An elderly spinster, Miss Avery lives next to Howards End and was an old friend of Ruth Wilcox. Like Ruth, she has a mystical, all-knowing air about her that is connected to Howards End. She is slightly nuttier than Ruth, and she frequently goes over to Howards End when the house is empty. When Margaret Schlegel, the new Mrs. Wilcox, temporarily stores her furniture in the empty house, Miss Avery unpacks it all. She believes that Margaret is Ruth’s heir in spirit rather than Ruth’s daughter, Evie, who offended her by returning the valuable necklace Miss Avery gave her for her wedding.
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Miss Avery Character Timeline in Howards End
The timeline below shows where the character Miss Avery appears in Howards End. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 24
The old woman who startled Margaret at Howards End was Miss Avery , a former friend of Ruth’s who lives on the farm next door and keeps...
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Chapter 31
...Schlegels’ furniture is stored at Howards End, which remains empty after the former renter left. Miss Avery will continue to look after the property. Margaret and Henry are married quietly at Margaret’s...
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Chapter 32
Dolly tells Margaret that Miss Avery has unpacked some of the Schlegels’ belongings being stored at Howards End. Margaret is particularly...
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Dolly says that “old maids” like Miss Avery can be slightly crazy. Miss Avery gave Evie a very nice necklace as a wedding...
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Chapter 33
...from the train to the Averys’ farm to retrieve the keys to Howards End from Miss Avery . She admires the timeless, undisturbed countryside she observes along the way, and is rather...
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Miss Avery ’s niece, Madge, takes Margaret to meet Miss Avery at Howards End, telling Margaret how...
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Margaret politely tours Howards End with Miss Avery , and notes that her furniture and possessions suit the house nicely. She admires the...
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Chapter 37
...what fond memories it all recalls. Their sisterly love and intimacy is restored. Margaret calls Miss Avery “extraordinary” for pulling it all off and says that the old woman must have loved...
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...to ask Henry’s permission to stay overnight at Howards End, conscious that she is fulfilling Miss Avery ’s recent prediction that she would soon inhabit the house again.
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Chapter 41
...pains him. Charles orders him brought outside and revived with water, but Leonard is dead. Miss Avery walks out of the house carrying the sword and calls it murder.
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Chapter 43
Back at Howards End, Miss Avery laments that Leonard died without even knowing that he was going to be a father....
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Helen stays one night longer at the Averys’ farm, over the initial objections of Miss Avery ’s socially-conscious niece. After the police inquest, Helen plans to leave for Germany, where she...
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Chapter 44
Fourteen months later, Miss Avery ’s grandnephew Tom takes Helen’s young son to play with the hay Tom’s father is...
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