Dickensians! discussion
Nicholas Nickleby - Group Read 6
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Nicholas Nickleby: Chapters 24 - 36
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Sequel
Unaware that Nicholas is speeding through the 70 miles back to London by coach, with a change involving 4 horses, Ralph is going over the conversation he had with his niece. He keeps trying to dismiss it from his thoughts, and concentrate on his work, but cannot. He then “mutter[s] some peevish interjection” and decides to give it his attention, so that he can rid himself of the distraction.
Ralph admits he likes Kate, even though he thinks she is too proud.
“If the boy were drowned or hanged, and the mother dead, this house should be her home. I wish they were, with all my soul.”
He pictures her living with him, and suddenly feels very lonely. His riches lose their lustre.
“Still there was, strange though it may seem, something humanising and even gentle in his thoughts at that moment.”
He notices that Noggs “with his red nose almost touching the glass, feigned to be mending a pen with a rusty fragment of a knife” but is actually staring at him through the window. Ralph successfully dispels his thoughts and returns to his work.
He summons Noggs and accuses him of spying on him, warning him not to do it again. Noggs merely laughs. Ralph gives him a package to deliver.
“Having made various ineffective attempts to fit the parcel (which was some two feet square) into the crown thereof, Newman took it under his arm … and at last departed on his errand.”
After completing his errand, Noggs visits Miss La Creevy, who seems very emotional. She has just returned from a visit to her brother John, whom she had not seen for fifteen years. They had not quarrelled she says, but:
“he was apprenticed down in the country, and he got married there; and new ties and affections springing up about him, he forgot a poor little woman like me, as it was very reasonable he should, you know.”
However, John had recently sought her out and “what do you think of his coming here and sitting down in that very chair, and crying like a child because he was so glad to see me.”
Her brother had invited Miss La Creevy to visit his family for a month, and she had had such a lovely time there, and found out that far from forgetting her, they had even named their eldest child after her, and had asked her to live with them for the rest of her life:
“I never was so happy; in all my life I never was!”
Mrs La Creevy tells Noggs that she has not seen Kate, but that she had paid a visit to Mrs. Nickleby when she returned. For some reason, Mrs Nickleby had behaved in a superior fashion, and seemed mysteriously evasive. Miss La Creevy says that she had wanted to visit Kate, but she didn’t think “those great folks in what’s-its-name Place” would approve of her. She intends to write to Kate instead.
She asks Noggs how “the old rough and tough monster of Golden Square” is behaving, which makes Noogs curse, at which Miss La Creevy turns pale. Noggs tells her that he wants to assault Ralph Nickleby. He depends on him for his employment, but he suspects one day he will succumb to the desire. He then:
“jerked himself about the room with the most eccentric motion ever beheld in a human being: now sparring at the little miniatures on the wall, and now giving himself violent thumps on the head, as if to heighten the delusion, until he sank down in his former seat quite breathless and exhausted.”
“Noggs senses that Nicholas is in danger” - Fred Barnard - 1875
Miss La Creevy is quite frightened at these antics, but Noggs calms her down, and tells her all about it, describing the conversation he had overheard between Ralph and Kate, and his own views on it all. Newman Noggs finishes by telling her that he has secretly written to Nicholas.
When she hears the story Miss La Creevy is just as angry as Noggs, and makes feeble gestures with a fruit knife. But when she is told that Nicholas would be there soon, she begins to fears that Nicholas will commit some violence against his uncle and these men. Although she agrees that Kate needs to be removed from the situation, she believes they have to be cautious how they tell Nicholas.
“‘What can I do?’ cried Newman, scratching his head with an air of great vexation and perplexity. ‘If he was to talk of pistoling ‘em all, I should be obliged to say, “Certainly—serve ‘em right.”’
