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Agnes Nutter
Shadwell is the last remaining Witchfinder Sergeant of the English Witchfinder’s Army (WA), which is an organization that both Aziraphale and Crowley employ to help them with their work on Earth. A small, cantankerous old man, Shadwell speaks in an accent that’s impossible to place and is constantly grimy. He survives on cigarettes and cans of condensed milk, and he takes his job as a witch-finder extremely seriously. But although he’s deadly serious about exorcizing evil from the world, to others he seems pitiable, lovable, and in need of looking after. This is why Newt decides to stick with his job as Witchfinder Private, and why Madame Tracy prepares Shadwell’s Sunday dinner for him every week despite Shadwell’s taunts (he refers to her as the Whore of Babylon). Shadwell thinks of himself as the only competent person in the world and humorously despises “Southerners” (that is, everyone who isn’t him). As the last remaining Witchfinder Sergeant, Shadwell believes it’s his duty to keep the tradition of the WA alive. To do this, he fabricates the existence of around 500 other witch-finders, unbeknownst to Aziraphale and Crowley. Shadwell gets wrapped up in the quest to stop Armageddon (the end of the world) when he sends Newt to investigate the suspiciously perfect weather in Tadfield. And, when he becomes concerned for Newt’s safety, seeks out Aziraphale for financial help so that he can follow Newt. When Shadwell comes upon Aziraphale communicating with the Metatron, he manages to send Aziraphale back to Heaven. But later, he’s enraged to discover that Aziraphale is inhabiting Madame Tracy’s body. However, when Aziraphale dangles the prospect of killing “THE witch” (that is, the Antichrist) in front of Shadwell, Shadwell agrees to help. Following Armageddon, Shadwell agrees to move with Madame Tracy to the country, and he retires from the WA.
Mr. Shadwell Quotes in Good Omens
The Good Omens quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Shadwell or refer to Mr. Shadwell. 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:
).
Friday
Quotes
“I thought the churches...” Newt began.
“Pah!” said Shadwell. [...] “Churches? What good did they ever do? They’m just as bad. Same line o’ business, nearly. You can’t trust them to stamp out the Evil One, ‘cos if they did, they’d be out o’ that line o’ business. If yer goin’ up against a tiger, ye don’t want fellow travelers whose idea of huntin’ is tae throw meat at it. Nay, lad. It’s up to us. Against the darkness.”
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Saturday
Quotes
“Tye yt well,” she said to the astonished witchfinder. And then, as the villagers sidled toward the pyre, she raised her handsome head in the firelight and said, “Gather ye ryte close, goode people. Come close untyl the fire near scorch ye, for I charge ye that alle must see how thee last true wytch in England dies. For wytch I am, for soe I am judgéd, yette I knoe not what my true Cryme may be. And therefore let myne death be a messuage to the worlde. Gather ye ryte close, I saye, and marke well the fate of alle who meddle with such as theye do notte understande.”
And, apparently, she smiled and looked up at the sky over the village and added, “That goes for you as welle, yowe daft old foole.”
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Get the entire Good Omens LitChart as a printable PDF.
Mr. Shadwell Quotes in Good Omens
The Good Omens quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Shadwell or refer to Mr. Shadwell. 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:
).
Friday
Quotes
“I thought the churches...” Newt began.
“Pah!” said Shadwell. [...] “Churches? What good did they ever do? They’m just as bad. Same line o’ business, nearly. You can’t trust them to stamp out the Evil One, ‘cos if they did, they’d be out o’ that line o’ business. If yer goin’ up against a tiger, ye don’t want fellow travelers whose idea of huntin’ is tae throw meat at it. Nay, lad. It’s up to us. Against the darkness.”
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Saturday
Quotes
“Tye yt well,” she said to the astonished witchfinder. And then, as the villagers sidled toward the pyre, she raised her handsome head in the firelight and said, “Gather ye ryte close, goode people. Come close untyl the fire near scorch ye, for I charge ye that alle must see how thee last true wytch in England dies. For wytch I am, for soe I am judgéd, yette I knoe not what my true Cryme may be. And therefore let myne death be a messuage to the worlde. Gather ye ryte close, I saye, and marke well the fate of alle who meddle with such as theye do notte understande.”
And, apparently, she smiled and looked up at the sky over the village and added, “That goes for you as welle, yowe daft old foole.”
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