Mrs. Ivy Bolton Character Analysis in Lady Chatterley’s Lover

Ivy Bolton is a local widow in Tevershall, whom Clifford eventually hires as a nurse. Though Mrs. Bolton is bossy and authoritative with the colliers of her small town, with Clifford, she becomes quiet and subservient, a shift in behavior that pleases Clifford and confounds Connie. Mrs. Bolton resents the aristocracy for the way they hoard wealth and neglect the miners (including her dead husband) who make them rich, but she also wants to gain access to these aristocrats—to know “all that the gentry knew, all that made them upper class.” Thus, Mrs. Bolton bonds with Connie, silently supporting her affair with Mellors, but she also stands with Clifford, staying up late into the night to gamble with him. After Connie leaves Clifford, Mrs. Bolton becomes his lover of sorts (or perhaps a stand-in for something like a lover), a role she finds simultaneously thrilling and horrifying. Still, even as she becomes more intimate with Clifford, Mrs. Bolton never forgets “the touch” of her deceased husband Ted, bolstering the novel’s idea that truly passionate sex is rare but transformative.

Mrs. Ivy Bolton Quotes in Lady Chatterley’s Lover

The Lady Chatterley’s Lover quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Ivy Bolton or refer to Mrs. Ivy Bolton. 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:

Intellect vs. Bodily Experience Theme Icon

[Mrs. Bolton] was coming bit by bit into possession of all that the gentry knew, all that made them upper class: apart from the money […].

She was thrilled by her contact with a man of the upper class, this tidal gentleman, this author who could write books and poems, and whose photograph appeared in the illustrated newspapers. She was thrilled to a weird passion. And his educating her roused in her passion of excitement and response much deeper than any love affair could have done. In truth the very fact that there could be no love affair left her free to thrill to her very marrow with this other passion, the peculiar passion of knowing, knowing as he knew.

Related Characters: Mrs. Ivy Bolton, Sir Clifford Chatterley

Page Number and Citation: 103

Explanation and Analysis:

Clifford was not inwardly surprised to get this letter. Inwardly, he had known for a long time she was leaving him. But he had absolutely refused any outward admission of it. Therefore, outwardly, it came as the most terrible blow and shock to him. He had kept the surface of his confidence in her quite serene.

And that is how we are. By strength of will we cut off our inner intuitive knowledge from admitted consciousness. This causes a state of dread, or apprehension, which makes the blow ten times worse when it does fall. Clifford was like a hysterical child.

Related Characters: Sir Clifford Chatterley, Lady Constance Chatterley, Mrs. Ivy Bolton

Page Number and Citation: 307

Explanation and Analysis:

Mrs. Ivy Bolton Character Timeline in Lady Chatterley’s Lover

The timeline below shows where the character Mrs. Ivy Bolton appears in Lady Chatterley’s Lover. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Class, Consumerism, and Money Theme Icon

Clifford relents, provided that the servant is Mrs. Bolton , a well-respected local nurse. The 47-year-old Mrs. Bolton has been a widow for 22... (full context)

Mrs. Bolton feels a great deal of sympathy with the colliers, but she also feels superior to... (full context)

Mrs. Bolton is a great servant: she helps Clifford shave and get in and out of bed,... (full context)

Mrs. Bolton , driven by a desire both feminine and professional to protect her friend, urges Connie... (full context)

...as she goes, Mellors laments his powerlessness against this upper-class woman. When Connie returns home, Mrs. Bolton explains that Clifford was impatient for Connie to come home to make him his tea.... (full context)

...is talk and write, though at least he is directing attention more and more towards Mrs. Bolton these days. Clifford is always able to assert himself over Mrs. Bolton, and Connie reflects... (full context)

Mrs. Bolton shaves Clifford every day now, a ritual he initially detested but has come to enjoy.... (full context)

Originally, Connie had been Clifford’s typist when he thought up new stories, but now, Mrs. Bolton is learning that skill, too. And after Connie goes to bed, Mrs. Bolton sits up... (full context)

Connie feels conflicted about listening to Mrs. Bolton ’s gossip. On the one hand, she enjoys it, but on the other hand, she... (full context)

In Mrs. Bolton ’s descriptions, Connie reflects that Tevershall feels more like a dangerous jungle than an English... (full context)

...will turn to Bolshevism, egged on by poor economic conditions and their love of spending. Mrs. Bolton , however, puts this fear to rest—the townspeople have too much interest in consumer goods... (full context)

With Mrs. Bolton at his side, Clifford now takes more interest in the mines, embracing his role as... (full context)

Mrs. Bolton frets that machines are going to replace men entirely, but Clifford does not fear this... (full context)

