The Farmer of Brobdingnag in Gulliver's Travels

Who is The Farmer of Brobdingnag?

The Farmer of Brobdingnag is the large-scale landholder who discovers Gulliver exhausted and tiny among his tall grain. He brings the little man home for inspection, sets him at the family table, and provides basic shelter. Recognizing Gulliver as a curiosity of value, the farmer balances prudence and a form of kindness: he allows his daughter to nurse and teach the stranger, outfits a padded cradle, and permits controlled local exhibitions suggested by a neighboring miser to earn money. When the queen of Brobdingnag requests to see the creature, the farmer, thinking Gulliver near death and tempted by a substantial payment, sells him into royal service. He also ensures that Gulliver's caretaker—his daughter, Glumdalclitch—accompanies him to the court and enters royal employ. Throughout these episodes the farmer acts as a pragmatic proprietor whose actions set Gulliver on the path from private curiosity to public spectacle and eventual place at the Brobdingnagian court.

In the book: He’s the Brobdingnagian farmer who discovers Gulliver in his field and, amazed, carries the little stranger home. Practical but not unkind, he treats Gulliver like a rare find and hands him over to his household—especially his daughter—for closer keeping and care.

Personality

Practical

He wraps Gulliver in a handkerchief, places him in a padded cradle, and later agrees to exhibit him in market-towns to profit from the curiosity.

Prudent

He restricts physical contact during demonstrations and limits audience size to avoid injury and damage.

Opportunistic

He accepts the neighboring farmer's advice to show Gulliver for money and later sells him to the queen for a large sum when summoned to court.

Not unkind

He allows his nine-year-old daughter to care for Gulliver, provides bedding and garments, and ensures she accompanies him to the capital.

Character arc

The Farmer of Brobdingnag appears first as the discoverer and immediate protector of Gulliver: he rescues the exhausted stranger from his fields, brings him to the household, and tolerates the oddities and dangers that Gulliver's tiny presence creates. Initially his concern is domestic and practical—shelter, food, and protection from rats and household hazards—while he and his family inspect the creature. As news spreads and a neighboring farmer proposes monetizing the curiosity, the farmer shifts from private caretaker to exhibitor, organizing controlled shows and transporting Gulliver slowly through towns. When the queen requests to see the creature, the farmer makes a final pragmatic choice: believing Gulliver near death and presented with a large payment, he sells him to the court. Even in this transaction he shows a residual sense of responsibility by securing that his daughter, Glumdalclitch, remain with Gulliver in royal service. His arc is not one of moral transformation but of consistent practicality: he adapts his behavior to household welfare and economic opportunity while preserving a basic decency toward Gulliver and his daughter's role as nurse and teacher.

Relationships

• Glumdalclitch His nine-year-old daughter and Gulliver's devoted nurse; he entrusts her with Gulliver's care and ensures she enters royal service when Gulliver is sold.
• Lemuel Gulliver The tiny stranger he finds and shelters, whom he exhibits for money and ultimately sells to the queen.
• The Queen of Brobdingnag Her interest in Gulliver precipitates the farmer's sale of the captive to the royal household.
• A neighboring miserly farmer An advisor and instigator who suggests publicly showing Gulliver to profit from the curiosity.
• His household Family and servants who inspect, care for, and sometimes fear Gulliver, shaping how he is treated before being shown publicly.

Quotes by The Farmer of Brobdingnag

“how contemptible a thing was human grandeur, which could be mimicked by such diminutive insects as I: and yet," says he, "I dare engage these creatures have their titles and distinctions of honour; they contrive little nests and burrows, that they call houses and cities; they make a figure in dress and equipage; they love, they fight, they dispute, they cheat, they betray!”

Chapter 3The king reflects—mockingly and philosophically—on human society after seeing Gulliver, highlighting Swift's satirical reversal of perspective.

“He was amazed, how so impotent and grovelling an insect as I”

Chapter 7The king reacts with horror to Gulliver's description of gunpowder and artillery, calling him an "impotent and grovelling insect."

“that whoever could make two ears of corn, or two blades of grass, to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do more essential service to his country, than the whole race of politicians put together.”

Chapter 7The king summarizes his political philosophy, valuing practical improvements in agriculture far above political maneuvering.

Why The Farmer of Brobdingnag matters

The farmer embodies a theme of Swift's travel narrative: the intersection of curiosity, commerce, and ordinary decency. His practical responses—sheltering, exhibiting, and eventually selling Gulliver—show how wonder becomes commodified but also how everyday people mediate encounters between the strange and the powerful. By ensuring Glumdalclitch's continued care for Gulliver, he hints at modest human compassion amid pragmatic decisions. The farmer's actions set in motion Gulliver's transition from rural oddity to court spectacle, highlighting how scale and social position determine treatment and fate in Brobdingnag.

Chapters with The Farmer of Brobdingnag

• Part 2, Chapter 1
• Part 2, Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 12

More Gulliver's Travels characters

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