Glumdalclitch in Gulliver's Travels

Who is Glumdalclitch?

Glumdalclitch is the farmer’s roughly nine-year-old daughter who discovers the tiny Gulliver and immediately becomes his devoted nurse, teacher, and advocate. She fashions him a padded cradle, tiny clothes, and a travelling box, instructs him in the local language and reading, and supervises his public exhibitions as they travel slowly to the capital. At Lorbrulgrud she continues to look after him in royal service, is provided attendants and instruction by the queen, and carries him in his fitted travelling-closet around the palace and gardens. Glumdalclitch protects Gulliver from rough handling where she can, directs his small performances for crowds, and endures the court’s curiosities and occasional humiliations inflicted on him. Her steady, affectionate care underpins Gulliver’s survival and relative comfort throughout his two years among the Brobdingnagians and enables his learning, public displays, and eventual return voyage.

In the book: When we first meet her, she’s the farmer’s young daughter in Brobdingnag who discovers Gulliver and instantly takes to him with a caretaker’s tenderness. She fashions him a little bed, clothes, and a traveling box, protects him from rough handling, and becomes his patient teacher and advocate among the towering adults.

Personality

Nurturing

She fashions a padded cradle, clothes, and a travelling box and personally dresses, washes, and tends Gulliver after his discovery (Part 2, Chap. 2).

Protective

She restricts handling, limits audience size, and accompanies Gulliver during shows and travels to guard him from injury (Part 2, Chap. 2).

Patient teacher

She teaches Gulliver the language and alphabet by naming objects and using a girls’ religious primer so he can perform for visitors (Part 2, Chap. 2).

Loyal

When Gulliver is sold to the queen, he secures that Glumdalclitch be retained in royal service and brought to court with him (Part 2, Chap. 3).

Practical

She supervises the construction and use of Gulliver’s travelling-closet and helps him manage risky palace outings in his box and hammock (Part 2, Chap. 4).

Character arc

Glumdalclitch appears consistently as a steadfast caregiver from her first meeting with Gulliver through his two years at court and the coastal progress that precedes his escape. At first she is a rural child who invents comforts for an astonishing find: sewing clothes, making a cradle, and beginning daily lessons. As Gulliver becomes a public curiosity and they journey to Lorbrulgrud, she shifts from village nurse to a junior member of the royal household, receiving attendants and instruction from the queen while continuing to carry and protect Gulliver. She adapts to court life without losing her tenderness: she escorts him in a fitted travelling-closet, attends his performances, and tends him after misadventures. Her role remains largely constant—devoted, watchful, and practical—without a dramatic change in temperament; her retention at court and care during the coastal progress highlight her persistent loyalty. Her final noted action in the chapters is accompanying Gulliver on the progress when the page’s mishandling of his box leads to his being carried off by an eagle, marking the end of her direct influence over his fate and underscoring how, despite her diligence, she cannot control every external danger.

Relationships

• The Farmer of Brobdingnag She is his daughter and first caretaker of Gulliver while under the farmer’s roof; she follows the family into displaying him.
• Lemuel Gulliver She is Gulliver’s devoted nurse, teacher, and protector, who fashions his bedding, instructs his speech, and escorts him through shows and court life.
• The Queen of Brobdingnag After Gulliver is sold to the court, the queen orders Glumdalclitch be brought into royal service and provides her with attendants and instruction.
• The King of Brobdingnag As part of Gulliver’s household at court, Glumdalclitch operates within the royal environment overseen by the king, who examines Gulliver and attends audiences where she tends him.
• The Brobdingnagian Dwarf She attempts to shield Gulliver from rough treatment and the dwarf’s pranks, though Gulliver still suffers humiliations inflicted by the dwarf at court.

Why Glumdalclitch matters

Glumdalclitch embodies themes of care, vulnerability, and humane responsibility amid spectacle. Her tender, practical attention to Gulliver contrasts with the court’s curiosity and the economies of display that commodify him, highlighting Swift’s concern about how the weak are treated by larger powers. By teaching Gulliver language and protecting him where possible, she enables his survival and learning, making her a moral counterpoint to exploitation; her presence also complicates simple readings of power by showing compassion within an overwhelmingly unequal world. Through her steady nurture, Swift foregrounds empathy and the human costs of curiosity and publicity.

Chapters with Glumdalclitch

• Part 2, Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 12

More Gulliver's Travels characters

• Lemuel GulliverProtagonist
• The YahoosAntagonist
• The Emperor of LilliputMajor character
• tthe kingMajor character
• The King of BrobdingnagMajor character
• The Queen of BrobdingnagMajor character
• The Empress of LilliputMajor character
• The Farmer of BrobdingnagMinor character