Catastrophe, Continuity, and Tradition Theme Icon

...himself on at last having achieved “a man’s victory”—though he only feels this way with Mrs. Bolton . With Connie, Clifford is timid and subservient, and though he would never admit it,... (full context)

...the coops every day, as it is the only activity that brings her any pleasure: Mrs. Bolton has started to frustrate Connie, and even letters from Michaelis now disgust her. Spring begins,... (full context)

When Connie gets home, Mrs. Bolton remarks on her lateness. Connie gets through dinner in a haze, listening to Clifford talk... (full context)

...baby. Clifford seems vaguely jealous (even if he cannot put his finger on why), and Mrs. Bolton is clearly aware of the fact that Connie is having an affair. Mrs. Bolton feels... (full context)

Instead of lying restlessly all night, Clifford calls Mrs. Bolton to his room. Though she is half-asleep, the nurse plays chess and piquet with Clifford.... (full context)

...on (he does not know what room Connie sleeps in). Mellors also does not notice Mrs. Bolton peering out of her own window—though Mrs. Bolton sees him. With a start, she realizes... (full context)

Mellors, frustrated that Connie is not coming to him, turns around and heads home. Meanwhile, Mrs. Bolton reflects on her own youthful crush on Mellors. At the time, she was only 26... (full context)

...of very ugly pictures that Sir Geoffrey had collected. While she works, Connie suggests to Mrs. Bolton that she might have a child soon. To Mrs. Bolton’s shock, Connie hints that Clifford... (full context)

...old objects, she comes across a giant box, filled with secret compartments and expensive toiletries. Mrs. Bolton loves the box, so Connie gives it to her—much to the nurse’s delight. Over the... (full context)

That afternoon, Connie and Mrs. Bolton work in the garden together, planting flowers. The two have gotten closer recently, and Connie... (full context)

...to disentangle herself from him, she cannot shake her rage. After dinner, while Clifford and Mrs. Bolton gamble, Connie slips out of Wragby and heads, secretly, towards Mellors’s cottage. (full context)

One day, Connie finds out that Mrs. Bolton and Clifford have been gambling with real money—and that when Clifford wins, he keeps his... (full context)

...(as always) charmed and a little confused by the dialect. The happy couple runs into Mrs. Bolton , who takes in the love in both their eyes. Mellors kindly salutes Mrs. Bolton... (full context)

When Connie arrives home, Clifford cross-examines her about her whereabouts. Despite Mrs. Bolton ’s best efforts to calm him, Clifford hates the idea of Connie out in the... (full context)

Though Connie resents that Mrs. Bolton has discovered the affair, she cannot hide her joy—her rosy cheeks and starry eyes give... (full context)

...That night, Clifford, disturbed by his wife’s words, again struggles to sleep; instead, he forces Mrs. Bolton to stay up all night gambling with him. (full context)

...her window (if there is trouble, she’ll hang a red shawl). Then, Connie works with Mrs. Bolton to pack for the trip. While they pack, the two women gossip about men. Mrs.... (full context)

...had started on a divorce, returned and claimed residency in his cottage. Connie writes to Mrs. Bolton to get more information. Around this time, Duncan Forbes, an artist and longtime friend of... (full context)

Mrs. Bolton writes back clarifying the story. Apparently, Bertha broke into Mellors’s cottage, forcing Mellors to stay... (full context)

...Mellors again, and she impulsively includes a note to him in her next letter to Mrs. Bolton . In the note, Connie assures Mellors that she is on his side and that... (full context)

...scandal and saying that all the colliers’ wives are now on Bertha’s side. He mocks Mrs. Bolton as being a bottom-feeder, obsessed with the lowest gossip; he also hints that he is... (full context)

...still falls into a state of shock when the letter arrives, turning so pale that Mrs. Bolton rushes to call a doctor. When Mrs. Bolton realizes what has happened, she labels it... (full context)

However, Mrs. Bolton knows that her job is to comfort Clifford—and in this case, that means joining in... (full context)

...outside world, almost “inhuman” in his ability to make decisions based on cost and chemistry. Mrs. Bolton is both proud of and revolted by Clifford’s business success. More than that, she is... (full context)

...leave and hope that Clifford will change his mind. Connie does so, saying goodbye to Mrs. Bolton and resolving to wait for six months until Mellors’s divorce comes through. The plan is... (full context)

Lady Chatterley’s Lover

Mrs. Ivy Bolton Character Analysis

Mrs. Ivy Bolton Quotes in Lady Chatterley’s Lover

Chapter 9 Quotes

Chapter 19 Quotes

Mrs. Ivy Bolton Character Timeline in Lady Chatterley’s Lover