# I: Pudd'nhead Wins His Name explained — Pudd’nhead Wilson

> Chapter companion for Pudd’nhead Wilson by Mark Twain.

## What happens

The chapter introduces Dawson's Landing, a sleepy slaveholding town on the Mississippi in 1830. It describes the prominent Driscoll family, including Judge York Leicester Driscoll, his widowed sister Mrs. Rachel Pratt, and his younger brother Percy Northumberland Driscoll. On February 1, 1830, two boys are born in Percy's house: one to him and one to his slave girl Roxana. Mrs. Percy Driscoll dies within the week, leaving Roxy in charge of both babies. The chapter also introduces David Wilson, a college-educated young lawyer who arrives in town but is immediately labeled a 'pudd'nhead' after a misunderstood remark about killing half a dog, a nickname that sticks for twenty years.

## Themes in this chapter

### Social Class and Aristocracy

The chapter establishes the importance of Virginian ancestry and gentlemanly status, embodied by Judge Driscoll and Pembroke Howard.

### Race and Slavery

The setting is a slaveholding town, and the birth of Roxy's child to a slave girl highlights the racial hierarchy.

### Deception and Appearance

Wilson's innocent remark is misinterpreted, leading to a lasting false impression of his intelligence.

## Character check-ins

### Pudd'nhead Wilson

Introduced as Mr. David Wilson, a young lawyer from New York who earns the nickname 'Pudd'nhead' after a misunderstood remark about a dog.

### Judge Driscoll

Chief citizen of Dawson's Landing, proud of his Virginian ancestry, childless with his wife.

### Mrs. Rachel Pratt

Judge Driscoll's widowed sister, also childless and sorrowful.

### Pembroke Howard

Lawyer and bachelor, an old Virginian grandee and the Judge's dearest friend.

### Roxana

A twenty-year-old slave girl who gives birth to a son on February 1, 1830, and is put in charge of both her baby and her master's newborn.

### Mrs. Percy Driscoll

Percy Driscoll's wife, who dies within a week of giving birth to a son.

## Key lines

> I wish I owned half of that dog.

Wilson jokingly says he wishes he owned half of a noisy dog so he could kill his half.

_This remark is misunderstood by the townspeople, leading to Wilson being labeled a fool and earning the nickname 'Pudd'nhead'._

> Within a week he had lost his first name; Pudd'nhead took its place.

The nickname 'Pudd'nhead' replaces David Wilson's real name in the community within a week.

_This marks the beginning of Wilson's long-standing reputation as a simpleton in Dawson's Landing._

## Links

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- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pudd_nhead_wilson_se/chapters