# The Small Servant — The Old Curiosity Shop character guide

> The Small Servant in The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** small servant

**First appearance:** 0034-xxxii

## Snapshot

A half-starved, unnamed drudge in the Brasses' kitchen, sharp-witted and cunning, whose hunger and fear are answered by Swiveller's bread and purl.

## Who they are

She works below stairs for Sampson and Sally Brass, so neglected that she does not know her own age and has tasted beer only once. When Dick Swiveller discovers her, he feeds her, teaches her cards, and christens her the Marchioness, and her shrewdness begins to turn. She matters because she is the story's most abject figure and its most surprising witness, and because her loyalty to Dick will prove more useful than anyone in Bevis Marks suspects.

## Relationships

### [Richard Swiveller](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_old_curiosity_shop_se/characters/richard_swiveller)

_friendship_

Richard Swiveller befriends the small servant (the Marchioness), rescuing her from abuse and becoming her protector.

### [Richard Swiveller](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_old_curiosity_shop_se/characters/richard_swiveller)

_friendship_

Richard Swiveller befriends the small servant (the Marchioness), rescuing her from abuse and becoming her protector.

### [Richard Swiveller](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_old_curiosity_shop_se/characters/richard_swiveller)

_friendship_

Richard Swiveller befriends the small servant (the Marchioness), rescuing her from abuse and becoming her protector.

## In the story

### [Chapter XXXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_old_curiosity_shop_se/chapters/xxxiv)

A small slipshod girl who does all the housework and fetches Swiveller to show the lodgings.

### [Chapter XXXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_old_curiosity_shop_se/chapters/xxxv)

Lingers on the stairs and flees to the coal cellar when the lodger bursts out.

### [XXXVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_old_curiosity_shop_se/chapters/xxxvi)

Kept in a dark, damp kitchen, starved and beaten by Miss Sally, and rarely seen above ground.

### [LI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_old_curiosity_shop_se/chapters/li)

Opens the door for Quilp, answers his questions with cryptic replies, and is observed closely by him.

### [LIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_old_curiosity_shop_se/chapters/liii)

Not directly present in this chapter.

### [LVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_old_curiosity_shop_se/chapters/lvii)

Spies on Swiveller through the keyhole; he feeds her and nicknames her 'the Marchioness'.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_old_curiosity_shop_se/characters/the_small_servant
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_old_curiosity_shop_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_old_curiosity_shop_se/characters