Mrs. Mell and Mrs. Micawber - Characters, David Copperfield | David Copperfield - Summary, Themes & Characters - Novels PDF Download

Mrs. Mell

Mrs. Mell is David's mentor Mr. Mell's mother. She gives David lunch when Mr. Mell goes to meet David the first time David travels from Blunderstone, Suffolk, to Salem House, just outside London. She lives in a shelter for impoverished women in London. Once Mr. Creakle finds out that Mrs. Mell is so very poor, he fires Mr. Mell on the spot – even though Mr. Mell is the only decent teacher Salem House has. 

MRS. MICAWBER

Like Mr. Micawber, Mrs. Micawber is primarily Comic Relief. She shares his talent for big words that don't say much and for writing panicky letters to David. But she is essentially a good-natured woman who is devoted to her children. She does have two main catch phrases: whenever she gets a little drunk, she starts to cry and protest that she "never will desert Mr. Micawber" (12.16). She also frequently thinks back to her family, who she remembers fondly whenever she's feeling annoyed with Mr. Micawber's total inability to hold down a job. She acknowledges that Mr. Micawber and her family do not seem to understand one another, but she lives in the mistaken hope that some day, some relation of hers will throw Mr. Micawber a bone, and they'll get settled at last. Her dreams of reuniting Mr. Micawber with her family only die on the day she leaves England's shores to resettle in Australia.