Welty is Hobie’s business partner and Pippa’s uncle (and guardian, following Juliet’s death). He dies in the terrorist attack at the Met. While he is dying, Theo finds him, and Welty gives Theo his ring and tells him to take The Goldfinch. Although Theo never really got a chance to know Welty, after his death he learned that Welty was extremely caring, kind, and charismatic, and that he was a highly skilled antiques salesman. Theo comes to believe that Welty’s “energy” remains with him ever since his death, and that this is why Theo himself develops a love of—and skill at—selling antiques.
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Welty Blackwell Character Timeline in The Goldfinch
The timeline below shows where the character Welty Blackwell appears in The Goldfinch. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1, Chapter 1: The Boy with a Skull
...hot, drinks some, and then brings the rest to the old man. The old man (Welty) gently removes some glass from Theo’s forehead and gives him a reassuring pat. Theo helps...
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Welty speaks nonsensically, implying that he has known Theo for a long time. He mentions composers...
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Welty has a coughing fit, and blood bubbles at his nose. Theo assures him that he...
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Theo stands up, covered in Welty’s blood. Walking away, he stumbles past objects and bodies that he can’t properly see. He...
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Part 1, Chapter 3: Park Avenue
...girl looking at him. The investigators hadn’t shown him any pictures of the girl or Welty, although he’s not sure if he would have recognized Welty anyway, considering his face was...
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...that Theo will be willing to eat. Days later, Theo wakes up suddenly remembering what Welty said to him: “Hobart and Blackwell. Ring the green bell.” However, he is not quite...
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Part 1, Chapter 4: Morphine Lollipop
...that his full name is James Hobart, but everyone calls him Hobie. He explains that Welty “was [his] business partner,” and Theo is struck by his use of the past tense....
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Hobie asks how Theo got the ring, and Theo hesitantly explains that Welty spoke to him before he died. Hobie says he’s glad there was someone with Welty...
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...“humor” him. As they walk through the apartment, Theo sees a picture of a younger Welty next to someone who looks like the redhaired girl. Hobie explains that it’s the girl’s...
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...true. Theo asks if Hobie is going to reopen the shop, but Hobie explains that Welty ran the business side of things, and there’s too much information he doesn’t know.
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...ok, but Theo ignores it. Hobie mentions how moved he is by the return of Welty’s ring, and then notices that Theo has been staring at a wooden Noah’s Ark sitting...
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...He says that Cosmo is staying in New York. He also explains that Margaret and Welty had not been on speaking terms because “Margaret was quite against Pippa’s mother.” At this...
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...Pippa until she’s settled down. Theo asks why Pippa didn’t know Margaret until now, and Welty explains that Pippa’s grandfather, Mr. Blackwell, had three children with different mothers: Welty, Margaret, and...
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...Juliet’s mother and wanted to leave nothing for her or Juliet in his will, but Welty intervened because he was worried about Juliet, a neglected child whom nobody wanted. He brought...
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...truth. Theo isn’t sure, as he’s worried she will find out that he falsely claimed Welty’s ring was a family heirloom. However, on a whim he tells Mrs. Barbour that he’s...
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...for him for free in order to pay him back for the first two years. Welty was a customer of the trucking company, and after witnessing Hobie’s father cruelly berate Hobie...
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...explained that he learned about antiques just by watching others who worked in the business. Welty preferred the business side of things to restoration work. Hobie’s father never paid him any...
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Part 3, Chapter 7: The Shop-Behind-the-Shop
...still hasn’t told Andy that he is back in the city. The guests often discuss Welty, who Theo learns was outgoing and charismatic, with an impressive ability to make people trust...
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Part 3, Chapter 8: The Shop-Behind-the-Shop, continued
...he reads Eugene Onegin or one of the many furniture books that had belonged to Welty. The time he spends in the workshop with Hobie passes mostly in silence, but he...
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...Grisha talks about how Hobie is a good man, but says that he is destroying Welty’s once-thriving business. Grisha argues that there are plenty of customers desperate to buy from Hobie,...
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Part 4, Chapter 9: Everything of Possibility
...Hobie has told everyone in New York the story of how Theo showed up with Welty’s ring, as this allows people to make the “connection.”
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Part 4, Chapter 10: The Idiot
...herself. Pippa doesn’t need to have a job; she supports both herself and Everett with Welty and Margaret’s money. She also says that she doesn’t like London.
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Becoming increasingly upset, Pippa recalls that she begged Welty to come uptown with her on the day of the attack, because she wanted him...
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...Havistock Irving. Havistock says he knows who Theo is because he knows Hobie, and knew Welty. Havistock also mentions that he is a “close associate” of Lucius Reeve. He notes that...
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...jewelry he wanted to sell, which he claimed he’d inherited from family members. Hobie and Welty realized that the items were stolen; they accepted them on consignment, then turned Havistock and...
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Part 5, Chapter 12: The Rendezvous Point
Refusing this offer, Hobie retrieves a photo album, and shows Theo a photo of Welty as a child, standing in front of two reproductions: one a Manet painting, the other...
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