Martin Chuzzlewit · Character

Charity Pecksniff

The elder Pecksniff daughter, all stately grievance and sharpened tongue, who cannot forgive the sister preferred over her and will not stay quietly at home.

supporting

Also known as Miss Pecksniff, the youngest Miss Pecksniff, Miss Charity, Cherry, Miss Charity Pecksniff, Miss Cherry, Charity Pecksniff, the fair Miss Pecksniff, The gentle Cherry

First appearance: i

As a supporting figure in Martin Chuzzlewit, Charity Pecksniff is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Echoes her father's sentiments and shows disdain for Tom Pinch and John Westlock.

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Charity Pecksniff presides over her father's hypocritical household with a spinster's brittle dignity, forever sharpening her tongue on her prettier sister Mercy. When Jonas Chuzzlewit repudiates her for the younger sister, her wounded vanity curdles into open war, and she demands to be placed at Mrs. Todgers's on an independent footing. Her grim negotiations with her father expose how much of the family's piety is performance, and her jealousy becomes one of the household's most reliable engines of trouble.

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See Charity Pecksniff in i

Character Web

10 connections

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Relationship types

Other

Character groups

Central Chuzzlewit Circle

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Narrative arc

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

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point

This is the story's dramatic climax because it marks the emotional and psychological peak where Dickens public…

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In the story

Charity Pecksniff appears across 14 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Chapter II
Echoes her father's sentiments and shows disdain for Tom Pinch and John Westlock.
IV
Charity, along with her sister Mercy, engages in an acrimonious retort during the family quarrel, defending herself against implied slights.
Chapter VI
Charity sets out the leftover food for Tom and Martin before leaving with her father and sister.
VIII
Travels with her father and sister; reacts with dismay to her father's coarse metaphors.
Chapter IX
Accompanies her father on the visit, is indignant at the treatment they receive, and scolds Mrs. Todgers on the way back.
Containing Strange Matter
Charity, along with Mercy, listens at the door and later reacts with indignation upon learning of young Martin's secret marriage plans.
Chapter XI
Makes tea and acts like the lady of the house, receiving Jonas's admiring whispers; shows jealousy toward her sister Mercy.
Chapter XX
Furious that Jonas proposed to Mercy instead of her; later found keeping household accounts.
Mr. Pecksniff's Design
Plans to leave for London, hinting at a secret; parts amicably with Tom Pinch.
XXXII
Returns to Mrs. Todgers's boarding house and confides about her father's intended remarriage. She begins to encourage Mr. Moddle's attentions and ultimately accepts his proposal.
Tom Pinch, going astray, finds that he is not the only person in that predicament. He retaliates upon a fallen foe.
Charity encounters Tom near the Monument and invites him to Todgers's.
Chapter XLIV
Mentioned as having a sweetheart and sticking close to the vinegar-bottle.
XLVI
Charity is engaged to Augustus Moddle and is seen furniture shopping; she is cordial to Tom and Ruth, and later leads them to Merry's house.
LIV
The bride-to-be, full of clemency and forgiveness, invites her estranged relatives to her wedding.

Chapter companion notes

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See Charity Pecksniff in i

See Charity Pecksniff in Chapter II