Orlando’s housekeeper. Like Orlando, Mrs. Grimsditch lives for hundreds of years. She is employed by Orlando during the 16th century, and she is around when Orlando (now a woman) returns from Constantinople over a hundred years later. However, by the end of the novel, in 1928, Orlando has a new housekeeper whose name she can’t readily remember. Mrs. Grimsditch is also, along with Grace Robinson and Mr. Dupper, based on an actual servant employed at Knole, the family estate of Vita Sackville-West, Woolf’s inspiration for Orlando.
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Mrs. Grimsditch Character Timeline in Orlando
The timeline below shows where the character Mrs. Grimsditch appears in Orlando. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
...about cleaning empty rooms and worrying about Orlando. He disappears for hours on end, and Mrs. Grimsditch , the housekeeper, fears constantly that something terrible has become of him. Mr. Dupper, the...
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...Sasha is gone, and he will never see her again. He sobs for hours, and Mrs. Grimsditch worries in his absence that he has been “foully murdered.” When he is through crying,...
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Chapter 4
Upon her arrival at the country house, Orlando is met by Mrs. Grimsditch , Mr. Dupper, and an overly excited elk hound, which nearly knocks her to the...
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