Who Ellen Douglas is
Ellen Douglas first appears rowing across Loch Katrine after a stranger sounds his hunting horn. Graceful and at ease on the water, she greets Fitz-James kindly and offers him shelter at her island home. Her welcome introduces the poem's concern with hospitality, even when a guest's identity remains uncertain.
What Ellen Douglas wants
Ellen cares for Malcolm Graeme, a brave young Lowland gentleman whom she likes and trusts. Yet her feelings are bound up with duties to her father and gratitude toward the clan that shelters them. As the clans prepare for conflict with the crown, she fears for those she loves.
Ellen Douglas and the others in the story
Her father, James Douglas, is a nobleman who lives quietly after falling out of favor with the king. Roderick Dhu, chief of Clan Alpine, hopes to marry Ellen, but she does not return his love. The shelter his clan gives her family makes that unwanted courtship a matter of loyalty as well as affection.
Allan-bane, the household's old harper, watches over Ellen with love and fear. His songs bring the weight of old clan quarrels into the home where she welcomes the stranger.
A best-known line
“Soldier, rest! thy warfare o'er”
Questions
Who is Ellen Douglas?
Ellen Douglas is the young woman known as the Lady of the Lake, living on an island in Loch Katrine.
Who does Ellen Douglas love?
Ellen's affection is for Malcolm Graeme, not the clan chief Roderick Dhu.
Why does Ellen Douglas feel indebted to Roderick Dhu?
She feels grateful because his clan shelters her family while her father is out of favor with the king.
