--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mr. Wopsle's great-aunt kept an evening…" description: "\"“Mr. Wopsle's great-aunt kept an evening school in the village; that is to say, she was a ridiculous old woman of limited means and unlimited infirmity..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65a/charles-dickens-34_aunt_mr-wopsle-s-great-aunt-kept-an-evening-s_3001236.jpg" --- # Mr. Wopsle's great-aunt kept an evening school in the… ![“Mr. Wopsle's great-aunt kept an evening school in the village; that is to say, she was a ridiculous old woman of limited means and unlimited infirmity, who used to go to sleep from six to seven every evening, in the society of youth who paid two pence per week each, for the improving opportunity…” quote by Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65a/charles-dickens-34_aunt_mr-wopsle-s-great-aunt-kept-an-evening-s_3001236.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65a/charles-dickens-34_aunt_mr-wopsle-s-great-aunt-kept-an-evening-s_3001236.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65a/charles-dickens-34_aunt_mr-wopsle-s-great-aunt-kept-an-evening-s_3001236.jpg) > ““Mr. Wopsle's great-aunt kept an evening school in the village; that is to say, she was a ridiculous old woman of limited means and unlimited infirmity, who used to go to sleep from six to seven every evening, in the society of youth who paid two pence per week each, for the improving opportunity of seeing her do it.”” [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An elderly woman runs a school despite frailty, highlighting absurdity of social expectations. **In simple terms:** Old woman runs school despite weakness. Key Takeaway Question social norms. Themes age education absurdity Mood reflective humorous Type literary social When to use this quote - education reform - elder care Key Concepts social critique literary satire Questions to Reflect On - How does society view aging educators? - What can change these perceptions? A Different Perspective The portrayal may reinforce stereotypes about the elderly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Great aunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-aunt/) [Humorous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humorous/) ## Related quotes > [His struggle for a bare living left him no time to take advantage of the public evening school. In time he learned to read,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-antin/his-struggle-for-a-bare-living-left-him-no-time-to-take-advantage-of/) [Mary Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-antin/) > [“Quin took on the air of someone who has just realized it's time for the yearly visit to the spinster great-aunt in a desperate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-fecteau/quin-took-on-the-air-of-someone-who-has-just-realized-it-s-time-for/) [Amy Fecteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-fecteau/) > [I was raised by my great-great aunt. I was adopted within our family. My mother had me when she was, I think, 15, 16.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-dickerson/i-was-raised-by-my-great-great-aunt-i-was-adopted-within-our-family/) [Eric Dickerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-dickerson/) > [My dad was a keen actor when he was young; my auntie is heavily involved in amateur dramatics back in Northern Ireland, and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-dornan/my-dad-was-a-keen-actor-when-he-was-young-my-auntie-is-heavily/) [Jamie Dornan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-dornan/) > [From age 23 to 44 - I'm 45 now - I was always in need of money, and I was especially in need of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-ames/from-age-23-to-44-i-m-45-now-i-was-always-in-need-of-money-and-i-was/) [Jonathan Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-ames/) > [“Poor thing. If she wasn’t being thrown into trees or attacked by his kin, she was being mystically flung to the ground by his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-a-aiken/poor-thing-if-she-wasn-t-being-thrown-into-trees-or-attacked-by-his/) [G.A. Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-a-aiken/) > [My great-aunt. . . . said nobody under 18 had any business reading Dickens. . . . She was right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/my-great-aunt-said-nobody-under-18-had-any-business-reading-dickens/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Cuddling was for great aunts and teddy bears. Cuddling gave him cramp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/cuddling-was-for-great-aunts-and-teddy-bears-cuddling-gave-him-cramp/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“There you are at last, girl,” said Great Aunt Sullana. “Your hair looks as though beavers had abandoned a dam there. Your face is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-maya/there-you-are-at-last-girl-said-great-aunt-sullana-your-hair-looks-as/) [Tara Maya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-maya/) > [I got into cooking just by watching my mom and my aunts and my great-aunts and actually one of my cousins who has her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-rowland/i-got-into-cooking-just-by-watching-my-mom-and-my-aunts-and-my-great/) [Kelly Rowland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-rowland/) > [ The disinterest \[of my two great-aunts\] in anything that had to do with high society was such that their sense of hearing ... put… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-disinterest-of-my-two-great-aunts-in-anything-that-had-to-do-with/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Why