# Mrs. Wadman — The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman character guide > Mrs. Wadman in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** widow Wadman, Wadman, Unhappy Mrs. Wadman **First appearance:** 0030-book-ii ## Snapshot The widow who lays siege to Uncle Toby's heart with the patience of a trained campaigner, one forefinger at a time. ## Who they are 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. ## Relationships ### [Uncle Toby](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/characters/uncle_toby) _romantic_ Mrs. Wadman is Toby's romantic interest, pursuing him with strategic affection while Toby remains innocently oblivious. ## In the story ### [Chapter XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/xxiv) Referenced as the object of Uncle Toby's failed siege. ### [Chapter XXXVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/xxxvi) Object of Uncle Toby's courtship, mentioned as the subject of the memoirs. ### [XXXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/xxxvii) Described as extremely concupiscible, the object of Uncle Toby's love. ### [Book VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/book-viii) The object of Uncle Toby's affections; her strategic maneuvers in the courtship are a key focus. ### [Book VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/book-viii) Alternate reference to the Widow Wadman; her curiosity about Toby's wound is a recurring motif. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/vi) Feels something stirring in her favour towards Uncle Toby at first sight. ### [Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/x) Experiences a vacancy during the eleven-year interval; the amours are framed as Uncle Toby's pursuit of her. ### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/xi) Loves Uncle Toby but her love is not returned. ### [Chapter XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/xiii) Described as standing ready and caparisoned to watch accidents, indicating her strategic patience in matters of love. ### [Chapter XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/xiv) Mrs. Wadman strategically uses the proximity of their gardens to observe and approach Uncle Toby. ### [Chapter XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/xvii) Subject of the attacks described; her snuffy finger and thumb marks are on the plan of Bouchain. ### [Chapter XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/xix) Eavesdrops from her arbour during the debate on wound pain, stopping her breath and standing on one leg. ### [Chapter XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/xx) Present during Trim's narration and reacts to his claim that it was not love. ### [Chapter XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/xxiii) Silently sallies from her arbour and advances toward Uncle Toby's sentry-box, forming a new attack plan. ### [Chapter XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/xxiv) Pretends to have a mote in her eye to lure Toby into intimate proximity. ### [Chapter XXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/xxv) Mrs. Wadman's eye is described in detail as gentle, soft, and persuasive, designed to unsettle Uncle Toby. ### [Chapter XXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/xxvii) The object of Uncle Toby's affection, mentioned as the woman he is in love with. ### [Chapter XXVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/xxx) Mentioned as the target of Uncle Toby's courtship, to be engaged in the parlour. ### [Chapter XXXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/xxxiv) The object of Uncle Toby's courtship; Walter discusses her long-standing love for Toby. ### [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/iii) Mentioned as the one who once beguiled Uncle Toby into looking steadfastly into a woman's eye. ### [Chapter IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/iv) Her door is the destination; her potential reaction is the subject of discussion. ### [Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/viii) Her house is being marched around by Toby and Trim, interpreted as a siege. ### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/xvi) Sits breathless behind the window-curtain, watching their approach. ### [Chapter XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/xx) Blushes and internally debates whether to look at the place of Toby's wound. ### [Chapter XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/xxii) Has scruples raised in her brain by the Devil concerning Uncle Toby's virtue. ### [Chapter XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/xxiii) Determined to play her cards herself, focusing on Uncle Toby's wound as her last stake. ### [The Eighteenth Chapter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/xxvi) Mrs. Wadman tries to learn the precise location of Uncle Toby's wound through indirect questioning and a military reenactment. ### [Chapter XXXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/xxxi) Praised by Toby for her compassionate enquiries about his sufferings. ### [Chapter XXXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/xxxii) Had made a confidante of Mrs. Shandy some months earlier regarding her interest in Uncle Toby. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/characters/mrs_wadman - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tristram_shandy_se/characters