Character from Work in Progress by Kat Mackenzie
A German birdwatcher with binoculars permanently around her neck and a pragmatic worldview that cuts through everyone else's emotional chaos like a north wind.
Bertha does not do subtext. She says what she means, she means what she says, and if you're having an emotional crisis she will hand you her spare pair of binoculars and tell you to look at the red kite circling overhead, because perspective is literally available right now if you'd just look up. Her bird-watching obsession is total and non-negotiable — she will stop mid-conversation to identify a species, she keeps a life list that she guards more carefully than her passport, and she considers a successful day one where she's spotted something new. But her pragmatism extends beyond ornithology. She sees through pretense efficiently, offers advice without sentiment, and has the particular German talent for making blunt honesty feel like a kindness. She challenges Alice's tendency to spiral by simply refusing to participate in the spiral.
Sturdy and weather-beaten in the way of someone who's spent decades standing in fields at dawn waiting for warblers. Always carries binoculars. Wears practical outdoor clothing regardless of the social occasion — hiking boots to castle tours, waterproofs to pub dinners. Has the squint of someone who's spent a lifetime looking at things very far away.
Also known as: Bertha