The Vicar of Wakefield · Character

Deborah Primrose

The vicar's good-natured wife, proud of her housekeeping and her daughters, whose ambitions for the family often outrun the family's means.

supporting

Also known as poor Deborah

First appearance: Chapter I

As a supporting figure in The Vicar of Wakefield, Deborah Primrose is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

The Vicar's wife, who shares his views on family and marriage.

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Deborah Primrose is the vicar's wife of many years, a notable woman who can pickle, preserve, and contrive with the best of country ladies, though her contrivances never seem to make the family richer. She is proud of her daughters' accomplishments and eager to see them well married, a weakness that makes her vulnerable to the flattery of Mr. Thornhill and the schemes of those who would exploit the family. Her love for her husband and children is genuine, but her social ambition repeatedly draws the household into trouble.

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See Deborah Primrose in Chapter I

Character Web

7 connections

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Relationship types

Other

Character groups

Extended cast and background figures
Protagonist
Primrose family and associates

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This chapter marks the dramatic climax because it captures the emotional and psychological peak of the Vicar’s…

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In the story

Deborah Primrose appears across 24 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

The Vicar of Wakefield
The Vicar's wife, who shares his views on family and marriage.
Chapter I
The narrator's wife, a good-natured and notable woman skilled in housekeeping.
Chapter II
The narrator's wife, who manages the temporal concerns of the family and insists on carving at dinner.
A Migration
Deborah is present during the journey and hopes to repay Mr. Burchell's kindness at her own house.
A Proof That Even the Humblest Fortune May Grant Happiness
Retains a passion for her crimson paduasoy and initially dresses in finery for church.
A New and Great Acquaintance Introduced
The mother eagerly encourages the acquaintance, hoping it will lead to advantageous marriages for her daughters.
Chapter VII
Encourages Olivia's relationship with Thornhill, boasting of her own role in promoting the match.
Chapter VIII
Whispers proudly that Sophia has made a conquest of the chaplain, and prompts her daughter to accept his gift.
Chapter IX
Proud of Olivia's dancing and eager for her daughters to be polished in town.
Chapter X
Leads the campaign for social display, proposing the use of plow horses and dreaming of her daughters' future grandeur.
Chapter XI
She eagerly joins the games and later proposes that her daughters apply for the companion positions, listing their accomplishments to Lady Blarney and Miss Skeggs.
XII
The ambitious wife who schemes for her daughters' social advancement and insists on sending Moses to the fair.
XIII
Insists on the town expedition, argues loudly with Burchell, and accuses him of having secret motives.
XV
Takes charge of the confrontation with Burchell, engaging in a sharp exchange of wit and insults.
The Family Use Art, Which Is Opposed with Still Greater
The wife and mother, who devises schemes to entrap Mr. Thornhill and arranges the family portrait.
Chapter XVII
Grieves and reproaches Olivia after the elopement, but is comforted by her husband.
XXII
Initially cold toward Olivia, but humbled by the recent calamity; she expresses reproach but is calmed by her husband.
Chapter XXIII
Bidden by the vicar to support Olivia after the news of Thornhill's marriage.
Chapter XXIV: Fresh Calamities
Pleads with her husband to comply with Thornhill, weeps over Olivia, and clutches her younger children in fear during the arrest.
Chapter XXV
She leads one of the little ones by the hand during the journey.
Chapter XXVI: A Reformation in the Gaol
The Vicar's wife, who is directed to attend him and has prepared a frugal meal.
Chapter XXVII: The Vicar's Reform of the Prisoners
Opposes the Vicar's plan to reform the prisoners, citing impossibility and impropriety.
Chapter XXVIII
Deborah brings news of Sophia's kidnapping and confesses to writing a letter urging George to avenge them.
XXXI
Defends her son George and denounces Mr. Thornhill's cruelty.

Chapter companion notes

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See Deborah Primrose in Chapter I

See Deborah Primrose in The Vicar of Wakefield