# Lucy Lockit — The Beggar’s Opera character guide

> Lucy Lockit in The Beggar’s Opera by John Gay.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Lucy, Miss Lucy, Mistress Lucy

**First appearance:** 0005-the-beggar-s-opera

## Snapshot

The jailer's daughter, equally convinced she is Macheath's wife, whose jealous fury and wounded love make her dangerous to everyone.

## Who they are

Lucy was raised in the bar of Newgate, where her father taught her to score kisses like debts, and Macheath collected on every one. Now she finds herself pregnant, abandoned, and publicly humiliated by Polly's claim — a combination that turns her love into something closer to vengeance. Her confession to Lockit — 'in love we are all fools alike' — is both an apology and a threat, and her willingness to free or destroy Macheath makes her the unpredictable hinge of the play's middle acts.

## Relationships

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

_rivalry_

Both are wives of Macheath, fiercely competing for his affection and status.

### [Matt of the Mint](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_beggar_s_opera_se/characters/matt_of_the_mint)

_social_

Lucy and Matt are both part of the criminal underworld, but their interactions are limited and wary.

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

_rivalry_

Both are wives of Macheath, fiercely competing for his affection and status.

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

_rivalry_

Both are wives of Macheath, fiercely competing for his affection and status.

## Links

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