The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman · Character

Mrs. Wadman

The widow who lays siege to Uncle Toby's heart with the patience of a trained campaigner, one forefinger at a time.

supporting

Also known as widow Wadman, Wadman, Unhappy Mrs. Wadman

First appearance: book ii

As a supporting figure in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, Mrs. Wadman is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Referenced as the object of Uncle Toby's failed siege.

In the storyChapter XXIVOpen this moment free

See Mrs. Wadman in Chapter XXIV Book page

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Mrs. Wadman conducts her courtship of Uncle Toby as a military operation, advancing on his sentry-box and his maps with feints, flanking movements, and the strategic capture of his tobacco-pipe. Her real objective lies lower than the redoubts she pretends to study, and Toby, innocent of everything but sieges, cannot read the signals. Her campaign turns the novel's tenderest comedy into a war of maneuver, where the prize is a hand and neither side will name the terms.

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See Mrs. Wadman in book ii

Character Web

25 connections

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Relationship types

Other

Character groups

Narrative and Historical Figures
Wide Cast of Digressions
Shandy Household Core

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

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Relationships

Uncle Toby
romantic · ambivalent

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Mrs. Wadman in book ii

In the story

Mrs. Wadman appears across 36 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Chapter XXIV
Referenced as the object of Uncle Toby's failed siege.
Chapter XXXVI
Object of Uncle Toby's courtship, mentioned as the subject of the memoirs.
XXXVII
Described as extremely concupiscible, the object of Uncle Toby's love.
Book VIII
The object of Uncle Toby's affections; her strategic maneuvers in the courtship are a key focus.
Book VIII
Alternate reference to the Widow Wadman; her curiosity about Toby's wound is a recurring motif.
VI
Feels something stirring in her favour towards Uncle Toby at first sight.
Chapter VIII
Provides a bed for Uncle Toby; described as a 'daughter of Eve' and a 'perfect woman,' with Tristram warning of the entanglement that comes when a woman's property is involved.
Chapter IX
Her night-shifts are described in detail; she spends three nights contemplating her feelings for Uncle Toby, ultimately revealing her love.
The Amours of My Uncle Toby with Mrs. Wadman
Experiences a vacancy during the eleven-year interval; the amours are framed as Uncle Toby's pursuit of her.
Chapter XI
Loves Uncle Toby but her love is not returned.
Chapter XIII
Described as standing ready and caparisoned to watch accidents, indicating her strategic patience in matters of love.
Chapter XIV
Mrs. Wadman strategically uses the proximity of their gardens to observe and approach Uncle Toby.
Chapter XVI
Mrs. Wadman orchestrates a calculated series of maneuvers—taking his pipe, guiding his finger, pressing her hand and leg—to kindle Uncle Toby's passions.
Chapter XVII
Subject of the attacks described; her snuffy finger and thumb marks are on the plan of Bouchain.
Chapter XIX
Eavesdrops from her arbour during the debate on wound pain, stopping her breath and standing on one leg.
Chapter XX
Present during Trim's narration and reacts to his claim that it was not love.
Chapter XXIII
Silently sallies from her arbour and advances toward Uncle Toby's sentry-box, forming a new attack plan.
Chapter XXIV
Pretends to have a mote in her eye to lure Toby into intimate proximity.
Chapter XXV
Mrs. Wadman's eye is described in detail as gentle, soft, and persuasive, designed to unsettle Uncle Toby.
Chapter XXVII
The object of Uncle Toby's affection, mentioned as the woman he is in love with.
Chapter XXVIII
Sits in council with Bridget, expressing fear about Uncle Toby's groin wound and its impact on his health.
The Siege of Widow Wadman
Mentioned as the target of Uncle Toby's courtship, to be engaged in the parlour.
Chapter XXXIV
The object of Uncle Toby's courtship; Walter discusses her long-standing love for Toby.
Chapter III
Mentioned as the one who once beguiled Uncle Toby into looking steadfastly into a woman's eye.
Chapter IV
Her door is the destination; her potential reaction is the subject of discussion.
Chapter VIII
Her house is being marched around by Toby and Trim, interpreted as a siege.
Chapter XI
Mentioned as the tenant for life of the premises where Toby is making fortifications, and as someone who might need to be persuaded to have a child.
Chapter XVI
Sits breathless behind the window-curtain, watching their approach.
Chapter XX
Blushes and internally debates whether to look at the place of Toby's wound.
Chapter XXII
Has scruples raised in her brain by the Devil concerning Uncle Toby's virtue.
Chapter XXIII
Determined to play her cards herself, focusing on Uncle Toby's wound as her last stake.
The Eighteenth Chapter
Receives Toby's declaration, then attempts to engage him in a discussion about the hardships of marriage and motherhood.
Chapter the Nineteenth
Hits upon the word 'fiddlestick' to fluster Uncle Toby, but his proposal does not work on her because something else is already working within her.
Chapter XXVI
Mrs. Wadman tries to learn the precise location of Uncle Toby's wound through indirect questioning and a military reenactment.
Chapter XXXI
Praised by Toby for her compassionate enquiries about his sufferings.
Chapter XXXII
Had made a confidante of Mrs. Shandy some months earlier regarding her interest in Uncle Toby.

Chapter companion notes

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See Mrs. Wadman in book ii

See Mrs. Wadman in Chapter XXIV