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Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit - Group Read 2
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Little Dorrit: Chapters 12 - 22
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Jenny
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Ohhh wait a minute is Mrs.Merdle the one that the Meagles mentioned when figuring out young barnicles family?
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Bionic Jean wrote: "Martha, Anne and Jenny - Yes, Fanny takes Amy to see Mrs. Merdle, because as she says, Amy had wanted to know where she had got the bracelet from. But in fact it is really to show off her wealthy c..."Yes, Thank you, Jean - I didn’t realize that her son would be cut off from the money if he married her. Do you agree it sounds like Fanny really did not like the son from the start anyway? I did like Fanny’s repentance for being mean to Amy.
Bionic Jean wrote: "And a little more …About the “billiard marker”—Tip’s latest job. At the time of the novel, the game of billiards was very new. In fact the rules of the game were only established a few years late..."
Jean, thank you for explaining "billiard marker" job. This sounds like the best job for Tip.
LOL, about his name meaning, I didn't think about it at all until you mentioned it. :).
Thanks for all the information. I was completely confused by this chapter. And I do not understand Dickens humor at all.
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Jenny - I don't think the Meagles mentioned the Merdles ... you mean in chapter 17? They were all Barnacles and Stiltstalkings as I remember.
Martha - Mrs. Merdle would definitely cut her son off without a penny if he married Fanny. She makes that clear to Fanny by saying:
"I also mentioned to your sister—I again address the non-professional Miss Dorrit—that my son would have nothing in the event of such a marriage, and would be an absolute beggar."
Yes, Fanny thinks Edmund Sparkler is a booby, and says to Amy:
" He is almost an idiot."
She is using him to edge her way up the social scale - to his mother. We can tell Sparkler is dimwitted, by the silly things he says, and his mother knows that he could easily be tempted into marriage by a pretty face belonging to someone she considers completely unsuitable (i.e. Fanny).
Yes, Fanny is being paid off. She doesn't particularly care about the young man, she is willing to accept money and gifts from anywhere. Well, her beauty is her only asset to sell. Actresses and dancers were thought of as one step up from prostitutes since they sometimes lived off upper-class (or middle-class) admirers. I doubt she is paid much for her actual time in the theater. Then again, you could say "respectable" women at the time (of all classes) were selling themselves or being sold by their parents into marriages that were more like business arrangements.
Jean, The parrot was quite funny. So was Mrs. Merdle constantly telling the bird to shut up.
Anne wrote: "Mona, wrote "I had some difficulty with Dickens’ obvious idea that her totally self effacing invisibility was the peak of womanly virtue. She was expected to be a nobody without any needs, and her ..."You might be right, Anne. I may have been blinded by the way this triggered my own memories.
Bionic Jean wrote: "And like Anne, I do not really believe the narrator has expressed approval of "her totally self effacing invisibility", as you put it Mona. In this chapter, and the previous one, (as has been picked up), Amy is actually standing strong for what she wants, both with John and with her father. She just does this in a quiet way, ..." You may be right, Jean, that my own issues blinded me to Amy’s reality. The jury is out on this..
Mona wrote: "Anne wrote: "Mona, wrote "I had some difficulty with Dickens’ obvious idea that her totally self effacing invisibility was the peak of womanly virtue. She was expected to be a nobody without any ne..."Mona, I understand you completely. I was also a "Little Dorrit."
Anne wrote: "Mona, I understand you completely. I was also a "Little Dorrit ” Well, in my case, the problem was not so much that I was a “Little Dorrit” as that I was required to be & refused to do it. As a younger child my rebellion was quiet, but as I got older I started to openly rebel & push back against the expectation that I be the invisible, scapegoated door mat. My family never allowed me to exist outside of their expectations and be who I was.
This shows that although we sometimes find Dickens' characters exaggerated, they do reflect to some extent the psychology of real people. The expectations of Amy's family were also in line with the times, in that Victorian young women were supposed to be obedient and self-effacing (though they weren't usually expected to support their families financially!)
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It's sad though, that this particular issue is still relevant; that it clearly pertains in modern life.
