Little Dorrit · Character

Tattycoram

The Meagles' adopted daughter, given a pet name instead of a real one, she burns with a sense of injustice that her grateful benefactors cannot imagine.

supporting

Also known as Tattycoram, Harriet

First appearance: Fellow Travellers

As a supporting figure in Little Dorrit, Tattycoram is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Found by Miss Wade in a passionate rage, feeling neglected and ill-used.

In the storyFellow TravellersOpen this moment free

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Tattycoram lives as a charity child in a household that means to be kind and cannot stop reminding her of it. Her temper, her pride, and her hunger to be seen as Harriet rather than as a rescued curiosity make her vulnerable to anyone who flatters her grievance. She matters because she tests the novel's faith that benevolence is always benevolent, and because her restlessness gives the plot a live wire.

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See Tattycoram in Fellow Travellers

Character Web

17 connections

A slice of how Tattycoram sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Other

Character groups

Circumlocution Office and Society
Minor Characters and Background Figures
Protagonist

+12 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This excerpt represents the story's dramatic climax because it depicts Arthur Clennam’s psychological nadir an…

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In the story

Tattycoram appears across 6 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Fellow Travellers
Found by Miss Wade in a passionate rage, feeling neglected and ill-used.
Nobody's Weakness
Reveals she has met Miss Wade, who offered her a place to go if she feels hurt; shows anger and contempt when overhearing the family.
Five-and-Twenty
Flees the Meagles household after refusing to count five-and-twenty, driven by pride and passion; her whereabouts are unknown.
Nobody's Disappearance
Has disappeared with Miss Wade; all attempts to contact or recover her fail, and she is given up as irrecoverable.
Appearance and Disappearance
Reported by Mrs. Tickit as appearing at the cottage, then seen by Arthur in London with a suspicious foreign man.
Introduces the Next
Appears as Harriet, admits to looking in at the Meagles' garden gate, and shows conflicted feelings about her past.

Chapter companion notes

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See Tattycoram in Fellow Travellers