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Mrs. Woodcourt
Charley is the daughter of Neckett, the elder sister of Emma and Tom, and the maid of Esther Summerson. Charley is orphaned when her father dies, and she is left to care for her siblings. She works as a maid for Judy Smallweed in order to support them. Charley and her siblings share a filthy room in Mrs. Blinder’s house and there is no one to care for them during the day when she is out at work. Although the children are innocent, people are reluctant to help them because their father was a debt collector, which was an unpopular profession. The children’s only friend is Gridley, who lives in their same building. Charley and her siblings are rescued from this dire situation when Mr. Jarndyce learns of their situation from Mr. Skimpole, whom their father unsuccessfully tried to arrest for debt. He employs Charley as Esther’s maid, who Esther agrees to tutor, and provides an education for Tom and Emma. Charley grows up to be a happy and industrious young woman because of this. She is a dedicated servant to Esther and becomes her close friend as she grows up and leaves her service.
Charley Quotes in Bleak House
The Bleak House quotes below are all either spoken by Charley or refer to Charley. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 15 Quotes
We were looking at one another, and at these two children, when there came into the room a very little girl, childish in figure but shrewd and older-looking in the face—pretty-faced too—wearing a womanly sort of bonnet much too large for her, and drying her bare arms on a womanly sort of apron. Her fingers were white and wrinkled with washing, and the soap-suds were yet smoking which she wiped off her arms. But for this, she might have been a child, playing at washing, and imitating a poor working-woman with a quick observation of the truth.
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When Mr. Skimpole tells Mr. Jarndyce that the man who tried to arrest him for debt, Neckett, has died and left three orphaned children behind, Mr. Jarndyce, Esther, Ada, and Mr. Skimpole go to visit the children and find the two younger children left alone. Mr. Jarndyce and the others are shocked to find Tom and Emma, who are both very young, left by themselves throughout the day. However, this is explained when the eldest, Charley, returns and it is clear from her dress that she goes out to work to provide for her two younger siblings. Dickens was firmly Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero
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Charley Character Timeline in Bleak House
The timeline below shows where the character Charley appears in Bleak House. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 15
...them who has left them here, and they say that they live with their sister Charley, who goes out to work washing clothes. Charley arrives just at this moment; she is...
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Charley explains that their mother died when Emma, the baby, was born. She locks her siblings...
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...on what these men could have been in a different life. The little group sees Charley off to work and then leaves the house themselves.
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Chapter 21
...Mr. Smallweed asks who the serving girl is, and Judy says that her name is Charley. Mr. Smallweed complains that she eats too much, and Judy snaps at Charley to be...
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When they have finished tea, Judy calls in Charley and allows her to eat the table scraps. A man named George arrives and asks...
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...George pretends to believe this but really, he is skeptical of the old man’s motives. Charley brings George his drink, and he thinks she is far too pretty to belong to...
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Chapter 23
When Esther goes to her room, she finds Charley there. Charley explains that she has been hired by Mr. Jarndyce to be Esther’s maid....
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Chapter 31
One evening, when Esther has finished Charley’s lessons for the night, Charley asks her if she knows a brickmaker’s wife named Jenny....
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It is a wet, blustery night and already dark when Charley and Esther set out to Jenny’s. As Esther walks there, she has the surreal feeling...
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...that Esther is not the lady that he fears, but that she looks like her. Charley, who is used to caring for her brother and sister, immediately begins to tend to...
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...as soon as she arrives. Rather than turn Jo out on the street, Esther and Charley lead him away with them. He seems afraid of Esther though and is reluctant to...
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They search for Jo but can find no trace of him. A few nights later, Charley feels cold and tells Esther that she thinks she has a fever. Esther immediately locks...
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Chapter 35
Esther lies sick and delirious with fever for several weeks. Charley takes care of her, and Ada is strictly kept out of the room. Esther dreams...
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...tea, Esther looks around her room and finds things are a little different. She asks Charley what has changed, and Charley is reluctant to tell her. Finally, Esther realizes that the...
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Esther asks if the woman’s name was Jenny, and Miss Flite confirms that it was. Charley tells Esther that Jenny has often come to the house to speak to her. Jenny...
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Chapter 36
Esther and Charley travel together to Mr. Boythorn’s house in Lincolnshire. Mr. Boythorn is away, so they have...
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...with all romantic notions and to remember him fondly. Ada plans to join Esther and Charley in a few days, and Esther wants to be fully recovered before her friend arrives....
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The villagers are friendly with Esther, and she and Charley find that they are never short of company. Esther’s favorite place to walk takes her...
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...towards her with a face full of concern. Esther is so startled that she calls Charley, and, when she does this, Lady Dedlock immediately stops and regains her haughty composure. She...
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When Charley has left them, Lady Dedlock sits down beside Esther and Esther is amazed when Lady...
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Esther walks home slowly, stunned by her ordeal, and hides her tears from Charley. She tells her maid that she will go to bed early and, once in her...
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Chapter 37
...for Lady Dedlock’s secret. However, Ada is very curious about the mistress of Chesney Wold. Charley informs them that Lady Dedlock has left, however, and that she has gone to her...
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Chapter 44
...he will write her a letter, and that when she is ready, she must send Charley to fetch it.
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A few nights later, Esther sends Charley to Mr. Jarndyce’s room, and the girl returns with the note. Esther thinks back over...
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...him in his study. He tells her that he has waited for her letter from Charley, but Esther says she has come to answer him in person and kisses him.
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Chapter 45
Ada, Esther, Charley, and Mr. Jarndyce take rooms in London, and Esther and Charley drive out to the...
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Esther and Charley walk around the port that afternoon and come across a boat which has just moored....
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Chapter 51
...soon, but, on her way down the stairs, she bursts into miserable tears. She tells Charley when she arrives home and the pair walk out and stand for a time beneath...
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Chapter 67
...accepts. Esther has two little girls, and her daughters are great friends with Ada’s son. Charley marries a miller who lives nearby, and her little sister Emma becomes Esther’s maid. Tom,...
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