What Does “Barkis Is Willing” Mean in David Copperfield?

“Barkis is willing” is one of those Dickens phrases that sounds almost meaningless once it is removed from its scene. In David Copperfield, however, it is Mr. Barkis’s remarkably indirect way of letting Clara Peggotty know that he wants to marry her.

The humor comes from how little Barkis says and how little young David understands. Barkis cannot quite bring himself to propose directly, so he sends a child off with a message that is perfectly clear to an adult and completely mysterious to the messenger.

JUMP TO:

What Does “Barkis Is Willing” Mean?

In David Copperfield, “Barkis is willing” means that Mr. Barkis is interested in marrying Peggotty. Rather than telling her himself, he asks David to pass along the message.

Barkis is the carrier who drives David toward Yarmouth after David is sent away to school. During the journey, he learns that Peggotty made the food David has brought with him and begins asking questions about her. Once he discovers that she has no sweetheart, his interest becomes obvious to the reader long before David realizes what is happening.

The expression later took on a broader meaning. Saying “Barkis is willing” could simply mean that someone was ready to agree, volunteer, or accept a proposal of some kind. In the novel, though, the original proposal is very specifically romantic.

If you enjoy the way Dickens gives memorable lines to characters, our Great Expectations book quotes collection explores another of his novels through its most revealing passages.

Where Does “Barkis Is Willing” Come From?

The scene appears in Chapter 5 of Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield, titled “I Am Sent Away.” David is travelling with Barkis when the carrier begins asking about Peggotty.

His interest develops in a wonderfully unromantic fashion. Barkis first notices the food she prepared. He then wants to know whether she has a sweetheart, although David initially thinks he has asked about “sweetmeats.” After another long silence, Barkis finally asks David to deliver his message:

The original exchange can be read in the 1850 first edition of David Copperfield on Wikisource, where Barkis gives David the message and David writes “Barkis is willing” to Peggotty.

Barkis’s proposal is funny partly because he seems to arrive at marriage through practical considerations. Peggotty can cook, she has no sweetheart, and Barkis is interested. For a man who speaks very little, those facts appear to be enough.

Did Barkis Actually Say “Barkis Is Willing”?

Yes, but the famous quotation has a small wording wrinkle that often disappears when the phrase is repeated on its own.

Barkis first asks David to tell Peggotty that:

“Barkis was willin’”

David innocently repeats the idea using standard grammar:

“That Barkis is willing”

Barkis then settles on:

“Barkis is willin’.”

When David writes to Peggotty later that day, he uses the form most readers now recognize:

“Barkis is willing.”

The 1850 text confirms this movement between Barkis’s dialect and David’s standard spelling.

So it would be slightly misleading to say that the polished wording originated as one neat sentence spoken repeatedly by Barkis. Dickens creates the catchphrase through the exchange between the two characters. Barkis supplies the idea and his characteristic “willin’,” while David turns it into the familiar written phrase.

Why Is the Barkis Scene So Funny?

Much of the comedy depends on David being the worst possible person to understand what Barkis is trying to do.

Barkis is an adult man attempting to express romantic interest, yet he chooses a young boy as his intermediary. David dutifully passes the message along without recognizing it as a marriage proposal. Even when he suggests that Barkis could simply tell Peggotty himself the next day, Barkis rejects the sensible option and insists that “Barkis is willin’” is enough.

Dickens also makes Barkis funny through his silence. The character does not suddenly become eloquent because he has fallen in love. He sits staring at his horse’s ears, thinks for long stretches, and produces only the minimum number of words needed to move the courtship forward.

His interest in Peggotty begins after he learns about her cooking, which gives the proposal another comic edge. Barkis does not deliver a speech about beauty or devotion. His thoughts move from pastry to availability and then, with impressive efficiency, to marriage.

Yet the joke is affectionate rather than cruel. Barkis is awkward, but he is serious about Peggotty. His inability to express himself becomes part of what makes the relationship memorable.

Does Peggotty Marry Barkis?

She does, although Barkis has to wait for an answer.

By Chapter 10, Peggotty is seriously considering the proposal and tells David that Barkis is “a good plain creature.” Barkis’s courtship remains as odd as his first message. He visits regularly but says very little, leaving small gifts for Peggotty and then sitting quietly in her company. Dickens even describes him asking from time to time whether she is “pretty comfortable.”

Their wedding fits Barkis just as well. Peggotty and Barkis take David and little Em’ly on what appears to be a day out, stop at a church, and emerge married. Barkis eventually announces the change with delighted simplicity:

“Clara Peggotty BARKIS!”

— Mr. Barkis, David Copperfield, Chapter 10

The relationship gives the earlier phrase a satisfying payoff. “Barkis is willing” sounds comically vague when David first hears it, but Barkis really does mean what he says.

How Did “Barkis Is Willing” Become a Saying?

The phrase eventually escaped David Copperfield and began appearing as a humorous way to indicate readiness or agreement.

We can see that broader use surprisingly early. In 1875, a New Zealand newspaper discussing a political dispute wrote, “‘Barkis’ — the Council — ‘is willing,’” applying Dickens’s marriage phrase to an institution ready to proceed.

Decades later, an American newspaper used the same reference when discussing Congress, writing that “the House, like Barkis, is willing.”

Those examples show why readers once needed very little explanation when the phrase appeared in conversation or print. Barkis had become shorthand for someone who was prepared to say yes.

Today, the expression is far less common, which is why encountering it can feel puzzling. Without David Copperfield, there is no obvious reason why a person named Barkis should stand for willingness at all.

How a Proposal Became a Catchphrase

“Barkis is willing” survives because Dickens manages to turn an almost absurdly plain statement into a complete marriage proposal.

The words reveal the character better than a romantic speech could. Barkis is practical, uncomfortable with conversation, and hopelessly indirect, yet his intentions are sincere. David’s innocence then makes the exchange even better because he carries the message faithfully without understanding the adult meaning behind it.

Once the scene is restored, the phrase stops sounding mysterious. Barkis is not making a philosophical statement about willingness. He is trying, in the most Barkis-like way imaginable, to tell Peggotty that he would very much like her to become Mrs. Barkis.