Characters

Harriet Oleson

As the wife and co-owner of Walnut Grove's General Store, Harriet Oleson is a shrewd businesswoman. Never one to sympathize with her customers who do not have enough cash to pay for local goods, Harriet insists that her husband not allow people to have store credit. Her snobbery, nosey and gossiping ways are more than Nels can handle. But his disapproval certainly doesn't stop her elitist behavior. She is quick to instill the same superior thoughts and behavior to her two bratty children. Though she contends to be a good Christian woman, she consistently holds disdain for people with financial troubles, especially the Ingalls. They are among her least favorite people. But it's just possible that her feelings of disregard are really feelings of jealously for the upright Ingall family.