As far as the novel is concerned though, we are still only a quarter of the way through, so the "jury is out" there too, for several characters we know. Plus we are still meeting new characters, even at chapter 21! Let's go on and see who ...
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So now we’ve met Mrs. Merdle, and this chapter is devoted to her esteemed husband, Mr. Merdle.
The previous chapter ended with the shadow of the Marshalsea, saying:
“It fell dark there sooner than elsewhere, and going into it that evening was like going into a deep trench.”
But here, in the Merdle establishment in Harley Street, Cavendish Square:
“there was the shadow of no more common wall than the fronts of other establishments of state on the opposite side of the street.”
This is a very prestigious address, and only those of whom Society approves, reside here. Nevertheless, the “expressionless uniform twenty houses” look grim and dull “in the shade of their own loftiness”.
The residents of Harley Street are delighted with the Merdles:
“Society was aware of Mr and Mrs Merdle … Mr Merdle was immensely rich; a man of prodigious enterprise; a Midas without the ears, who turned all he touched to gold. He was in everything good, from banking to building. He was in Parliament, of course. He was in the City, necessarily. He was Chairman of this, Trustee of that, President of the other.”
He was, as we would say today, a “name”. And he had decided that it would benefit him to have the sort of wife who would attract general admiration, and of whom society would approve. Mrs. Merdle, as noted before had an extensive bosom, which Mr. Merdle:
“provided … with a nest of crimson and gold some fifteen years before. It was not a bosom to repose upon, but it was a capital bosom to hang jewels upon. Mr Merdle wanted something to hang jewels upon, and he bought it for the purpose.”
The bargain suited them both, and the bosom was often displayed in society, thereby displaying Mr. Merdle’s immense wealth for “everyone who was anyone” to see.
Mr. Merdle "The Wonder of the Age" and Mrs. Merdle "The Bosom" in the BBC adaptation from 2008 (Anton Lesser and Amanda Redman)
However Mr. Merdle is a reserved man, and he does not shine in company. He never has much to say for himself, or seems to enjoy himself very much. In fact he always seems fatigued, and never eats or drinks very much himself, although he does not stint on the outlay for these grand dinners.
Mrs. Merdle had been married before, to a Colonel:
“under whose auspices the bosom had entered into competition with the snows of North America, and had come off at little disadvantage in point of whiteness, and at none in point of coldness.”
They had a son, inappropriately named Sparkler:
“a chuckle-headed, high-shouldered make, with a general appearance of being, not so much a young man as a swelled boy.”
Sparkler is not very bright, and has a habit of proposing marriage to all sorts of undesirable young ladies, invariably saying that she is “a doosed fine gal—well educated too—with no biggodd nonsense about her.” (“a deuced fine girl … with no by God nonsense about her” … if that is any clarification at all!).
Notwithstanding these disadvantages, Mr. Merdle is perfectly satisfied with his ready-made family, since Sparkler has been in the Guards, and goes to all the races, and all the lounges: in short, he goes to all the right social places to be granted with Society’s approval.
This evening the Merdles are hosting one of their famous dinner parties. So while Little Dorrit is stitching clothes in the Marshalsea, all the various magnates, from the Treasury, the Bar, the Horse Guards, and the Bishop, are assembled in Mr. Merdle’s house in Harley Street. They are all discussing how Mr. Merdle has capitalised on another successful deal, which has earned him a huge unspecified amount of money. Mr. Merdle is late to the gathering, as usual:
“a man still detained in the clutch of giant enterprises when other men had shaken off their dwarfs for the day”.
He is the last to arrive, and all the guests are keen to compliment him on his financial deals. He is a “world-famed capitalists and merchant-prince”.
The footmen, as noticed before, are enveloped in clouds of powder for their wigs, and the dresses of the grand ladies seem to dwarf those who wear them. The conversation flows, the bosom is shown to good advantage, and Mr. Merdle is typically silent, except when politeness demands his opinion. Eventually he asks to be excused.
“A famous physician, who knew everybody, and whom everybody knew” discovers him drinking tea in a corner, and asks after his health. Mr. Merdle says that he is no better, so the physician tells him to come see him the next day. “Bar and Bishop” (two of the guests) overhear and when Mr. Merdle walks away they try to find out what the matter is. The physician tells them that Mr. Merdle is as healthy as a rhinoceros, has the digestion of an ostrich, and the concentration of an oyster:
“How such a man should suppose himself unwell without reason, you may think strange. But I have found nothing the matter with him.”
