A black Biblical character whose name Grace Watts borrows. In the Bible, Sheba visits King Solomon because she has heard that he possesses incredible wisdom regarding the Lord. An impressive ambassador herself, she arrives in his kingdom to find that the rumors of his expansive knowledge are true. The two speak at length before parting on good terms. This story is significant to Mister Pip because it exemplifies the meeting of two cultures. Mr. Watts explains to Matilda that Grace took Sheba’s name because she was “at a time in her life when she needed to make changes.” By borrowing the name of a significant black woman in the Bible who convenes with a knowledgeable white man, Grace models herself after a person who demonstrates an appreciation and curiosity of other cultures—a quality that would prove useful for her, given the fact that she herself is married to a white man from a different culture.
Get the entire Mr. Pip LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Queen of Sheba Character Timeline in Mr. Pip
The timeline below shows where the character The Queen of Sheba appears in Mr. Pip. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 10
...also explained that his own wife, Grace, had changed her name many years ago to Sheba because she was “at a time in her life when she needed to make changes.”...
(full context)
Chapter 22
...the campfire and asked the villagers and rebels if anybody knew about the Queen of Sheba. Dolores asserted that she is a character in the Bible, saying, “The Queen of Sheba...
(full context)
Chapter 23
After Mr. Watts’s story about Grace and the Queen of Sheba, Matilda followed him into the woods and asked if he had told her mother about...
(full context)
