# Jenny Wren — Our Mutual Friend character guide

> Jenny Wren in Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Miss Jenny Wren, Jenny, Miss Wren, the dolls' dressmaker

**First appearance:** 0036-i-lodgers-in-queer-street

## Snapshot

A crippled dolls' dressmaker with a needle-sharp tongue and a fairy-godmother faith in Riah, whose crooked body houses the novel's straightest sight.

## Who they are

Jenny stitches dresses for dolls in a fog-bound London room, calling Riah her godmother and turning her deformity into a running joke she controls before anyone else can. Her tension is between the tenderness she hides—she kisses the maimed hand—and the acid she deploys against self-important men like Headstone and Charley. She matters because her clear-eyed judgments and her friendship with Lizzie make her the moral tuning fork of the early and middle chapters.

## In the story

### [Still Educational](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/ii-still-educational)

The person of the house; scolds her drunken father and collects his money; expresses violent fantasies about punishing a drunkard husband.

### [Mercury Prompting](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/v-mercury-prompting)

A dolls' dressmaker with a sharp tongue, studying with Lizzie on the rooftop and selling trimmings from Riah's waste.

### [XI: Some Affairs of the Heart](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/xi-some-affairs-of-the-heart)

The dolls' dressmaker, listens to Lizzie's story and expresses concern for her.

### [A Respected Friend in a New Aspect](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/ii-a-respected-friend-in-a-new-aspect)

Expects Riah's visit, refers to him as 'godmother,' and accompanies him to the tavern.

### [The Same Respected Friend in More Aspects Than One](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/iii-the-same-respected-friend-in-more-aspects-than-one)

Present in the bar with Miss Abbey and the gentle Jew, awaiting news of Riderhood's condition.

### [Scouts Out](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/x-scouts-out)

Works by candlelight, rebuffs Eugene's request, and scolds her drunken father (Mr. Dolls).

### [Give a Dog a Bad Name, and Hang Him](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/xiii-give-a-dog-a-bad-name-and-hang-him)

Visits Pubsey and Co. to buy waste, but is confounded by Fledgeby's denial of being the master and his disparagement of Riah.

### [A Few Grains of Pepper](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/viii-a-few-grains-of-pepper)

Works alone after distrusting Riah; agrees to meet Fledgeby; witnesses aftermath of Lammle's attack.

### [Two Places Vacated](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/ix-two-places-vacated)

Mourns her father Mr. Dolls after his death, then helps Riah leave Pubsey and Co.

### [X: The Dolls’ Dressmaker Discovers a Word](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/x-the-dolls-dressmaker-discovers-a-word)

The dolls' dressmaker who watches over Eugene with keen perception, discovers a key word to help Lightwood communicate with him, and kisses him on the cheek.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/characters/jenny_wren
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/characters