“Mr Merdle’s complaint.” What can it be? Will any doctor be able to find it out?
We are left with what might, or might not, be a clue:
“in the meantime, the shadow of the Marshalsea wall was a real darkening influence”.
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Charles Dickens based the character of Mr. Merdle (which is a pun on the French “merde” [“excrement”] and “hurdle”) on two notable mid-century financiers: John Sadleir and George Hudson. Charles Dickens as we know, also was a self-made man, whose greatest secret and shame was his months spent as a bottle-labeller in “Warren’s Blacking Factory” at Hungerford Stairs.
He perhaps identified himself with the early spectacular successes of John Sadleir … but I can’t yet tell you the rest of this story, or it would be a massive spoiler :) To be continued, as they say …
Bionic Jean wrote: "Oh dear, I wonder if it is the "Englishness" of it which is confusing? I really loved the chapter - though it was mostly the parrot ;) Jenny - I don't think the Meagles mentioned the Merdles ... ..."
Geez- I missed the beggar part- I did not know what Dickens meant by this. I am so glad to be on this group read- I would not have absorbed half of what I am without your help! Thank you!!
Bionic Jean wrote: "Chapter 21:So now we’ve met Mrs. Merdle, and this chapter is devoted to her esteemed husband, Mr. Merdle.
The previous chapter ended with the shadow of the Marshalsea, saying:
“It fell dark the..."
Yes, this last paragraph is tantalizing for sure! I loved the Bosom talk! Funny, funny funny - and the descriptions of the “Jack in the Green” - HAhahaha- knee slapping! Loved this chapter.
I can relate to Mr. Merdle, regarding his being reserved. I do not like parties and socializing. I want to hit the bed early too. He is a great character in this story. A favorite of mine.
Victorian writer AnthonyTrollope has in several of his books a local big shot/lord of the manor who only appears briefly at his own parties and dinners and rarely speaks to anyone there, similar to Mr. Merdle.
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Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"
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Martha - Chapter 20 was sooo long!! I had wanted to insert another pic, but my post had gone over the maximum length! I don't really know why Charles Dickens didn't split it when he came to make chapters out of the installments.
So it's not surprising if a few things get missed. I notice different things every time I read Charles Dickens's novel again, so I'm really glad to be reading with you all - and anyway it's fun :)
Jean, I can see why you would get more out of each reading of a Dickens novel. it is amazing to me how much he packs into a sentence, let alone a paragraph or a chapter. I must listen very carefully to try to get every ounce of what he is saying. I know that I can't get everything so am very grateful for all the work you put into your daily chapter reviews, discussions and your insight. They make for a much richer experience. One of the things I love most about this novel is his language, filled with brilliant satirical wit and irony which is on great display most of time except when he is showing empathy for Amy and others. It seems like he had great fun writing this novel. What a master storyteller. The last time I read Dickens was in college. Must remedy that.
In spite of having lots of money, Mr Merdle is not a happy man. The people at the party are not really friends, but people who want something from him. Most of them are only named by their occupation--such as Bar, Bishop, and Treasury--rather than their personal name. Dickens is very satirical in this chapter.The women are also not personalized, just bosoms to show off their jewels and display their wealth.
Dickens leaves us with a cliffhanger. Is Mr Merdle physically ill, or is it psychological? A man who is that successful probably hurt some people on the way up.
Connie wrote: "In spite of having lots of money, Mr Merdle is not a happy man. The people at the party are not really friends, but people who want something from him. Most of them are only named by their occupati..."I agree Connie. I think the cliffhanger suggests that Mr. Merkle has something to do with Mr. Dorrit's "imprisonment." No wonder no one can figure out how much or to whom he owns money. Mr. Merkle is probably good at not leaving a paper trail. Obviously just having fun guessing what might be coming...
Dickens sneers at wealthy Victorian society by depersonalizing everyone at the party. Men are only their titles. Women fair worse. They are only the displayer of their bosoms on which the wealth of their husbands are displayed by means of jewels.