is it so much easier to talk to a stranger? why do we feel we need to disconnect in order to connect? If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/why-is-it-so-much-easier-to-talk-to-a-stranger-why-do-we-feel-we-need/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“He bowed politely to Hortense, who tipped her head toward the elderly gray-haired lady beside her, who seemed to be dozing, her head drooping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-mcnaught/he-bowed-politely-to-hortense-who-tipped-her-head-toward-the-elderly/) [Judith McNaught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-mcnaught/) > [You'd think that would have been forgotten long ago. But no, no sooner has a little grass grown over it than some clumsy camel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerstin-gier/you-d-think-that-would-have-been-forgotten-long-ago-but-no-no-sooner/) [Kerstin Gier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerstin-gier/) > [Imagine that you wanted your children to learn the names of all their cousins, aunts and uncles. But you never actually let them meet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-x-foley/imagine-that-you-wanted-your-children-to-learn-the-names-of-all-their/) Brian X. Foley ## More by Charles Dickens > [“All other swindlers upon earth are nothing to the self-swindlers, and with such pretences did I cheat myself. Surely a curious thing. That I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/all-other-swindlers-upon-earth-are-nothing-to-the-self-swindlers-and/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [There can be no disparity in marriage like unsuitability of mind and purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-can-be-no-disparity-in-marriage-like-unsuitability-of-mind-and/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [A new heart for a New Year, always!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/a-new-heart-for-a-new-year-always/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“The suspense: the fearful, acute suspense: of standing idly by while the life of one we dearly love, is trembling in the balance; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-suspense-the-fearful-acute-suspense-of-standing-idly-by-while-the/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Mrs. Joe was a very clean housekeeper, but had an exquisite art of making her cleanliness more uncomfortable and unacceptable than dirt itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mrs-joe-was-a-very-clean-housekeeper-but-had-an-exquisite-art-of/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [There seems a magic in the very name of Christmas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-seems-a-magic-in-the-very-name-of-christmas/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“evening, they began to think that although he could never hope to be an Englishman, still it would be hard to visit that affliction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/evening-they-began-to-think-that-although-he-could-never-hope-to-be/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Besides which, all that I could have said of the Story to any purpose, I had endeavoured to say in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/besides-which-all-that-i-could-have-said-of-the-story-to-any-purpose/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“The wheels rolled on, and rolled down by the Monument, and by the Tower; and by the Docks; down by Ratcliffe, and by Rotherhithe;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-wheels-rolled-on-and-rolled-down-by-the-monument-and-by-the-tower/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“The three customers pulled off their hats to Madame Defarge, with three flourishes. She acknowledged their homage by bending her head, and giving them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-three-customers-pulled-off-their-hats-to-madame-defarge-with/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“What a situation!' cried Miss Squeers; '...What is the reason that men fall in love with me, whether I like it or not, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/what-a-situation-cried-miss-squeers-what-is-the-reason-that-men-fall/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I admire machinery as much is any man, and am as thankful to it as any man can be for what it does for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-admire-machinery-as-much-is-any-man-and-am-as-thankful-to-it-as-any/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Mr. Pickwick was a philosopher, but philosophers are only men in armour, after all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mr-pickwick-was-a-philosopher-but-philosophers-are-only-men-in-armour/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) [Explore all 2,309 Charles Dickens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) ## More Aunt quotes > [“My aunt Carol hasn’t heard her say a word in the whole six years and three months of Grace’s life—not a single syllable. Carol…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/my-aunt-carol-hasn-t-heard-her-say-a-word-in-the-whole-six-years-and/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Your aunt and uncle will be proud, though, won't they?" said Hermione as they got off the train and joined the crowd thronging toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-aunt-and-uncle-will-be-proud-though-won-t-they-said-hermione-as/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was painfully shy, so my aunt suggested to my mum that me and my brother go to Stage 84, a performing