Goody Blake.—A character in Wordsworth’s poem entitled Goody Blake and Harry Gill. A farmer forbids old Goody Blake to carry home a few sticks, which she had picked up from his land, and in revenge she invokes upon him the curse that he may “never more be warm;” and ever after “his teeth they chatter, chatter still.”
Goody Two-Shoes.—The name of a well-known character in a nursery tale by Oliver Goldsmith. Goody Two-Shoes was a very poor child, whose delight at having a pair of shoes was unbounded. She called constant attention to her “two-shoes” which gave her the name.
Gradgrind (grad´grīnd).—A hardware merchant in Dickens’ Hard Times. He is a man of hard facts and cultivates the practical. His constant demand in conversation is for “facts.” He allows nothing for the weakness of human nature, and deals with men and women as a mathematician with his figures.
Gradgrind, Mrs.—Wife of Thomas Gradgrind. A little, thin woman, always taking physic, without receiving from it any benefit.
Gradgrind, Tom.—Son of the above, a sullen young man, much loved by his sister.
Gradgrind, Louise.—A faithful daughter and sister.
Grandison, Sir Charles.—The hero of Richardson’s novel The History of Sir Charles Grandison. Designed to represent his ideal of a perfect hero—a union of the good Christian and the perfect English gentleman.
Gratiano (grä-tē-ä´no).—(1) A friend to Antonio and Bassanio in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. He “talks an infinite deal of nothing, more than any man in Venice.” (2) Brother to Brabantio, in Shakespeare’s tragedy of Othello. (3) A character in the Italian popular theater called Commedia dell’ Arte. He is represented as a Bolognese doctor, and has a mask with a black nose and forehead and red cheeks.
Great-Heart, Mr.—In Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, the guide of Christian’s wife and children upon their journey to the Celestial City.
Gremio (grē´mi-ō).—In Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew, an old man who wishes to wed Bianca.