# Mrs. Skewton — Dombey and Son character guide

> Mrs. Skewton in Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mrs. Skewton, the Honourable Mrs. Skewton, Cleopatra

**First appearance:** 0024-xxi-new-faces

## Snapshot

A painted, wheedling dowager who calls herself Cleopatra and trades her daughter's beauty for position, she is the marriage-market's most shameless broker.

## Who they are

Mrs. Skewton drifts through fashionable watering-places in a wheeled chair, rouged and ringleted, insisting on being called Cleopatra while she arranges Edith's match with Mr. Dombey. Her charm is a business asset and her maternal affection a negotiating tactic; she wants luxury, adoration, and a titled son-in-law, and she will spend her daughter to get them. She matters because she embodies the transaction at the heart of the Dombey marriage, making visible how genteel society converts women into currency.

## In the story

### [New Faces](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dombey_and_son_se/chapters/xxi-new-faces)

The faded, artificial mother, presented as Cleopatra, eager to secure a wealthy match for her daughter.

### [Shadows of the Past and Future](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dombey_and_son_se/chapters/xxvi-shadows-of-the-past-and-future)

Feigns distress over Edith's change but eagerly pursues Dombey's proposal through the Major.

### [Deeper Shadows](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dombey_and_son_se/chapters/xxvii-deeper-shadows)

Encourages the outing and the musical performance, fluttered by Mr. Dombey's private communication.

### [The Interval Before the Marriage](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dombey_and_son_se/chapters/xxx-the-interval-before-the-marriage)

Mrs. Skewton manipulates Mr. Dombey into leaving Florence in her care, feigning fragility and delighting in her youthful dress for the wedding.

### [The Wedding](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dombey_and_son_se/chapters/xxxi-the-wedding)

The mother of the bride, feigns reluctance to keep Florence, but ultimately relinquishes her.

### [XXXV: The Happy Pair](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dombey_and_son_se/chapters/xxxv-the-happy-pair)

Attired youthfully, she awaits the happy pair but grows fretful over the delayed dinner.

### [Housewarming](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dombey_and_son_se/chapters/xxxvi-housewarming)

Holds levees in her apartments, helps arrange the entertainments, and intervenes during the quarrel to smooth things over with flattery.

### [More Warnings Than One](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dombey_and_son_se/chapters/xxxvii-more-warnings-than-one)

Recovering from illness, she complains of neglect and manipulates Edith with guilt, while clinging to her youthful appearance.

### [Domestic Relations](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dombey_and_son_se/chapters/xl-domestic-relations)

Her health is failing; she confuses names and is described as 'earthy' and imbecilic, yet remains vainly youthful in dress.

### [New Voices in the Waves](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dombey_and_son_se/chapters/xli-new-voices-in-the-waves)

Lies ill and delirious, accusing Edith of neglect and seeing imaginary threats.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dombey_and_son_se/characters/mrs_skewton
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dombey_and_son_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dombey_and_son_se/characters