the troubles over her sexuality combined with everything that had occurred to her]].
26	* GreenEyedMonster: She acts quite snappy towards Joe [[spoiler:because he's Karen's lover]].
27	* HotBlooded: She has quite a temper when she gets riled up.
28	* IncompatibleOrientation: With [[spoiler:Karen]].
29	* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy:
30	** She wanted to have this viewpoint towards [[spoiler:Karen]] but ended up breaking down. She couldn't keep quiet and let them be together. [[spoiler:When Joe left Karen that was her last straw before committing suicide]].
31	** In ''These Three'' she [[spoiler:confesses her feelings to Joe to Karen and persuades her to go get him back]].
32	* LoveAtFirstSight: Implied with [[spoiler:Karen]]. She remembers meeting [[spoiler:her at college and thinking she was pretty from the moment she saw her]].
33	* MistakenForCheating:
34	** Due to Mary's lies, everyone believes that she and Karen are together. It's mistaken that Karen's feelings for Martha are why she won't marry her fiance.
35	** In ''These Three'', due to [[HideYourLesbians censorship]], it was changed to Mary saying that Martha was with Joe.
36	* MistakenForGay: Her aunt thinks she's "unnaturally" into her female friends. Mary overhears this and begins spreading rumors that Karen and Martha are lovers. [[spoiler:It turns out she really was gay]].
37	* SparedByTheAdaptation: ''These Three'' ends with her [[spoiler:confessing to Karen that she loves Joe]], not [[spoiler:her killing herself]].
38	* StepfordSmiler: Even early on she kept a facade of happiness despite being stressed over [[spoiler:Karen loving Joe, not her]]. It gets worse as the story goes on. In the end she's dropped all of her facade, though she tries to bring it back up a little [[spoiler:right before she committed suicide]].
39	* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: She's the tomboy to Karen's girly girl. Lampshaded in the 1961 film when she says that she's a "skirt and blouse" person while Karen likes dressing up.
40	* TomboyishVoice: Some actresses, such as in ''These Three'' and the BBC radio version, portray Martha with a deeper voice than Karen.
41	* TomboyWithAGirlyStreak: She does most of the housework around the school despite being the more tomboyish of the two teachers.
42	* TwoTeacherSchool: Karen and Martha own an all-girls boarding school. They're literally the only two teachers around.
43
44	!!Mary Tilford
45	* DisappearedDad: Her father committed suicide.
46	* DontMakeMeTakeMyBeltOff: She gets spanked a few times but it doesn't improve her behavior. If anything, it makes her whine more.
47	* DramaQueen: She makes a lot of commotion out of nothing. At one point she pretends to be sick and faints just to get out of a scolding. She's also prone to crying when things don't go her way.
48	* EnfantTerrible: She lies constantly, slaps her classmate Rosalie, and blackmails her.
49	* FromTheMouthsOfBabes: It's implied she doesn't quite understand the implications much, but it's made clear enough that Mary said she heard Martha and Karen being intimate.
50	* IronicName: She's a spoiled, drama queen named "Mary".
51	* KarmaHoudini: While her lies are uncovered, she never gets any real punishments for what she did. The most that occured was her being spanked by the maid in ''These Three'' and getting glared at in the other versions.
52	* MaliciousSlander: She spreads rumors that Martha and Karen are having an affair in order to get out of going to school.
53	* MissingMom: Her mother's whereabouts are never mentioned.
54	* ParentalAbandonment: Her parents are never referenced in the films. In the play her father is dead but her mother is never mentioned.
55	* RaisedByGrandparents: Her parents whereabouts are unknown in the films, though it is mentioned her father is deceased in the play. Her grandmother seems to be her primary caretaker.
56	* ASaintNamedMary: Subverted. Mary is a brat.
57	* SpoiledBrat: She's a spoiled rich kid who always wants things her way.
58	* YouthfulFreckles: In the 1961 adaptation her actress is freckled.
59
60	!!Lily Mortar
61	* DramaQueen: She's an overdramatic theatre actress.
62	* {{Nephewism}}: She raised Martha from a young age.
63	* PartingWordsRegret: In the play, she regrets [[spoiler:fighting with Martha before her suicide]].
64	* TwoTeacherSchool: She was briefly the music teacher at Wright-Dobie School For Girls, making her the third teacher at the school, but was fired.
65
66	!!Amelia Tilford
67	* HeteronormativeCrusader: She removes her granddaughter from her school after hearing that her teachers are having a lesbian affair. She then gets ''every other parent'' to do the same.
68	* ParentalFavoritism: Mary mentions that Amelia favorited her father. This might have to do with why Amelia babys Mary so much.
69	* RichBitch: She's an unpleasant, wealthy older woman.
70	* ThinkOfTheChildren: This is her reason for making such a big deal out of what Mary said. She doesn't think it's appropriate for Karen and Martha to be teachers.
71
72	!!Joseph "Joe" Cartin
73	* MistakenForCheating: In ''These Three'' Mary spreads rumors that he's sleeping with Martha behind Karen's back.
74	* OfficialCouple: With Karen [[spoiler:until he leaves her due to believing the rumors. In ''These Three'' they hook up again but the other versions end on NoRomanticResolution]].
75	* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: He is referred to as "Joe" throughout the play. Only Amelia calls him "Joseph".
76
77	!!Rosalie Wells
78	* {{Blackmail}}: Mary blackmails her by saying that she'll tell everyone that she stole another girls necklace.
79	* ExtremeDoormat: She goes along with what Mary says due to being afraid that her kleptomania will be revealed.
80	* ShrinkingViolet

Context Characters / TheChildrensHour