The Dressmaker

by

Rosalie Ham

Purl Bundle is married to Fred Bundle and runs the local pub and hotel with him. Purl is an attractive woman and takes pride in her looks. She does not worry that the other women gossip about her because she says they are only jealous. Purl had an affair, and possibly a child, with Bill Beaumont before her marriage to Fred, but this is kept secret by the townspeople. Purl and Fred are now very much in love.
Get the entire The Dressmaker LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Dressmaker PDF

Purl Bundle Character Timeline in The Dressmaker

The timeline below shows where the character Purl Bundle appears in The Dressmaker. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
Secrets, Hypocrisy, and Conformity Theme Icon
...but he stopped drinking after suffering a nasty fall when he was drunk. His wife, Purl, washes greens in the kitchen sink. She is a beautiful woman who takes pride in... (full context)
Memories, Progress, and the Past Theme Icon
The footballers tumble into the pub after the game, and Purl and Fred Bundle serve them drinks and celebrate with them. Purl notices William in the... (full context)
Secrets, Hypocrisy, and Conformity Theme Icon
...o’clock. Fred nods, and Sergeant Farrat makes to leave. On Farrat’s way to the door, Purl stops him and asks if Tilly Dunnage plans to stay in town. Sergeant Farrat replies... (full context)
Chapter 7
Secrets, Hypocrisy, and Conformity Theme Icon
Memories, Progress, and the Past Theme Icon
...Dungatar’s football team drinks beer and the players discuss their game plan for the finals. Purl listens anxiously and Fred tells her that there will soon be something to celebrate. Purl... (full context)
Secrets, Hypocrisy, and Conformity Theme Icon
Memories, Progress, and the Past Theme Icon
Purl gossips about Tilly with the men in the bar to distract them from their nerves.... (full context)
Secrets, Hypocrisy, and Conformity Theme Icon
...Winyerp. Dungatar wins by one point, and the celebration rages all night in Fred and Purl’s bar. At dawn the next day, Beula Harridene walks past the pub and sees people... (full context)
Chapter 12
Secrets, Hypocrisy, and Conformity Theme Icon
...Alvin places a wedding cake in the window display. Beula, Lois, Nancy, Ruth, Faith, and Purl all peer through the glass and watch Gertrude and Muriel flip through a bridal catalogue... (full context)
Transformation, Illusion, and Truth  Theme Icon
Secrets, Hypocrisy, and Conformity Theme Icon
Memories, Progress, and the Past Theme Icon
Teddy hears all about the wedding plans from Purl in the bar. He hears that Tilly is making the dress and that the fabric... (full context)
Chapter 14
Secrets, Hypocrisy, and Conformity Theme Icon
...a dress for Tilly to mend. While Tilly and Lois discuss the worn, shabby dress, Purl barges in and asks if Tilly can make her a new lingerie set. Tilly says... (full context)
Vengeance and Suffering Theme Icon
Secrets, Hypocrisy, and Conformity Theme Icon
Memories, Progress, and the Past Theme Icon
After Lois and Purl have gone, Tilly hits golf balls from the top of the Hill down toward the... (full context)
Chapter 15
Transformation, Illusion, and Truth  Theme Icon
Secrets, Hypocrisy, and Conformity Theme Icon
In the pub, Septimus Crescent and Hamish O’Brien sit at the bar. Purl sits behind the bar and paints her fingernails while Fred, Scotty, and Bobby get ready... (full context)
Chapter 17
Transformation, Illusion, and Truth  Theme Icon
Secrets, Hypocrisy, and Conformity Theme Icon
Memories, Progress, and the Past Theme Icon
In the bar, Purl waits to take the new guest’s dinner order. The woman looks dubiously at the menu... (full context)
Chapter 22
Transformation, Illusion, and Truth  Theme Icon
Memories, Progress, and the Past Theme Icon
...put a mannequin in the room with one of her creations draped on it, and Purl arrives and asks if Una made this outfit when she was in college. (full context)
Chapter 23
Transformation, Illusion, and Truth  Theme Icon
Secrets, Hypocrisy, and Conformity Theme Icon
Memories, Progress, and the Past Theme Icon
In the bar, Purl pours drinks and listens to a drunken William tearfully exclaim that he is not really... (full context)
Chapter 30
Transformation, Illusion, and Truth  Theme Icon
Vengeance and Suffering Theme Icon
Memories, Progress, and the Past Theme Icon
...and bitten off all her nails. The next day, cast gather for the dress rehearsal. Purl, William, and Lesley struggle on stage, wearing their ornate 17-century costumes. Gertrude says that they... (full context)