Who Betsey Trotwood is
Betsey Trotwood makes her first appearance on the afternoon of David's birth in Blunderstone. She expects a girl, whom she plans to raise wisely and protect from mistakes in love. When she learns that the baby is a boy, she leaves angrily and stays away for years.
What Betsey Trotwood wants
Betsey wants David to become steady and sensible, and her care takes a practical form. When he reaches her home near Dover, hungry and ragged, she decides to keep him. She gives him the name Trotwood as a new start and sends him to school in Canterbury.
Betsey Trotwood and the others in the story
Betsey refuses to excuse Edward Murdstone's cruelty when he comes to claim David. Her fierce manner becomes a defence for a boy who has had little power over his own life.
Mr Dick, a gentle and unusual man, lives with her, and she trusts him completely. These relationships reveal the generosity beneath her sharp manner, showing David care grounded in kindness and fairness.
Questions
Who is Betsey Trotwood?
Betsey Trotwood is David Copperfield's great aunt, a stern but generous relative who gives him a home.
Why does Betsey Trotwood leave when David is born?
She leaves because she has expected a girl and is angry to discover that the baby is a boy.
How does Betsey Trotwood help David?
She protects him from Murdstone, takes him into her home and arranges his schooling.