Bionic Jean wrote: "Chapter 20:We are given a clue about this chapter in the first sentence, where the narrator comments that if Young John were a different sort of person, he could have written “a satire on family ..."Terrific chapter summary, Jean.
Bionic Jean wrote: "Chapter 21:So now we’ve met Mrs. Merdle, and this chapter is devoted to her esteemed husband, Mr. Merdle.
The previous chapter ended with the shadow of the Marshalsea, saying:
“It fell dark the..."
Your chapter summaries are really good, Jean.
Bionic Jean wrote: "Chapter 21:So now we’ve met Mrs. Merdle, and this chapter is devoted to her esteemed husband, Mr. Merdle.
The previous chapter ended with the shadow of the Marshalsea, saying:
“It fell dark the..."
P.S. I think perhaps what ails Mr. Merdle is a sort of soul sickness. Maybe in his heart he feels trapped by all of his imagined obligations to “Society” & would in fact rather be free of them. Perhaps he hasn’t admitted this, even to himself.
Connie wrote: "In spite of having lots of money, Mr Merdle is not a happy man. The people at the party are not really friends, but people who want something from him. Most of them are only named by their occupati..."Yes, I agree, Connie!
Looking at the picture above, I am struck that the Victorians who were so prudish about displaying a lady's ankles or, heaven forbid, legs, allowed so much display of "bosoms" (though maybe not as much as in the Regency). I don't remember if someone already used this term but these seem to be actual "trophy wives", designed to be shown off as another possession or a beautiful blank space on which to display one's riches.
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I find it interesting that Mr Merdle's doctor is discussing his patients medical condition with others!(Nothing new beyond what others have already said.) I am, also, thinking it is a soul sickness and wondering about a connection to Mr. Dorrit.
I guess the way he wrote in this chapter (and others like this one) mostly make me feel overwhelmed. They're too wordy for me. When I feel this way I will read the chapter and I will read summary as soon as I can. I'm not sure if because of this but unlike everyone I didn't enjoy much reading this chapter.I want to thank you again, Jean for all your wonderful and helpful summaries.
Nisa wrote: "I guess the way he wrote in this chapter (and others like this one) mostly make me feel overwhelmed. They're too wordy for me. When I feel this way I will read the chapter and I will read summary a..."Same here, Nisa.
With chapters like this, I try to figure out what the point is, then I read Jean's summary to find out.
I couldn't help thinking how sad it is that Mr. Merdle is so wealthy and displays it, has these extravagant dinners and fetes, and yet he enjoys none of it and, in fact, partakes of very little of it. People tend to think money = happiness, even today, but, while a lack of money can often equal misery, the money/happiness equation has been proved wrong time and again.Also, the money is the reason people seek out his opinion, without regard for what he might or might not have to qualify his opinion to be important. I couldn't help thinking how so many do that now with celebrities...basing their own opinions on what those people think, who have no more knowledge or qualification than the average man on the street.
It was a humorous bit of satire, and in many way a sad one.
Sara wrote: "I couldn't help thinking how sad it is that Mr. Merdle is so wealthy and displays it, has these extravagant dinners and fetes, and yet he enjoys none of it and, in fact, partakes of very little of ..." I agree, Sara. And I might add that people view Mr. Merdle as an object to be used to advance their own ends. Doesn’t seem like anyone sees him as a person. Could be one reason among several that he’s unhappy.
So true, Mona. I will be interested in seeing what develops regarding him, since I cannot yet say whether he is to be pitied or reviled.
Sara wrote: "So true, Mona. I will be interested in seeing what develops regarding him, since I cannot yet say whether he is to be pitied or reviled." Mr. Merdle might turn out to be a sympathetic person, although who can say for sure with Dickens? Also, it just occurred to me that there’s an interesting parallel between Mr. Merdle and Little Dorrit, even though they are at opposite ends of the social and financial spectrum. Both are being used by others for their “services” and largely dehumanised and viewed as invisible.