arts school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-cooke/i-was-painfully-shy-so-my-aunt-suggested-to-my-mum-that-me-and-my/) [Christian Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-cooke/) > [“Quin took on the air of someone who has just realized it's time for the yearly visit to the spinster great-aunt in a desperate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-fecteau/quin-took-on-the-air-of-someone-who-has-just-realized-it-s-time-for/) [Amy Fecteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-fecteau/) > [My aunt and uncle are clearly civilians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-kimmel/my-aunt-and-uncle-are-clearly-civilians/) [Jimmy Kimmel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-kimmel/) > [“Aunt Helen Beck had many intentions about her death. She was about being dead the way some people are about being British - she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-mccracken/aunt-helen-beck-had-many-intentions-about-her-death-she-was-about/) [Elizabeth McCracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mccracken/) > [I'll just do a round around of the house and make sure the rest of the family are fast asleep. We don't want that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerstin-gier/i-ll-just-do-a-round-around-of-the-house-and-make-sure-the-rest-of/) [Kerstin Gier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerstin-gier/) > [In the summer of 1964, my sister and I went to South Ballston, Virginia, to stay with my aunt and her kids. They passed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-p-jones/in-the-summer-of-1964-my-sister-and-i-went-to-south-ballston-virginia/) [Edward P. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-p-jones/) > [“I look like Barbara Bush in drag." Aunt Jettie”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-harper/i-look-like-barbara-bush-in-drag-aunt-jettie/) [Molly Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-harper/) > [I only wanted Uncle Vernon standing by his own car (a Hudson) on a clear day, I got him and the car. Ialso got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-friedlander/i-only-wanted-uncle-vernon-standing-by-his-own-car-a-hudson-on-a/) [Lee Friedlander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-friedlander/) > [Both the five-year-olds looked at me with bewilderment and a bit of fearful uncertainty. I had a sudden horrifying image of the woman I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/both-the-five-year-olds-looked-at-me-with-bewilderment-and-a-bit-of/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [My aunt got me interested in journalism - she found an old typewriter, had it worked over, put it on the dining room table,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-jenkins/my-aunt-got-me-interested-in-journalism-she-found-an-old-typewriter/) [Dan Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-jenkins/) > [This kind of thing always amazed Ginny--people who just walked away from institutions. People who left school when they didn't see the point. Aunt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-johnson/this-kind-of-thing-always-amazed-ginny-people-who-just-walked-away/) [Maureen Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-johnson/) > [“You will not be able to shelter her forever,” my aunt insists. “What will happen when you are gone someday, and all the suitable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-forest/you-will-not-be-able-to-shelter-her-forever-my-aunt-insists-what-will/) [Laurie Forest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-forest/) > [my sweet old etcetera aunt lucy during the recent war could and what is more did tell you just what everybody was fighting for,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-sweet-old-etcetera-aunt-lucy-during-the-recent-war-could-and-what/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 720 Aunt quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Mr. Wopsle's great-aunt kept an evening school in the village; that is to say, she was a ridiculous old woman of limited means and unlimited infirmity, who used to go to sleep from six to seven every evening, in the society of youth who paid two pence per week each, for the improving opportunity of seeing her do it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Dickens" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mr-wopsle-s-great-aunt-kept-an-evening-school-in-the-village-that-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aunt" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mr-wopsle-s-great-aunt-kept-an-evening-school-in-the-village-that-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65a/charles-dickens-34_aunt_mr-wopsle-s-great-aunt-kept-an-evening-s_3001236.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65a/charles-dickens-34_aunt_mr-wopsle-s-great-aunt-kept-an-evening-s_3001236.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65a/charles-dickens-34_aunt_mr-wopsle-s-great-aunt-kept-an-evening-s_3001236.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Mr. Wopsle's great-aunt kept an evening school in the village; that is to say, she was a ridiculous old…” — Charles Dickens", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Charles Dickens", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Mr. Wopsle's great-aunt kept an evening...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mr-wopsle-s-great-aunt-kept-an-evening-school-in-the-village-that-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mr-wopsle-s-great-aunt-kept-an-evening-school-in-the-village-that-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```