Skip to content
Storgy

Character analysis · laundress who sells stolen belongings stripped from the dead man

Mrs. Dilber

in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Mrs. Dilber is a laundress who appears in Stave IV, when the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come reveals a vision of three figures selling goods taken from a dead man’s home. She encounters a charwoman and a man at old Joe's den, each bringing stolen items for appraisal. Mrs. Dilber's collection includes sheets, towels, clothing, two silver teaspoons, sugar tongs, and a few boots. While she isn't the leader of the group—that title goes to the charwoman—she joins in eagerly, laughing and echoing the charwoman's justifications. When the charwoman claims that the dead man met his lonely end because he was a miser, Mrs. Dilber quickly agrees: "It's a judgment on him." She shows no guilt or hesitation, viewing the theft purely as self-interest. Though her role in the novel is brief, it carries weight: she and her companions represent the cold indifference that awaits a man who has never cared for others, and their cheerful looting of his possessions serves as a grim warning to Scrooge about the legacy his own stinginess could leave behind.

About this character

Role
laundress who sells stolen belongings stripped from the dead man
Form
Novella
Author
Charles Dickens
First published
1843

The person01–03

01·Who they are

Who is Mrs. Dilber?

Mrs. Dilber is introduced in Stave IV as a laundress. She is one of three characters—a charwoman and a man are the others—who gather at old Joe's shop to sell items taken from a man who died alone. She brings sheets, towels, clothing, two old silver teaspoons, a pair of sugar tongs, and a few boots.

02·Arc & motivation

What is Mrs. Dilber's arc and motivation?

Mrs. Dilber doesn’t undergo any development throughout the novel; she exists solely within a single prophetic vision. Her motivation is entirely self-serving: the deceased cared for no one, so no one feels obligated to him. She echoes the charwoman's belief that "every person has a right to take care of themselves," applying this reasoning without hesitation or guilt.

03·Key moments

What are Mrs. Dilber's key moments?

In Stave IV, Mrs. Dilber laughs when the charwoman remarks that the dead man is not worse off for losing a few belongings, and she refers to his lonely death as "a judgment on him." When old Joe counts her items, he puts on a show of gallantry—"I always give too much to ladies. It's a weakness of mine"—and tells her that if she asked for another penny he would regret being so generous and knock off half-a-crown. These two brief exchanges portray her as a willing, unsentimental participant in the scene.

The cast04–05

04·Relationships

What are Mrs. Dilber's most important relationships?

Mrs. Dilber's most practical relationship in this scene is with old Joe: she submits her items for his appraisal and accepts his valuation without objection. Her relationship with the charwoman is based on mutual reassurance—the charwoman initiates the moral justification, and Mrs. Dilber reinforces it at every turn ("That's true, indeed!"; "It's a judgment on him"). Neither woman questions the other; they are united by shared guilt and indifference. As a character in a vision, her connection to Scrooge is indirect: she never sees him, but her cheerful callousness is exactly what the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come wants him to observe.

05·Connected characters

How is Mrs. Dilber connected to the other characters?

Joe

Mrs. Dilber brings her stolen goods to old Joe to be valued and paid for; he haggles over her bundle, claiming he is too generous to ladies.

Ebenezer Scrooge

Mrs. Dilber is part of the vision shown to Scrooge by the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, illustrating the fate that awaits him if he does not change — his belongings stripped and sold without a moment's remorse.

Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come leads Scrooge to witness Mrs. Dilber and the others selling the dead man's possessions, using the scene as a silent warning.

Study06–07

06·Questions

Questions readers ask about Mrs. Dilber

Who is Mrs. Dilber?

She is a laundress featured in Stave IV during a vision experienced by Scrooge. She brings a collection of stolen items—sheets, towels, clothing, silver teaspoons, sugar tongs, and boots—into old Joe's den for appraisal and sale.

What does Mrs. Dilber sell to old Joe?

Sheets and towels, some clothing, two vintage silver teaspoons, a pair of sugar tongs, and a handful of boots.

What is Mrs. Dilber's role in the story's moral message?

She embodies the mindset of those who took the dead man's belongings: they argue that a man who was not natural during his life deserved to die alone without anyone to care for him, so they feel no guilt in taking what he left behind.

07·Essay angles

Use this in your essay

Tool · Essay angles

  • Mrs. Dilber as a mirror for Scrooge: The charwoman's description of the dead man as a "wicked old screw" who deserved his lonely end, which Mrs. Dilber enthusiastically endorses, holds a mirror to Scrooge's own way of living; an essay could explore how Dickens uses these exchanges to illustrate the human cost of a life lived without warmth or generosity.

  • Comic tone and moral horror: Joe's mock gallantry combined with Mrs. Dilber's laughter creates a darkly comic atmosphere; an essay could examine how Dickens employs humor to amplify the unsettling nature of the moral warning.

  • Self-interest as social failure: Mrs. Dilber and her companions exemplify the extreme of the belief that "every person has a right to take care of themselves"; an essay could argue that Dickens presents this mindset as the inevitable outcome of a society lacking charity or mutual obligation.

  • The function of minor characters in the Staves: Mrs. Dilber appears only in a vision; an essay could consider how Dickens utilizes such peripheral figures to convey thematic significance without needing full character development.

A Christmas Carol

Continue

Full study guide →