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Agnes Wickfield
Betsey Trotwood is David's great-aunt on his father's side. Although she disapproved of David Copperfield's marriage to Clara, she is present for David's birth because she hopes the child will be a girl. As a young woman, Miss Betsey married a man who abused her, and the relationship permanently soured her on the male sex. Nevertheless, she is moved by David's plight when he comes to her after running away from the counting-house, and she refuses to send him back to Mr. Murdstone. From that point onward, she becomes a parental figure for David, putting him through school and offering advice and support even after he has grown to adulthood. Outwardly, Miss Betsey is a no-nonsense and even gruff woman who intimidates Clara Copperfield, Peggotty, and (initially) even David himself. Her tough exterior, however, conceals deep compassion and respect for her family and friends. This is particularly evident in her relationship with Mr. Dick, a mentally disabled man whom Miss Betsey not only rescues from an asylum but then lives with and treats as an equal. In fact, Miss Betsey displays tenderness and concern even towards people she professes to disapprove of. Although quite critical of Clara's (and later Dora Spenlow's) childishness and naiveté, Miss Betsey nevertheless speaks out for both women's rights to be treated kindly and respectfully by their husbands. The novel implies that some of Miss Betsey's outer hardness is a matter of necessity; since she separated from her husband, she has been living as an entirely independent woman, which was not an easy feat in Victorian England.
Miss Betsey Trotwood Quotes in David Copperfield
The David Copperfield quotes below are all either spoken by Miss Betsey Trotwood or refer to Miss Betsey Trotwood. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 35
Quotes
Wherever Agnes was, some agreeable token of her noiseless presence seemed inseparable from the place. When I came back, I found my aunt's birds hanging, just as they had hung so long in the parlor window of the cottage; and my easy chair imitating my aunt's much easier chair in its position at the open window; and even the round green fan, which my aunt had brought away with her, screwed on to the window-sill. I knew who had done all this, by its seeming to have quietly done itself; and I should have known in a moment who had arranged my neglected books in the open order of my school days, even if I had supposed Agnes to be miles away.
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Chapter 54
Quotes
"When I lost the rest, I thought it wise to say nothing about that sum, but to keep it secretly for a rainy day. I wanted to see how you would come out of the trial, Trot; and you came out nobly—persevering, self-reliant, self-denying! So did Dick."
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Miss Betsey Trotwood Quotes in David Copperfield
The David Copperfield quotes below are all either spoken by Miss Betsey Trotwood or refer to Miss Betsey Trotwood. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 35
Quotes
Wherever Agnes was, some agreeable token of her noiseless presence seemed inseparable from the place. When I came back, I found my aunt's birds hanging, just as they had hung so long in the parlor window of the cottage; and my easy chair imitating my aunt's much easier chair in its position at the open window; and even the round green fan, which my aunt had brought away with her, screwed on to the window-sill. I knew who had done all this, by its seeming to have quietly done itself; and I should have known in a moment who had arranged my neglected books in the open order of my school days, even if I had supposed Agnes to be miles away.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 54
Quotes
"When I lost the rest, I thought it wise to say nothing about that sum, but to keep it secretly for a rainy day. I wanted to see how you would come out of the trial, Trot; and you came out nobly—persevering, self-reliant, self-denying! So did Dick."
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
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Explanation and Analysis:
