# Mrs. General — Little Dorrit character guide

> Mrs. General in Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mrs. General

**First appearance:** 0041-ii-mrs-general

## Snapshot

A governess of impeccable deportment hired to varnish the Dorrit sisters for society, she polishes manners and quietly sands away everything natural.

## Who they are

Mrs. General is engaged to give the newly wealthy Dorrit daughters the surface of ladies, and she does it with a vocabulary of genteel euphemism and a horror of anything that might be called 'vulgar.' Her method is to substitute form for feeling, and the results are both comic and quietly cruel. She matters because she embodies the novel's suspicion that refinement, pursued for its own sake, is a kind of erasure.

## In the story

### [Fellow Travellers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/i-fellow-travellers)

Listed in the travellers' book as part of the Dorrit suite; she observes the conversation about the dogs.

### [Mrs. General](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/ii-mrs-general)

A dignified, proper lady with no opinions of her own, who varnishes over unpleasantness. She is hired by Mr. Dorrit to form the minds and manners of his daughters.

### [Something Wrong Somewhere](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/v-something-wrong-somewhere)

Advises Mr. Dorrit on Amy's lack of proper breeding, recommending that he speak to Amy himself; varnishes the Gowan connection based on their Merdle acquaintance.

### [Mostly, Prunes and Prism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/vii-mostly-prunes-and-prism)

Enforces the superficial code of 'Prunes and Prism' on the Dorrit family; is suspected by Fanny of having designs on Mr. Dorrit.

### [No Just Cause or Impediment Why These Two Persons Should Not Be Joined Together](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xv-no-just-cause-or-impediment-why-these-two-persons-should-not-be-joined-together)

Mentioned as a figure of formality; Fanny dismisses her relevance, and she performs a frosty retirement ritual after the wedding day.

### [The Storming of the Castle in the Air](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xix-the-storming-of-the-castle-in-the-air)

Dines with the family; receives flattery from Mr. Dorrit and hints at a proposal; withdraws due to agitation.

## Links

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