I was going to read this chapter yesterday, but it was too nice a day outside to let it be ruined by the Merdles. They remind me too much of Madoff & all the other corrupt people who play with financial fire and ruin people’s lives. The “what’s in it for me” crowd. I remember them all too well from the last time I read this novel. The Merdles are a truly cautionary tale of “it is seems too good to be true, it probably is based on a lie” which has followed mankind since the first man acquired something the next man wanted & cheating was born. I do love the descriptions of Sparklers & Mrs. Merdle, it makes me smile.
I say that Mr. Merdle is to be reviled UNLESS his illness is caused by guilt. If the last sentence of the chapter points to guilt over the Dorrit then perhaps he can be reformed if he acts to help them.As to Sparkler, I think he was given that name as an infant with the hopes that he would sparkle and shine as a man, so to speak, just like the diamonds on Mrs. Merdle's neck and the bracelet on Fanny's wrist.
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You're right in that the language Charles Dickens uses whenever he is talking about business, or politics, or the Circumlocution Office, is far more complex and difficult than when he is describing other scenes with characters we are following, such as the Dorrits, the Meagles, Tattycoram and Miss Wade, Pancks and the Casbys, Rigaud and Cavalletto, the Chiverys, the Plornishes and so on.
If my paraphrasing helps, I'm so pleased! Some sentences need reading several times - but as Martha, Anne and Kim said, they are so funny, the way Charles Dickens writes them. I think that's why Charles Dickens hits the spot for me. He can write what is really a bitter, savage satire - and yet in the next paragraph he will have me laughing at some absurdity. It takes off the "sourness" somehow. And I must admit that sometimes when he goes off on one of his tirades, I do enjoy it!
Sara - excellent observations. I do find there is pathos here.
I would understand if anyone prefers to read a chapter like this quickly, if it's not to your taste. There are so many more chapters with entertaining parts, mysterious happenings, lovable characters - and some we hate - spookiness, fright, hope, joy; we have the lot coming up :)
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Arthur is no longer leaving little “testimonials” with the Father of the Marshalsea, following Little Dorrit’s request. As a result of this, not surprisingly, he is now out of favour with Mr. Dorrit. Mr. Dorrit is still gracious, but feels offended, and believes Mr. Clennam to be not as gentlemanly as he had at first supposed.
One day, as Mr. Clennam is leaving the Marshalsea after one of these visits, Mr. Chivery approaches him, and asks if he would mind making a diversion, and going by Horsemonger Lane. This is where his wife has a tobacco shop, but it is not about the business that he wishes Mr. Clennam to consult her, but about Amy. Of course Arthur agrees.
A Puzzle - Arthur Clennam and Mrs. Chivery - James Mahoney - 1873
When he arrives, Mrs. Chivery takes him into a little parlour, which has a little window, which looks out on a dull little back yard. She shows him a very despondent John, who is sitting in the middle of all the washing that has been hung out to dry. Sheets and towels are flapping all round him. Mrs. Chivery tells Arthur that her son is pining away for Amy Dorrit and sits out in the yard for hours—but only when the washing is out, so that nobody can see him.
Arthur questions her, and discovers that John has loved Amy all his life, since they were childhood playmates. Recently John had spoken out and made his wishes clear:
“He made his offer to her. Her brother and sister is high in their views, and against Our John. Her father is all for himself in his views and against sharing her with any one.”
Mrs. Chivery blames Amy’s family. She is certain that Amy herself loves John too, but is sacrificing herself for her family. Her brother and sister think they are better than John, and her father wants her all to himself and will not share her with anyone.
Arthur is troubled by this. His own feelings are not clear, but he knows he would not welcome this match:
“He had come to attach to Little Dorrit an interest so peculiar—an interest that removed her from, while it grew out of, the common and coarse things surrounding her—that he found it disappointing, disagreeable, almost painful, to suppose her in love with young Mr Chivery in the back-yard, or any such person.”
He muses on his true feelings, and a “newly presented idea”:
“On the other hand, he reasoned with himself that she was just as good and just as true in love with him, as not in love with him; and that to make a kind of domesticated fairy of her, on the penalty of isolation at heart from the only people she knew, would be but a weakness of his own fancy, and not a kind one.”
