# Mrs. Corney — Oliver Twist character guide

> Mrs. Corney in Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Corney, the late Mrs. Corney

**First appearance:** 0022-xxiii-which-contains-the-substance-of-a-pleasant-conversation-between-mr-bumble-and-a-lady-and-shows-that-even-a-beadle-may-be-susceptible-on-some-points

## Snapshot

The workhouse matron whose sharp tongue and sharper eye for advantage make her a formidable power in the parish's small, cruel economy.

## Who they are

Mrs. Corney runs the female side of the workhouse with a mixture of self-pity and calculation, doling out comfort and discipline according to what each may yield her. Her courtship by Mr. Bumble — conducted over tea and the careful weighing of each other's prospects — is one of Dickens's finest satires of parish respectability, two small tyrants negotiating a marriage of convenience. She matters because she shows how the workhouse system rewards those who administer it, and how easily kindness is converted into leverage.

## In the story

### [Which Contains the Substance of a Pleasant Conversation Between Mr. Bumble and a Lady; and Shows That Even a Beadle May Be Susceptible on Some Points](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/chapters/xxiii-which-contains-the-substance-of-a-pleasant-conversation-between-mr-bumble-and-a-lady-and-shows-that-even-a-beadle-may-be-susceptible-on-some-points)

The workhouse matron, enjoying tea and engaging in a flirtatious conversation with Mr. Bumble.

### [Treats on a Very Poor Subject. But Is a Short One, and May Be Found of Importance in This History](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/chapters/xxiv-treats-on-a-very-poor-subject-but-is-a-short-one-and-may-be-found-of-importance-in-this-history)

The matron who impatiently waits for Old Sally's confession but is left unsatisfied when the old woman dies.

### [Chapter XXVII: Atones for the Unpoliteness of a Former Chapter; Which Deserted a Lady, Most Unceremoniously](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/chapters/xxvii-atones-for-the-unpoliteness-of-a-former-chapter-which-deserted-a-lady-most-unceremoniously)

Flustered by Old Sally's death, she seeks comfort from Mr. Bumble and agrees to marry him.

### [XXXVII: In Which the Reader May Perceive a Contrast, Not Uncommon in Matrimonial Cases](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/chapters/xxxvii-in-which-the-reader-may-perceive-a-contrast-not-uncommon-in-matrimonial-cases)

Now Mrs. Bumble, she dominates her husband, publicly humiliating him and asserting her control over the household.

### [XXXVIII: Containing an Account of What Passed Between Mr. and Mrs. Bumble, and Mr. Monks, at Their Nocturnal Interview](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/chapters/xxxviii-containing-an-account-of-what-passed-between-mr-and-mrs-bumble-and-mr-monks-at-their-nocturnal-interview)

Now Mrs. Bumble, she boldly negotiates with Monks for payment regarding the dying woman's secret.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/characters/mrs_corney
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