# Jenny Diver — The Beggar’s Opera character guide

> Jenny Diver in The Beggar’s Opera by John Gay.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Jenny

**First appearance:** 0007-act-i

## Snapshot

One of the town women in Macheath's wide circle of lovers, Jenny Diver moves through the opera's underworld as both a rival and a lure.

## Who they are

Jenny belongs to the chorus of 'Women of the Town' whose names — Coaxer, Trull, Vixen, Doxy — announce their trade, and she numbers among the many lovers Macheath keeps in addition to his wife Polly. Her presence sharpens the play's central irony: the highwayman who lives by fraud is himself entangled by women whose affections, like his own profession, are paid for. She matters to the middle arc as one of the threads that can be pulled to expose or betray Macheath when the Peachums and Lockits close in.

## Relationships

### [Mrs. Peachum](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_beggar_s_opera_se/characters/mrs_peachum)

_professional_

Jenny works for Mrs. Peachum as a thief and informant, but their relationship is exploitative.

### [Mrs. Peachum](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_beggar_s_opera_se/characters/mrs_peachum)

_professional_

Jenny works for Mrs. Peachum as a thief and informant, but their relationship is exploitative.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_beggar_s_opera_se/characters/jenny_diver
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_beggar_s_opera_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_beggar_s_opera_se/characters