Bleak House

Bleak House

by

Charles Dickens

Bart Smallweed is the grandson and Mr. Smallweed and Mrs. Smallweed and the brother of Judy Smallweed. He is a clerk is the same company as Mr. Guppy and a friend of Mr. Jobling’s. Bart is only 15 but has the cynical and worldly manner of a much older man. He has a small, wizened frame and has inherited his grandfather’s shrewd eye for business and his insatiable greed for wealth. Bart, like the rest of his family, is willing to step on people to get his own way and does not tell his friends anything because he does not want to give them an advantage over him. He was a mirthless child, who had no interest in toys or stories, and he does not have any high minded or noble thoughts but considers everything in terms of money and personal gain. The name “Smallweed” suggests something small, parasitic, and unpleasant, and this description is apt for every member of the family.

Bart Smallweed Quotes in Bleak House

The Bleak House quotes below are all either spoken by Bart Smallweed or refer to Bart Smallweed. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Social Mobility, Class, and Lineage Theme Icon
).
Chapter 21 Quotes

Everything that Mr. Smallweed’s grandfather ever put away in his mind was a grub at first, and is a grub at last. In all his life he has never bred a single butterfly. The father of this pleasant grandfather, of the neighborhood of Mount Pleasant, was a horny-skinned, two-legged, money-getting species of spider, who spun webs to catch unwary flies, and retired into holes until they were entrapped. The name of this old pagan’s God was Compound Interest.

Related Characters: Bart Smallweed, Mr. Smallweed, Mrs. Smallweed, Judy Smallweed
Page Number: 248
Explanation and Analysis:
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Bart Smallweed Quotes in Bleak House

The Bleak House quotes below are all either spoken by Bart Smallweed or refer to Bart Smallweed. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Social Mobility, Class, and Lineage Theme Icon
).
Chapter 21 Quotes

Everything that Mr. Smallweed’s grandfather ever put away in his mind was a grub at first, and is a grub at last. In all his life he has never bred a single butterfly. The father of this pleasant grandfather, of the neighborhood of Mount Pleasant, was a horny-skinned, two-legged, money-getting species of spider, who spun webs to catch unwary flies, and retired into holes until they were entrapped. The name of this old pagan’s God was Compound Interest.

Related Characters: Bart Smallweed, Mr. Smallweed, Mrs. Smallweed, Judy Smallweed
Page Number: 248
Explanation and Analysis: