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The Brickmaker
A wealthy woman, Mrs. Jellyby is the wife of Mr. Jellyby, and the mother of Caddy, Peepy, and the other Jellyby children. Mrs. Jellyby is a philanthropist and is obsessed with a project she has developed to build links to the coffee trade with a remote region in Africa. Mrs. Jellyby is so distracted by this project that she neglects her family and bankrupts her husband gathering money for this cause. Mrs. Jellyby’s house is in chaos and her children are dirty and uneducated. Mrs. Jellyby represents both the frantic efforts of middle-class Victorians to contribute to social causes (even at the expense of their own homes and regardless of whether these causes really help the poor) and Britain’s colonial efforts abroad, which Dickens felt were a waste of money and which squandered resources abroad that could be used to support the poor in Britain. Mrs. Jellyby’s fanatic philanthropy is almost a type of madness and prevents her from seeing the damage that she does to her family. She is totally disinterested in her daughter’s wedding and does not listen to anybody else when they talk. Her philanthropic efforts abroad ultimately fail, and Dickens uses Mrs. Jellyby to suggest the idea that charity should begin at home.
Mrs. Jellyby Quotes in Bleak House
The Bleak House quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Jellyby or refer to Mrs. Jellyby. 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 4 Quotes
She was a pretty, very diminutive, plump woman, of from forty to fifty, with handsome eyes, though they had a curious habit of seeming to look a long way off. As if—I am quoting Richard again—they could see nothing nearer than Africa!
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Esther, Ada, and Richard spend their first night in London at the home of Mrs. Jellyby, a philanthropist who is obsessed with conducting charity in Africa. The 19th century in Britain was a period in which many people were interested in philanthropy and participated actively in many charitable and social causes, both at home and abroad. Much of this philanthropy stemmed from the idea that people could organize, and therefore improve, society and the living conditions of the poor. Britain also had many colonies abroad in this period and laid claim to much of Africa as part of its expansion 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 plac
Chapter 30 Quotes
One other singularity was, that nobody with a mission—except Mr Quale, whose mission, as I think I have formerly said, was to be in ecstasies with everybody’s mission—cared at all for anybody’s mission. Mrs Pardiggle being as clear that the only one infallible course was her course of pouncing upon the poor, and applying benevolence to them like a strait-waistcoat; as Miss Wisk was that the only practical thing for the world was the emancipation of Woman from the thraldom of her Tyrant, Man. Mrs Jellyby, all the while, sat smiling at the limited vision that could see anything but Borrioboola-Gha.
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Caddy Jellyby marries her fiancé, Prince, and Mrs. Jellyby and several of her philanthropic friends attend the wedding. Esther observes that, although the philanthropists all claim to be passionate about social causes, they do not seem to consider anybody’s cause but their own important. This suggests that, although they claim to care about society, the philanthropists are selfish and are only interested in getting their point across and appearing philanthropic, rather than learning about society from a different perspective. Mr. Quale exemplifies this type of fashionable philanthropy—which is, really, all for show—because he socializes with philanthropists so that he can 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 sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui
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Mrs. Jellyby Character Timeline in Bleak House
The timeline below shows where the character Mrs. Jellyby appears in Bleak House. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4
...the party that they will spend the night at the home of a woman called Mrs. Jellyby , a friend of Mr. Jarndyce’s, who is working on a project in Africa where...
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As they arrive at Mrs. Jellyby ’s, they notice a crowd of people around a young boy whose head is stuck...
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...child falls down the stairs, completely unnoticed by the servant who shows them up to Mrs. Jellyby ’s room. Mrs. Jellyby greets the group placidly, and Esther notices that Mrs. Jellyby has...
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In the corner of Mrs. Jellyby ’s room, a young girl, who is covered in ink, looks up from her work....
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Mrs. Jellyby asks Caddy to show Esther and Ada to their room, and Esther carries Peepy up...
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Chapter 5
The next morning, Caddy suggests that the group go for a walk before Mrs. Jellyby gets up. Esther washes Peepy, who has appeared in her room very early, and puts...
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...make them enemies. Caddy squeezes Esther’s arm knowingly as they make their way back to Mrs. Jellyby ’s. From here, Esther, Richard, and Ada take a carriage to Bleak House.
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Chapter 6
...when she was removed from her godmother’s house. He asks them what they thought of Mrs. Jellyby and seems upset (he complains agitatedly that the “wind is in the east”) when they...
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Chapter 14
...comes to visit Ada and Esther and brings Peepy with her. She tells them that Mrs. Jellyby is as chaotic as ever and that her father will soon be bankrupt. She also...
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Chapter 23
Caddy is amazed by her father-in-law’s generosity and she and Esther set off to tell Mrs. Jellyby of the engagement. When they arrive, they find that Mr. Jellyby has been declared bankrupt...
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Mrs. Jellyby regrets that Caddy will not marry Mr. Quale—who is an eminent philanthropist—but Caddy insists she...
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Chapter 30
On the evening before Caddy’s wedding, Esther and Ada go with her to Mrs. Jellyby ’s and try to make the house, and Mrs. Jellyby herself, look presentable. Mr. Jellyby...
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...happy and pleasant for her wedding, and they arrange a meal for the wedding party. Mrs. Jellyby ’s philanthropist friends are all present and Esther arranges food for the children. The philanthropists...
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Esther is shocked by the blasé attitude of Mr. Turveydrop and Mrs. Jellyby but is even more surprised when Mr. Jellyby suddenly seizes her and thanks her for...
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Chapter 50
Ada often comes to visit Caddy, as does Mrs. Jellyby —although she only talks about her mission during these visits. Mr. Turveydrop is also very...
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Chapter 67
...little girl is deaf and cannot speak, but Caddy is a devoted and tireless mother. Mrs. Jellyby ’s plans for the African province have failed because the king of that nation was...
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