Details
Name: Palmerston Burt was named after the famous Victorian politician Lord Palmerston but that is where the similarity ends.
Background: Palmerston is second servant after Mrs Bowldler and was obtained by Fancy Tabb from the workhouse at Tregarrick (Bodmin). His father had been mate of the
Tartar Girl, a coal boat owned by John Rogers. The craft had foundered in 1891 coming from South Shields. There is an implication of overloading. With the loss of the father, Mrs Burt had placed Palmerston in the workhouse as unable to feed and clothe, a humiliation which affected his self-confidence. (Maybe this suggests that the boat was uninsured). He is amiable, over-sensitive, good at arithmetic and literate, with a secret desire to be a writer. Fancy perceives his potential and his weaknesses. Both had suffered at the hands of John Rogers which creates a bond between them. In possibly marrying him, Fancy Tabb sees a way out of her servitude and of establishing a position in society.
Palmerston Burt is a person and a symbol. He symbolises the innate drive in the young to learn, adapt and overcome difficulties when freed from adult oppressiveness and placed in an ordered environment, which Mrs Bowldler provides. This gives a good insight into Q’s educational ideas— the innate desire to learn when education is facilitated but not imposed. Although damaged by the behaviour of adults, Palmerston does not give in to victimhood or the idea of fate, but learns even in negative situations.