Mrs. Catherick Character Analysis

Mrs. Catherick is the mother of Anne Catherick and the co-conspirator of Sir Percival Glyde; in her youth, she helped him cover up the forgery he made on a church register which suggested that his parents were married when they were not. Mrs. Catherick is a vain, bitter, and spiteful woman who cares little about her daughter and allows Sir Percival to place Anne in the asylum so that the girl will never reveal his secret (though Anne doesn’t actually know what the secret is—she just knows that there is one.) Mrs. Catherick also removes Anne from Mrs. Clements’ care even though she knows that her daughter had a strong bond with the old lady. Mrs. Catherick agrees to help Sir Percival forge the marriage register because he promises to buy her a gold watch, which shows she is a shallow, materialistic individual. She is also a devious and dishonest woman and marries her husband, Mr. Catherick, because she is pregnant with Anne—by Mr. Philip Fairlie, Laura Fairlie’s father—and wants to cover up the child’s illegitimacy. Sir Percival blackmails Mrs. Catherick to stay in the village where the scandal took place because he knows that here, she will be an outcast and will have no friends to share his secret with. Mrs. Catherick withstands this cruelty through her sheer malice and determination and is slightly appeased by the fact that Sir Percival pays her to live in the village. Through strength of will and perseverance, Mrs. Catherick remodels herself in the eyes of the local community so that she is seen as a respectable woman. When Walter pays her a visit, he notices that even the minister bows to her when he passes. Mrs. Catherick hates Sir Percival and insinuates to Walter that she would like him to kill him. Mrs. Catherick, however, is quite loyal to Mr. Philip Fairlie, who she still feels was too good for Mrs. Fairlie, despite the fact that he wronged her when she was still a young woman.