However, he promises to do anything that will add to Amy’s happiness. He tells Mrs. Chivery that he wants to discover whether Amy does love John Chivery, and asks her to talk to her son, to make sure that this is indeed how he feels. Mrs. Chivery does not think there is any doubt about this, and it seems as if she had hoped for more from this interview.
When Arthur leaves, he avoids the crowds on London Bridge, and takes the Iron Bridge instead. He sees Amy walking on the bridge, who says that she is walking there for a little change. She is troubled, believing this to be “unfeeling” of her, when her father has been shut up for so many years, and unable to talk a walk. Arthur reassures her, by telling her what a comfort she is to her father. He is now even more convinced that Mrs. Chivery has the wrong idea, since Amy cares so much for her father, and again he wonders:
“The Little Dorrit, trembling on his arm, was less in unison than ever with Mrs Chivery’s theory, and yet was not irreconcilable with a new fancy which sprung up within him, that there might be some one else in the hopeless—newer fancy still—in the hopeless unattainable distance.”
As they carry on walking Maggy arrives—to Little Dorrit’s consternation. She asks why Maggy hasn’t stayed with her father, as she had promised. Maggy looks conscience-stricken, and says that she was doing, but that he wouldn’t let her stay. Instead, both Mr. Dorrit and Tip have sent her on an errand, to the same address, to deliver letters they have written.
As Arthur correctly guesses, the letters are for him, and both of them are asking for money. Reading them privately, Arthur agrees to Mr. Dorrit’s request, but refuses Tip.
Amy guesses what the letters are—although she was never supposed to know of them—and is very upset. Arthur tries to comfort her, saying that he has dealt with them, but when she bursts out:
“My place is there. I am better there, it is unfeeling in me to be here, when I can do the least thing there. Good-bye. I had far better stay at home!”
he begs her not to call it home, but respects her wishes to go back immediately.
And again he wonders. Amy had seen her father ask him for money before, and had entreated him not to give him any. She had been distressed then, but not as much as this. Something had made her feel it far more.
“Now, was there some one in the hopeless unattainable distance? Or had the suspicion been brought into his mind, by his own associations of the troubled river running beneath the bridge with the same river higher up, its changeless tune upon the prow of the ferry-boat, so many miles an hour the peaceful flowing of the stream, here the rushes, there the lilies, nothing uncertain or unquiet?”
And as he thinks about Little Dorrit, all through the night and next day, she too thinks about him.
And this chapter ends another installment. Tomorrow’s will be the start of another thread.
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Sometimes there are a lot of illustrations by different artists for one chapter, and sometimes none! But I especially liked this one too.
I thought it was Mr. Clennam and Mrs. Chivery in Chapter XXII - A Puzzle in the tobacco shop? I am probably missing something here-
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Ok- I thought I missed something. Thank you! Plornish was my “where am I” back when and I thought - oh, no not again. Haha!
Bionic Jean wrote: "I think this is my favourite chapter so far. It’s so packed with irony and humour. And here is an illustration which wouldn't fit! It is another of Little Dorrit Among the Professionals" and this t..."This is a beautiful illustration! It is nice to see a variety of these scenes.
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I do love the illustrations, and aren't we lucky that so many great artists have decided to illustrate Dickens' works. I do feel for John, who is like a puppy in love, but it makes it even more obvious that he does not have the maturity to make Amy a good mate. I suspect he would want from her what her family want, a sweet and compliant servant.
I think both Amy and Arthur are having a bit of a problem sorting their feelings about one another. I am surprised that so many people seem to think it is Arthur's place to be intimately involved in matters that concern Amy.
BTW, I was very proud of Arthur for saying no to Tip.
I too, am glad that Arthur said no to Tip. Of course, Tip is just following his fathers example.
I doubt that John got a chance to meet many respectable young ladies in his place of work. It was almost inevitable that he would fall for "the girl next door".
As to Dickens characters being all good or bad, I think there is a woman in Little Dorrit who will turn out to be more challenging in conventional Victorian terms. I will say no more.Also want to mention one of my favorite Dickens' characters, Lady Dedlock. She seems remote initially but is as complex as they come, and rides some big waves of karma where conventional Victorian values clash with her humanity.
Dickensians!
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Authors mentioned in this topic
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