# Mr. Spenlow — David Copperfield character guide

> Mr. Spenlow in David Copperfield by Charles Dickens.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Spenlow, the late Mr. Spenlow

**First appearance:** 0026-xxiii-i-corroborate-mr-dick-and-choose-a-profession

## Snapshot

A prosperous proctor whose immaculate garden and charming daughter Dora make David's clerkship feel like a doorway into a world he can barely afford to enter.

## Who they are

Mr. Spenlow is a well-to-do proctor of the Commons who takes David on as a clerk and invites him home to a house where hats, whips, and walking-sticks crowd the hall and a lovely garden lies beyond. He is genial, conventional, and quietly proud of his position, and he assumes David's admiration for Dora is harmless because the young man's prospects are plainly beneath her. His approval, or refusal of it, becomes the quiet gate David must somehow pass through.

## In the story

### [XXIII: I Corroborate Mr. Dick, and Choose a Profession](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/david_copperfield_se/chapters/xxiii-i-corroborate-mr-dick-and-choose-a-profession)

Interviews David about the proctor vacancy; mentions the inflexible partner Mr. Jorkins; agrees to a month's trial.

### [XXIX: I Visit Steerforth at His Home, Again](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/david_copperfield_se/chapters/xxix-i-visit-steerforth-at-his-home-again)

David's employer; grants leave and mentions Dora's health casually.

### [Blissful](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/david_copperfield_se/chapters/xxxiii-blissful)

Dora's father, a proctor who accompanies the party to the picnic and later invites David in for refreshments.

### [Depression](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/david_copperfield_se/chapters/xxxv-depression)

David attempts to speak with him about canceling his articles, but the effort is unsuccessful.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/david_copperfield_se/characters/mr_spenlow
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/david_copperfield_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/david_copperfield_se/characters