Oliver Twist: The Original 1838 Unabridged and Complete Edition (Charles Dickens Classics)

by Charles Dickens

The members of this board were very sage, deep, philosophical men; and when they came to turn their attention to the workhouse, they found out at once, what ordinary folks would never have discovered—the poor people liked it! It was a regular place of public entertainment for the poorer classes; a tavern where there was nothing to pay; a public breakfast, dinner, tea, and supper all the year round; a brick and mortar elysium, where it was all play and no work. ‘Oho!’ said the board, looking very knowing; ‘we are the fellows to set this to rights; we’ll stop it all, in no time.’ So, they established the rule, that all poor people should have the alternative (for they would compel nobody, not they), of being starved by a gradual process in the house, or by a quick one out of it. With this view, they contracted with the water-works to lay on an unlimited supply of water; and with a corn-factor to supply periodically small quantities of oatmeal; and issued three meals of thin gruel a day, with an onion twice a week, and half a roll of Sundays. They made a great many other wise and humane regulations, having reference to the ladies, which it is not necessary to repeat; kindly undertook to divorce poor married people, in consequence of the great expense of a suit in Doctors’ Commons; and, instead of compelling a man to support his family, as they had theretofore done, took his family away from him, and made him a bachelor! There is no saying how many applicants for relief, under...

Poor Law - Rising unemployment, trade depression, harsh winters, high prices - Utilitarian principles - morally right action is the one that produces the greatest good or happiness for the greatest number of people - Workhouses - a last resort - gives relief and money - Each Parish elects a Board of Guardians to oversee the workhouses - No provision for children - baby farms - Dickens played down the abuse and poverty to not deter readers - has to soften it so the whole book isn’t depressing - fine line Life in the Workhouse - sexes separated wards - divorce hard to acquire - men had their families taken off them - Workhouse life was very oppressive - paupers often denied a place - poor relief was only supplied within the workhouse - Children received schooling - In return for care the paupers had to work for hours - Prisons for the poor - very abusive, forced labour & corporal punishment - Disaster - wide-spread criticism