# Mrs. Rudge — Barnaby Rudge character guide > Mrs. Rudge in Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** the widow **First appearance:** 0002-chapter-1 ## Snapshot A quiet widow whose trembling vigilance over her simple son Barnaby conceals a terror she has spent years trying to outrun. ## Who they are Mrs. Rudge keeps a small, poor household with her son Barnaby, and the locksmith Gabriel Varden treats her with a gentle, wary kindness. When a soft knock comes at the shutter, her mild manner cracks into agitation, and she insists on answering it alone — a choice that exposes the dread she lives with. That dread, tied to a man she clearly knows and fears, makes her the quiet hinge on which the novel's mystery begins to turn. ## Relationships ### [The Blind Man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/characters/the_blind_man) _psychological_ The Blind Man blackmails and terrorizes Mrs. Rudge, exploiting her fear and secrets to control her. ### [The Blind Man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/characters/the_blind_man) _psychological_ The Blind Man blackmails and terrorizes Mrs. Rudge, exploiting her fear and secrets to control her. ### [The Blind Man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/characters/the_blind_man) _psychological_ The Blind Man blackmails and terrorizes Mrs. Rudge, exploiting her fear and secrets to control her. ## In the story ### [Chapter 5](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-5) The widow, who is visibly agitated by the knocking and later terrified by the man at the door, begging Varden not to follow him. ### [Chapter 6](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-6) The widow, visibly distressed and anxious, hiding her emotions. ### [Chapter 16](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-16) The widow is followed through the streets by the mysterious stranger as she shops and returns home, where he confronts her at her door. ### [Chapter 17](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-17) The widow is deeply anxious and fearful, haunted by a secret. She is confronted by the robber from the Chigwell road, who threatens her and reveals a hold over her through her son. ### [Chapter 18](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-18) The man who left the widow's house is the central figure, though his identity is not yet revealed; he is the widow's visitor. ### [Chapter 24](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-24) Mentioned as involved in the supposed conspiracy. ### [Chapter 25](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-25) The widow, making her first visit to her native village in twenty-two years, carrying secret dread and sorrow, and seeking a private audience with Mr. Haredale. ### [Chapter 26](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-26) Absent from her home; she and Barnaby have left, and her whereabouts are unknown. ### [Chapter 42](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-42) Her absence is felt in the house she once inhabited, with her usual seat and watchful presence recalled. ### [Chapter 45](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-45) The widow, living in quiet poverty, devoted to her son, now threatened by Stagg's blackmail. ### [Chapter 46](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-46) Desperate to protect her son, she pays off the blind man and plans to flee their home. ### [Chapter 47](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-47) The widow, grateful for Barnaby's affection, but uneasy about his interest in the blind man and the dangers of London. ### [Chapter 48](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-48) Desperately tries to prevent Barnaby from joining the rioters, fearing for his safety. ### [Chapter 62](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-62) The prisoner's wife, who is the target of the blind man's plan; she is to provide false testimony to save her husband, with the safety of her son as leverage. ### [Chapter 65](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-65) Present in the crowd, reunited with her son Barnaby as they are passed through the mob. ### [Chapter 68](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-68) Mentioned as the mother Barnaby hopes will join them. ### [Chapter 73](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-73) Visits Barnaby in prison, reveals the truth about his father's crime, and later confronts her husband, pleading for his repentance. ### [Chapter 76](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-76) Spends her last hours with Barnaby, her heart breaking as she is carried away, having said it would break. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/characters/mrs_rudge - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/characters