The Canterville Ghost

by

Oscar Wilde

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Mrs. Umney is the long-time housekeeper of Canterville Chase, having served in the position for over fifty years. When Lord Canterville sells the property, he implores Mrs. Otis to retain Mrs. Umney in the position. There’s some initial concern about this after Mrs. Umney faints out of fear early on in the story, but the Otis’ eventually work out a deal with her, even giving her a raise. After these initial considerations, Mrs. Umney remains largely invisible throughout The Canterville Ghost. However, Lord Canterville invites her to the funeral held for Sir Simon, since she had endured the ghost’s antics longer than anyone.

Mrs. Umney Quotes in The Canterville Ghost

The The Canterville Ghost quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Umney or refer to Mrs. Umney. 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:
The British Aristocracy vs. American Vulgarity Theme Icon
).
Chapter 5 Quotes

“It is absurd asking me to behave myself,” he answered looking round in astonishment at the pretty little girl who had ventured to address him, "quite absurd. I must rattle my chains, and groan through keyholes, and walk about at night, if that is what you mean. It is my only reason for existing.”

"It is no reason at all for existing, and you know you have been very wicked. Mrs. Umney told us, the first day we arrived here, that you had killed your wife."

"Well, I quite admit it," said the Ghost, petulantly, "but it was a purely family matter, and concerned no one else."

"It is very wrong to kill any one," said Virginia, who at times had a sweet puritan gravity, caught from some old New England ancestor.

Related Characters: Sir Simon de Canterville (speaker), Virginia E. Otis (speaker), Mrs. Umney
Related Symbols: Canterville Chase
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 41-42
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Canterville Ghost LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Canterville Ghost PDF

Mrs. Umney Quotes in The Canterville Ghost

The The Canterville Ghost quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Umney or refer to Mrs. Umney. 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:
The British Aristocracy vs. American Vulgarity Theme Icon
).
Chapter 5 Quotes

“It is absurd asking me to behave myself,” he answered looking round in astonishment at the pretty little girl who had ventured to address him, "quite absurd. I must rattle my chains, and groan through keyholes, and walk about at night, if that is what you mean. It is my only reason for existing.”

"It is no reason at all for existing, and you know you have been very wicked. Mrs. Umney told us, the first day we arrived here, that you had killed your wife."

"Well, I quite admit it," said the Ghost, petulantly, "but it was a purely family matter, and concerned no one else."

"It is very wrong to kill any one," said Virginia, who at times had a sweet puritan gravity, caught from some old New England ancestor.

Related Characters: Sir Simon de Canterville (speaker), Virginia E. Otis (speaker), Mrs. Umney
Related Symbols: Canterville Chase
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 41-42
Explanation and Analysis: