Anne Morris (née Stuyvesant, portrayed by Katie Finneran) is the haughty and unforgiving wife of city alderman Patrick Morris. She has established her place in a small circle of wealthy women and is determined to keep it closed to "new money" interlopers.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Born a Stuyvesant[1], Anne Morris is from one of the "old money" families of New York, and is part of respectable society. Her husband Patrick is one of the New York City aldermen. They have a son called Will and a daughter called Louise. Anne and her friend Aurora Fane organize a charity that provides for war widows and orphans.
Season 1[]
Anne Morris and Aurora Fane are chairs of a charity event attended by Ada Brook and her niece Marian Brook, the latter of whom is new in the city. It is also attended by Bertha Russell and her daughter Gladys, who come from new money and are looked down upon in high society with their gaudy and opulent mansion on 61st Street.[1]
Her husband is invited to an informal dinner by George Russell, and Anne is originally against the idea, but her husband persuades her that it is for the best. The Morrises are taken aback by the sheer luxury of the Russell mansion when they arrive. Bertha and Anne subtly disagree with one another at dinner, but when they are given a tour of the house, Bertha offers the grand ballroom to Anne if she needs it for any of her charity events. When the location of her charity bazaar at Park Avenue Armory falls through, Anne chooses to move it to a smaller room at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, rather than taking up Bertha's offer. At the event, George Russell calls out Anne for refusing his wife's offer, and offers each of the vendors one hundred dollars to sell him everything they have and to shut down the entire sale, with high society being scandalized.[2]
After this, Patrick and some of his business partners attempt to dismantle George Russell’s empire by temporarily revoking a law, thus making it illegal for him to build the train station that he had planned for. This backfires on them, as George, in response, buys shares of a new up and coming company, leaving none left for the other men to purchase. Patricks begs Anne to make peace with Bertha to convince her husband to stop, but Anne is too proud. This pride proves itself a grave mistake, as Patrick takes his own life after failing to gain mercy from George and facing ruin, leaving her a widow.[3]
Anne attended her husband’s funeral while George Russell reveled in his victory by unveiling the official designs for his new train station, her home being sold off. Her disdain for the Russells, particularly, Bertha, developed into a strong hatred, the flames of which were only stoked by the rest of society siding with the Russells out of self-preservation, including Aurora, who had chosen to help integrate Bertha into the inner circle on her husband’s desperate plea. Anne felt the Russells had “murdered” Patrick, and felt betrayed by Aurora and disgusted seeing Bertha publicly praised by Clara Barton for her generosity for the Red Cross. Despite Aurora pleading with her to not continue fighting a losing battle, Anne swore revenge on Bertha and her family for her husband’s death and her own family’s ruin.[4]
Quotes[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Gilded Age, season 1 episode 1: "Never The New"
- ↑ The Gilded Age, season 1 episode 2: "Money Isn't Everything"
- ↑ Face The Music
- ↑ A Long Ladder