# Roxana — Pudd’nhead Wilson character guide > Roxana in Pudd’nhead Wilson by Mark Twain. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Roxy, old Roxy **First appearance:** 0001-pudd-nhead-wilson ## Snapshot A proud, sharp-witted enslaved woman whose one desperate act of love and fear reshapes every life in the Driscoll house. ## Who they are Roxy belongs to Judge Driscoll's household, a woman whose beauty, nerve, and fierce maternal love set her apart even in bondage. After years of steamboat work she returns to Dawson's Landing poor, disabled, and dreaming of her son's kindness, though she knows his crueler side too well. Her mixture of cunning, tenderness, and self-deception makes her the quiet engine of the novel's central deception. ## Relationships ### [Tom Driscoll](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/characters/tom_driscoll) _family_ Roxana is Tom's biological mother, but she secretly switched him at birth with Chambers, creating a complex bond of love, guilt, and manipulation. ### [Pudd'nhead Wilson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/characters/puddnhead_wilson) _social_ Wilson and Roxana have a distant acquaintance; Wilson is aware of her secret but does not actively engage with her. ### [Chambers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/characters/chambers) _family_ Chambers is Roxana's biological son, but she raised him as a slave while her other son lived as master, creating a painful, secret bond. ### [Mrs. Percy Driscoll](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/characters/mrs_percy_driscoll) _professional_ Mrs. Percy Driscoll was Roxana's mistress, treating her as a household slave before her death. ### [Tom Driscoll](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/characters/tom_driscoll) _family_ Roxana is Tom's biological mother, but she secretly switched him at birth with Chambers, creating a complex bond of love, guilt, and manipulation. ### [Tom Driscoll](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/characters/tom_driscoll) _family_ Roxana is Tom's biological mother, but she secretly switched him at birth with Chambers, creating a complex bond of love, guilt, and manipulation. ### [Chambers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/characters/chambers) _family_ Chambers is Roxana's biological son, but she raised him as a slave while her other son lived as master, creating a painful, secret bond. ### [Pudd'nhead Wilson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/characters/puddnhead_wilson) _social_ Wilson and Roxana have a distant acquaintance; Wilson is aware of her secret but does not actively engage with her. ### [Pudd'nhead Wilson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/characters/puddnhead_wilson) _social_ Wilson and Roxana have a distant acquaintance; Wilson is aware of her secret but does not actively engage with her. ### [Mrs. Percy Driscoll](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/characters/mrs_percy_driscoll) _professional_ Mrs. Percy Driscoll was Roxana's mistress, treating her as a household slave before her death. ## In the story ### [Pudd'nhead Wilson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/chapters/pudd-nhead-wilson) A slave woman who gives birth to a son on the same day as her master's wife; she later switches the babies to save her child from being sold down the river. ### [I: Pudd'nhead Wins His Name](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/chapters/i-pudd-nhead-wins-his-name) A twenty-year-old slave girl who gives birth to a son on February 1, 1830, and is put in charge of both her baby and her master's newborn. ### [II: Driscoll Spares His Slaves](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/chapters/ii-driscoll-spares-his-slaves) Deeply affected by the threat of being sold down the river; she had recently 'got religion' and resisted stealing money. ### [III: Roxy Plays a Shrewd Trick](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/chapters/iii-roxy-plays-a-shrewd-trick) Driven by maternal terror, she switches the babies to save her child from being sold down the river. ### [IV: The Ways of the Changelings](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/chapters/iv-the-ways-of-the-changelings) Roxy is freed by Percy Driscoll on his deathbed. She struggles with her feelings toward Tom, alternating between vengeful thoughts and doting love. She plans to leave Dawson's Landing to work as a chambermaid on a steamboat. ### [VIII: Marse Tom Tramples His Chance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/chapters/viii-marse-tom-tramples-his-chance) Returns to Dawson's Landing after losing her savings and being disabled; seeks a reunion with Tom but is rebuffed and denied help. ### [IX: Tom Practises Sycophancy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/chapters/ix-tom-practises-sycophancy) Roxy reveals the truth to Tom, asserting her authority and demanding half his monthly pension. She also tells him his father was Colonel Cecil Burleigh Essex. ### [X: The Nymph Revealed](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/chapters/x-the-nymph-revealed) Roxy is Tom's mother and accomplice. She collects her half of his pension, visits him at the haunted house, and helps him with his disguises and thefts. She also brings him news of the town's social events. ### [XIV: Roxana Insists Upon Reform](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/chapters/xiv-roxana-insists-upon-reform) Reveals she was grazed by a bullet from the duel, berates Tom for refusing to fight, and attributes his cowardice to his 'one part nigger' soul. ### [XV: The Robber Robbed](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/chapters/xv-the-robber-robbed) Roxana is mentioned as the person Tom consulted to guess Wilson's scheme; she correctly deduced the trap involving the knife reward. ### [XVI: Sold Down the River](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/chapters/xvi-sold-down-the-river) Roxana voluntarily offers to be sold into slavery to save her son, but is betrayed and sold down the river, realizing her fate too late. ### [XVIII: Roxana Commands](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/chapters/xviii-roxana-commands) Returns to confront Tom after escaping from slavery; she is worn, starved, and desperate, but commands Tom to buy her freedom. ### [XIX: The Prophecy Realized](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/chapters/xix-the-prophecy-realized) Tom mails a new bill of sale selling her to herself, completing her legal freedom. ### [The Murderer Chuckles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/chapters/xx-the-murderer-chuckles) Present in the courtroom, wearing good clothes and carrying her bill of sale; she is eager to see the twins hanged for Judge Driscoll's murder. ### [Doom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/chapters/xxi-doom) Falls to her knees in guilt and sorrow as the truth is revealed. ### [Conclusion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/chapters/conclusion) Heartbroken, her spirit quenched; she finds solace only in church. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/characters/roxana - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/characters