Madame Mantalini is Mr. Mantalini’s husband. She is a dressmaker and milliner (hatmaker) who owns the dress shop where Kate goes to work. While Madame Mantalini seems generally conscientious and well-meaning, her husband’s extravagance upends her life and causes her to lose her business. At one point, Madame Mantalini leaves Mr. Mantalini, but at the end of the novel they are back together, showing the difficulties that can arise in unbalanced and manipulative relationships.