Dulcie

Dulcie, addressed as Great Aunt Dulcie, is a member of Clare’s family whose sharp perception and directness surface during the family’s Christmas Eve gathering. When Lucille reacts harshly to Mark and Sharon’s pregnancy and plans to marry, Dulcie challenges her by recalling that Lucille had faced the same circumstances before her own marriage to Philip. The revelation briefly changes the room’s understanding of the family’s past and gives Dulcie a decisive voice in a moment of conflict.

Place in the Abshire Family

Henry meets Dulcie at the Abshire family’s Christmas gathering. She sits at the dinner table among Clare’s relatives, and Henry learns that she is Clare’s great-aunt. Her presence places her within the family’s shared history, though the supplied scenes offer little personal background beyond that relationship.

The Christmas Eve Confrontation

During dinner, Lucille is distressed by Sharon’s pregnancy and upcoming marriage to Mark. She regards Sharon as socially inferior, in part because Sharon is the first person in her family to attend college. Dulcie asks what is wrong with Sharon, and, after Henry explains the situation, remarks that Lucille ought to be more understanding of the young woman.

Dulcie then makes the point explicit: Lucille herself had done the same thing, and it had not ruined Philip’s prospects. The reminder interrupts Lucille’s distress and shocks her into silence. Mark looks to Philip, who nods, while Sharon smiles; the exchange reveals that Dulcie knows a piece of Lucille’s earlier history that has not been openly acknowledged at the table.

Character and Narrative Significance

Dulcie’s intervention is concise but consequential. Rather than allowing Lucille’s judgment of Sharon to stand, she uses family memory to expose the inconsistency behind it. Her rebuke links the younger couple’s situation to the older generation’s past, turning private history into an argument for greater understanding. The scene also underscores the uneven distribution of family knowledge: Dulcie knows what Lucille has concealed, and Clare already appears aware of more than some relatives know.