Saint Bernard

The Saint Bernard, named Monk, is the large dog who accompanies the Brooke sisters on their walks. Though only briefly present, he is defined by a concrete role of care: he keeps them company and looks after them outdoors. His appearances also frame a contrast between that familiar, substantial companion and the small fashionable pets discussed in the Brooke household.

Identity and Role

Monk is identified as a Great Saint Bernard dog and as a regular presence on the young women’s walks. The narration presents his guardianship as habitual: he “always took care of the young ladies in their walks.” He is not given dialogue or an independent plot, but his dependable presence makes him more than a passing animal detail; he is part of the sisters’ ordinary landscape of movement and companionship.

Companionship on Dorothea’s Walk

After Edward Casaubon leaves for his Rectory at Lowick, Dorothea sets out across the park and into the bordering wood. She wants to wander through the future she has begun to imagine for herself, and Monk is her only visible companion. In the brisk autumn air, her attention turns inward and the afternoon landscape intensifies her mood. The dog’s presence supplies a quiet, physical companionship without interrupting that private reverie: he accompanies her, while her thoughts remain fixed on the possible future opened by Casaubon’s visit.

Contrast with the Maltese Puppy

Elsewhere, the conversation about a Maltese puppy brings into view the difference between Monk’s established place and the small pet offered to Dorothea. Dorothea says that Celia once loved a tiny terrier, but that the animal made her uneasy because she feared stepping on it and was short-sighted. She distinguishes her own response from her sister’s rather than treating it as a rule for how Celia must feel. The puppy is ultimately taken away after Dorothea decides it would have been better not to have been born. Against this episode, Monk’s role is that of a familiar walking companion, not a delicate indoor pet whose presence causes Dorothea anxiety.

Narrative Significance

Monk’s brief appearances locate animal companionship within the routines of the Brooke sisters’ lives. In Dorothea’s walk, the dog accompanies a moment of inward expectation; in the puppy episode, animal care becomes a small point of difference between the sisters. The narrative gives Monk no separate history or stated perspective, so his significance remains grounded in these human contexts: reliable presence outdoors, set against the household’s uncertain response to smaller pets.