The person01–03
01·Who they are
Who is Tom's Wife?
Tom's wife occupies the volatile center of Washington Irving's moral fable as the story's most punished example of avarice. Irving introduces her alongside Tom in the opening domestic sketch, describing the couple as "a termagant of a wife, who was not afraid to use her tongue and sometimes her hands." This phrase establishes her in a long satirical tradition of the shrewish spouse, yet Irving provides her with something beyond mere comic nastiness: a fierce, autonomous will that makes her, paradoxically, one of the story's most active agents. She is never named—a deliberate choice that reduces her to her ruling vice—and her physical presence in the narrative is brief, but her influence permeates every major plot turn.
02·Arc & motivation
What is Tom's Wife's arc and motivation?
Her arc is short and catastrophic, moving from domestic antagonist to independent dealmaker to cautionary corpse. The motivation driving every step is greed. When Tom reports his encounter with Old Scratch and the buried treasure of Captain Kidd, Irving tells us that "the wife...became so eager for the money that she pressed her husband to comply." Tom's refusal—stemming not from virtue but from spite, his way of denying her any gain—only intensifies her determination. She resolves to act unilaterally, which embodies the story's darkest irony: her greed compels her to seek the Devil directly rather than wait on a husband she cannot control. Her arc concludes not with a bargain sealed but with violent erasure, suggesting that Old Scratch found her too dangerous even by his own standards—or, more pointedly, that the Devil is under no obligation to deal fairly with anyone who approaches him alone and without leverage.
03·Key moments
What are Tom's Wife's key moments?
The first swamp expedition establishes her recklessness; she returns with no deal concluded but undeterred. The second expedition is the pivotal moment for the entire story. She vanishes, and Tom later discovers her apron knotted to a tree, its contents reduced to "a heart and liver." Irving's deadpan register here is chilling: the grisly bundle is described matter-of-factly, as though the supernatural violence is simply the market rate for her ambition. Tom's reaction—he "felt something like gratitude towards the black woodsman" and experiences an emotional liberation rather than grief—retrospectively confirms that the marriage was its own kind of hell. Her death clears the domestic obstruction and paradoxically emboldens Tom to negotiate his own terms with Old Scratch, making her disappearance the hinge on which the main plot swings.
The cast04–05
04·Relationships
What are Tom's Wife's most important relationships?
With Tom Walker: Theirs is a marriage of mutual predation. Irving writes that "they were so miserly that they even conspired to cheat each other," and their conflicts escalate to physical violence. The relationship serves as a microcosm of the story's broader argument: a world in which every bond is monetized produces only hostility. Her death liberates Tom not because he loved her but because she was a competitor as much as a spouse.
With Old Scratch: She approaches the Devil as a negotiating equal, which proves her fatal miscalculation. Unlike Tom, who has the narrative space to bargain, she vanishes between scenes—Irving denies her even the dignity of a witnessed confrontation. Old Scratch collects her offstage, reducing her to organs in an apron. This relationship underscores the story's warning that diabolical contracts are never fair, and those who pursue them most eagerly are consumed first.
With the treasure: She never touches Kidd's gold, yet it is the treasure—glimpsed only through Tom's account—that initiates her fatal plan. Her relationship to wealth is entirely aspirational and entirely destructive, which precisely illustrates Irving's satirical point about materialism as an abstraction that devours its devotees.
05·Connected characters
How is Tom's Wife connected to the other characters?
Tom Walker
Full commentary
Tom's Wife shares a mutually hostile and loveless marriage with Tom Walker. The two are described as evenly matched in ferocity and miserliness, constantly quarreling and even coming to physical blows. Their antagonistic relationship is so extreme that Tom refuses Old Scratch's offer partly out of spite—he refuses to let his wife profit. Her disappearance ultimately frees Tom to make his own deal with the Devil.
Old Scratch (The Devil)
Full commentary
Tom's Wife attempts to negotiate directly with Old Scratch after Tom refuses the initial bargain. She ventures into the swamp twice on her own initiative, driven by greed. On her second visit she vanishes, with only her apron and its grisly contents left behind, implying the Devil claimed her—making her the story's first and most immediate victim of the diabolical pact.
Captain Kidd
Absalom Crowninshield
Study06–07
06·Questions
Questions readers ask about Tom's Wife
How does Tom's wife die in 'The Devil and Tom Walker'?
Tom's wife vanishes during her second solo trip into the swamp to negotiate with Old Scratch, leaving Tom only her apron knotted to a tree, which contains a heart and liver. Irving does not depict the confrontation directly, instead describing the violence in a matter-of-fact manner. The grisly bundle indicates that the Devil claimed her, making her the story's first and most immediate victim of the pact.
Why does Tom's wife go to the swamp herself instead of letting Tom make the deal?
Tom's wife ventures into the swamp because Tom refuses Old Scratch's offer out of spite, wanting her to gain nothing from it. Unable to control her husband, she decides to negotiate directly with the Devil on her own. Her overwhelming greed makes waiting for Tom unfeasible, driving her into a fatal miscalculation.
What is Tom Walker's reaction to his wife's disappearance?
Tom feels a sense of gratitude toward Old Scratch instead of grief. Her death frees him from a marriage described as mutual predation, allowing him to negotiate his own terms with the Devil without competition. His reaction shows that the couple were as much adversaries as spouses, and her disappearance is the turning point of the main plot.
How is Tom's wife described in 'The Devil and Tom Walker'?
Irving introduces her as "a termagant of a wife, who was not afraid to use her tongue and sometimes her hands," placing her in the tradition of the shrewish spouse. Beyond the comic portrayal, she has a fierce and autonomous will, making her one of the story's most active agents. Notably, she is never given a name—a choice that highlights her defining vice: greed.
What is the relationship between Tom's wife and Tom Walker like?
Their marriage is characterized by mutual predation and hostility. Irving notes that "they were so miserly that they even conspired to cheat each other," and their arguments escalate to physical confrontations. Lacking any bond of affection, both view the other as a financial competitor. This animosity is so intense that Tom's primary reason for initially rejecting Old Scratch's offer is to deny his wife any share of the profit.
Why is Tom's wife never given a name in the story?
Irving withholds her name to portray her as an allegorical figure rather than an individual—she embodies unchecked avarice within the narrative. This aligns with his broader satirical method, where characters represent vices instead of being well-rounded. By referring to her only through her marital role, Irving suggests that her identity is fully consumed by her greed, reflecting the warning that materialism erases the self.
What role does Tom's wife play in advancing the plot of 'The Devil and Tom Walker'?
Tom's wife acts as a crucial catalyst in the story despite her brief appearance. Her desire for Kidd's buried treasure pushes Tom to reconsider Old Scratch's offer, and her independent trip into the swamp—and subsequent disappearance—removes the domestic barrier for Tom to engage with the Devil. Without her death, Tom likely never confronts Old Scratch on his own terms, making her fate central to the main plot.
What does Tom's wife represent thematically in 'The Devil and Tom Walker'?
Tom's wife represents Irving's satirical critique of unchecked materialism in early American society. Her greed is entirely aspirational—she never obtains Kidd's gold—yet that abstract desire leads to her destruction. Irving uses her as the story's first and most severely punished casualty to argue that those who eagerly pursue diabolical bargains are often consumed first, and that a life centered around wealth acquisition leads not to prosperity but to violent erasure.
07·Essay angles
Use this in your essay
Tool · Essay angles