# Mrs. Maylie — Oliver Twist character guide

> Mrs. Maylie in Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the old lady

**First appearance:** 0028-xxix-has-an-introductory-account-of-the-inmates-of-the-house-to-which-oliver-resorted

## Snapshot

A gentle, steel-spined old lady whose quiet authority shelters Oliver and Rose, and whose grief never once loosens her grip on duty.

## Who they are

Mrs. Maylie presides over the rural household at Chertsey that takes Oliver in after the burglary, and her tenderness toward Rose reveals a woman whose love runs deeper than her reserve. When Rose falls dangerously ill, she checks her own lamentations mid-sentence and becomes composed and firm, dispatching letters and directing care with a steadiness that astonishes Oliver. Her strength gives the novel's middle chapters their moral center: a portrait of goodness that is not softness, and of age that has learned how to endure.

## Relationships

### [Mr. Bumble](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/characters/mr_bumble)

_rivalry_

Mr. Bumble, as a pompous beadle, clashes with the benevolent Mrs. Maylie over Oliver's welfare.

### [Oliver Twist](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/characters/oliver_twist)

_family_

Mrs. Maylie becomes a loving maternal figure, providing Oliver with shelter and care.

### [Rose Maylie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/characters/rose_maylie)

_family_

Mrs. Maylie is Rose's adoptive mother, raising her with love and gentility.

### [Mr. Bumble](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/characters/mr_bumble)

_rivalry_

Mr. Bumble, as a pompous beadle, clashes with the benevolent Mrs. Maylie over Oliver's welfare.

### [Oliver Twist](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/characters/oliver_twist)

_family_

Mrs. Maylie becomes a loving maternal figure, providing Oliver with shelter and care.

### [Mr. Bumble](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/characters/mr_bumble)

_rivalry_

Mr. Bumble, as a pompous beadle, clashes with the benevolent Mrs. Maylie over Oliver's welfare.

### [Rose Maylie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/characters/rose_maylie)

_family_

Mrs. Maylie is Rose's adoptive mother, raising her with love and gentility.

### [Oliver Twist](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/characters/oliver_twist)

_family_

Mrs. Maylie becomes a loving maternal figure, providing Oliver with shelter and care.

### [Rose Maylie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/characters/rose_maylie)

_family_

Mrs. Maylie is Rose's adoptive mother, raising her with love and gentility.

## In the story

### [XXIX: Has an Introductory Account of the Inmates of the House, to Which Oliver Resorted](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/chapters/xxix-has-an-introductory-account-of-the-inmates-of-the-house-to-which-oliver-resorted)

The elder lady, stately and precise, seated at breakfast with her young companion.

### [XXX: Relates What Oliver's New Visitors Thought of Him](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/chapters/xxx-relates-what-oliver-s-new-visitors-thought-of-him)

Expresses compassion and agrees to help save Oliver.

### [Of the Happy Life Oliver Began to Lead with His Kind Friends](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/chapters/xxxii-of-the-happy-life-oliver-began-to-lead-with-his-kind-friends)

Provides a nurturing home for Oliver and plans the move to the countryside.

### [Wherein the Happiness of Oliver and His Friends Experiences a Sudden Check](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/chapters/xxxiii-wherein-the-happiness-of-oliver-and-his-friends-experiences-a-sudden-check)

Mrs. Maylie is deeply distressed by Rose's illness but remains composed and firm in her duties.

### [XXXIV: Contains Some Introductory Particulars Relative to a Young Gentleman Who Now Arrives Upon the Scene; and a New Adventure Which Happened to Oliver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/chapters/xxxiv-contains-some-introductory-particulars-relative-to-a-young-gentleman-who-now-arrives-upon-the-scene-and-a-new-adventure-which-happened-to-oliver)

Anxiously awaits her son Harry. She discusses with him the difficulties of a marriage to Rose due to the stain on her name, showing her protective and cautious nature.

### [Affording an Explanation of More Mysteries Than One, and Comprehending a Proposal of Marriage with No Word of Settlement or Pin-Money](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/chapters/li-affording-an-explanation-of-more-mysteries-than-one-and-comprehending-a-proposal-of-marriage-with-no-word-of-settlement-or-pin-money)

Present during the journey and the confession; weeps after being called away.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/characters/mrs_maylie
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/characters