Who is Mrs. Clennam from Little Dorrit and what is their importance? Little_Dorrit English & Literature Mrs. Clennam | Little Dorrit

Mrs. Clennam is the woman who raised Arthur, but is not his mother. She married his father and a year later discovered he had a pregnant mistress on the side. A very strong willed woman, she took the child from the mistress, and then banished her husband to China for the rest of their marriage. Mrs. Clennam becomes a very reserved, strict woman, who finds solace in the hellfire and brimstone portions of the Bible. As she grows older, she restricts herself emotionally and then physically, staying in one room of the musty old house for over a decade. Mrs. Clennam's role in the novel is to be the immovable force standing between Arthur and the answers about his childhood, relenting only when forced by blackmail by Rigaud. Instead of submitting to the threats of Rigaud, Mrs. Clennam turns to Little Dorrit for assistance in keeping Arthur's name intact.