# Mrs. Clennam — Little Dorrit character guide

> Mrs. Clennam in Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Mrs. Clennam

**First appearance:** 0005-iii-home

## Snapshot

A paralyzed tyrant in a wheeled chair, Arthur's mother rules her gloomy house with iron piety while clutching a dead husband's watch and a secret she will not name.

## Who they are

Mrs. Clennam presides over a joyless corner house where religion is punishment and every kindness carries a debt. She employs Little Dorrit as a seamstress and, in a rare unguarded moment, kisses the girl's forehead — a tenderness that startles even her watchful servant. Yet her interest in Little Dorrit is tangled with an old wrong she guards like a relic, and the watch on her table ticks toward a reckoning she cannot outrun.

## In the story

### [Little Dorrit](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/little-dorrit)

Arthur's stern and mysterious mother, keeper of family secrets and a dark house.

### [Book I: Poverty](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/book-i-poverty)

Arthur's stern, invalid mother, keeper of a dark family secret.

### [Home](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/iii-home)

Arthur's mother, now confined to her room due to rheumatic illness, stern and unyielding, presiding over the gloomy household.

### [Mrs. Flintwinch Has a Dream](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/iv-mrs-flintwinch-has-a-dream)

Mentioned as the invalid mistress whose bell summons Affery; her port wine is consumed by the double in the dream.

### [Family Affairs](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/v-family-affairs)

Mrs. Clennam reacts with austere disappointment to Arthur's decision, appoints Jeremiah Flintwinch as partner, and shows a reserved interest in Little Dorrit.

### [XV: Mrs. Flintwinch Has Another Dream](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xv-mrs-flintwinch-has-another-dream)

Mrs. Clennam defends her right to keep Little Dorrit's secret, showing her stern and unyielding nature.

### [Mrs. Flintwinch Goes on Dreaming](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxix-mrs-flintwinch-goes-on-dreaming)

Shows unexpected gentleness toward Little Dorrit, kissing her forehead, but remains suspicious of Mr. Pancks and questions Little Dorrit about him.

### [The Word of a Gentleman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxx-the-word-of-a-gentleman)

Receives Mr. Blandois in her room, speaks of her infirmities, and allows him to examine her watch with the initials D.N.F.

### [X: The Dreams of Mrs. Flintwinch Thicken](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/x-the-dreams-of-mrs-flintwinch-thicken)

Presides inflexibly in her room, silently observing Blandois; dismisses Arthur with a cold command, her cheek strained and cold.

### [Missing](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xvii-missing)

Mrs. Clennam is questioned by Mr. Dorrit about Blandois's disappearance but gives curt, unhelpful answers.

### [Mistress Affery Makes a Conditional Promise, Respecting Her Dreams](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxiii-mistress-affery-makes-a-conditional-promise-respecting-her-dreams)

Refuses to keep Blandois's past secret, asserting her independence and frustrating Arthur's efforts.

### [XXX: Closing In](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxx-closing-in)

Defends her lifelong harshness and punishment of others as divine appointment, revealing her discovery of her husband's secret marriage and child.

### [Closed](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxxi-closed)

Confronts Little Dorrit, confesses her past sins, and begs for forgiveness and secrecy. She then reveals Rigaud's blackmail plot and asks for help.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/characters/mrs_clennam
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/characters