# Mrs. Doasyouwouldbedoneby — The Water-Babies character guide

> Mrs. Doasyouwouldbedoneby in The Water-Babies by Charles Kingsley.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** dear Mrs. Doasyouwouldbedoneby

**First appearance:** 0005-iv

## Snapshot

A gentle fairy who tends the water-babies and rewards kindness with kindness, teaching Tom that the golden rule is not a slogan but a way of moving through the world.

## Who they are

She belongs to the fairy hierarchy that governs the river world, the counterpart to the stern Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid, and her name is her law: treat others as you would be treated. Where Tom arrives raw from chimney-sweeping, expecting blows and giving them, she offers the patient affection that quietly exposes how much he still has to learn. Her tenderness matters because it gives the middle of the book its moral center, showing what Tom is being shaped toward rather than merely what he is running from.

## In the story

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_water_babies_se/chapters/v)

She appears on Sunday, cares for the water-babies, and tells them stories.

### [Chapter VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_water_babies_se/chapters/vi)

Tom asks her for an easier path but receives the same answer as from her sister; she refuses to cuddle Tom because he is too prickly.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_water_babies_se/characters/mrs_doasyouwouldbedoneby
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_water_babies_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_water_babies_se/characters