# Peter Featherstone — Middlemarch character guide

> Peter Featherstone in Middlemarch by George Eliot.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mr. Featherstone, Featherstone, old Featherstone, Peter Featherstone, old Mr. Featherstone

**First appearance:** 0012-ix

## Snapshot

A cunning, dying miser who keeps his keys and his tin box in bed beside him, and who toys with his greedy relations by threatening to burn one of his two wills.

## Who they are

Old Featherstone lies in bed counting his relations as they come peeping and casting up, delighting in the fools who wait on his death. At three in the morning he orders Mary Garth to fetch a will from his iron chest so he can burn it, and when she refuses he tries to bribe her with notes and gold. His hoarded power over his family, and Mary's quiet refusal to be soiled by it, set the terms of the inheritance contest that will unsettle Stone Court and the Vincys alike.

## In the story

### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/middlemarch_se/chapters/xii)

Featherstone is present during the visit, teasing Fred and praising Rosamond's singing, and is revealed to have invented the story about Bulstrode to torment Fred.

### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/middlemarch_se/chapters/xiii)

Mentioned as having taken Lydgate into favor and as likely to leave land to Fred.

### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/middlemarch_se/chapters/xiv)

Manipulative and miserly, he tests Fred by giving him less money than expected and enjoys asserting his power over both Fred and Mary Garth.

### [Book III: Waiting for Death](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/middlemarch_se/chapters/book-iii-waiting-for-death)

Lying on his deathbed, surrounded by greedy relatives awaiting his will.

### [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/middlemarch_se/chapters/xxiii)

Uncle Featherstone's potential inheritance looms over Fred's actions and the perceptions of others in Middlemarch.

### [XXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/middlemarch_se/chapters/xxv)

Mentioned as Fred's uncle; Fred hopes he might advance money, but Mary refuses to beg.

### [XXXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/middlemarch_se/chapters/xxxii)

Bedridden and irritable, he uses his gold-headed stick to ward off unwanted relatives and insists Fred and Mrs. Vincy stay.

### [XXXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/middlemarch_se/chapters/xxxiii)

On his deathbed, tries to manipulate Mary into helping him burn a will and take money; dies with keys and money in hand.

### [XXXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/middlemarch_se/chapters/xxxv)

Deceased; his will is read, leaving his estate to Joshua Rigg and disappointing his relatives.

### [XLI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/middlemarch_se/chapters/xli)

Deceased former owner of Stone Court; his property and legacy are central to the chapter's events.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/middlemarch_se/characters/peter_featherstone
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/middlemarch_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/middlemarch_se/characters