“Newman Noggs and Miss La Creevy predict trouble for Nicholas” - Charles Stanley Reinhart - 1875
Miss La Creevy shrieks a little, but advises Noggs to tell Nicholas late at night, when he will have had time to cool his head. Since Nicholas will arrive early, Noggs should avoid him. Since Nicholas is likely to come to her next and then go to his mother, she will also make herself unavailable, by taking Mrs. Nickleby to the theatre. Therefore, Nicholas will have no way of finding out what has happened or where Kate is living.
The two agree on this as the safest plan.
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George Canning
Miss La Creevy has a picture of “Mr Canning” on her mantelpiece. George Canning (1720 - 1827) was a Tory politician, who was Foreign minister from 1807 to 1809, and from 1822 to 1827. He became Prime Minister before his death, that year.
Since this installment was published in December 1828, this is another indication (like the lockable tea caddy) to us, that Miss La Creevy is rather old fashioned.
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I really enjoy reading any episode with Noggs in. He speaks so directly to Ralph that it borders on rudeness, but we see his inherent goodness, always looking out for Nicholas and Kate. It’s his mannerisms that entertain me so much; the way he puts everything in his hat, the cracking of his knuckles, and most of all his manic jumping around when he is agitated!
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“Still there was, strange though it may seem, something humanising and even gentle in his thoughts at that moment.”
Over to you!
Ralph's thoughts make acutely sense Jean: Gold had, for the instant, lost its lustre in his eyes, for there were countless treasures of the heart which it could never purchase.I loved this chapter because of the humanity shown in it:
- Ralph proved more human than formerly. There is hope for redemption.
- Miss La Creevy who never complained about being lonely, has spent time with her brother and seen that she has never been forgotten by him and his family, and has a perspective for the future.
- Mr Noggs has been disapproving of his employer's attitude towards his nephew and niece and he might be loosing his temper if Mr Nickleby goes too far.
- The chapter is, except for Ralph Nickleby's thoughts and short conversation with Noggs, dedicated to two presumably secondary characters, Newman Noggs and Miss La Creevy, who proved to have more depth than it may have first seemed at the beginning of the novel, in spite of the human warmth we very soon felt in them.
At last I m feeling a bit better, pretty much caught up, and feeling this psychological discussion is a place where I can slip back in unobtrusively. While Jean has been looking at multiphrenia, I have been also looking at what may be considered such but without the label, since I feel there is often a tendency for people to try to define a behavior as to fit the label. This can get us a nice fit between behavior and label, but I believe the attempt at getting a fitting generalization leaves out much of the nuances of reality and can lead to exaggerated misconceptions the less one is from the reality being generalized. For example, in the U.S. most people have a concept of a category five hurricane based on the storm that hit New Orleans a few years back. But the cat 5 relates to wind speeds and does not address the storm's size, the speed of its movement, how much rain the storm will generate, etc. which are also important factors. So rather than talk about multiphrenia, I just want to mention a couple of complementary factors we see in the works. First is the variations in point of view or perspective that we see in Dickens writing. How quickly these change and how deftly he seems to manage these changes. I don't know if any of you saw the improvisations of Robin Williams, a U.S. comedian, but Williams would do on stage something of what Dickens does on the page, moving from a character saying something to another character responding to the first, to another character responding on observing the first two, ad infinitum. Williams would imbue each of those different characters with certain distinctive contrasting characteristics, so Williams might start from the perspective of a shy young man, and the character answering would be an old Jewish lady, followed by commentary on both by a Chinese man with a lisp and so on. I feel Dickens was a capable in changing his narrating perspectives but I fell this was a skill he mastered perhaps from behaviors he developed in real life, or something we can clinically define, but also mental practice. It required the ability and talent to perceive the world from that perspective and the empathy to voice what he felt that perspective would voice. I will have more to add later, maybe even on the specific of what we are reading, but I wanted to break back in where I could. Again, great comments from everyone. I won't waste everyone's time on what I wanted to say but wanted to respond to Bridget, Shirley, Peter, Paul, Claudia, Kelly, Lee, Lori, Kathleen, Sue,...I may just as well say everyone, since I think all of you really helped me catch up over the last few days while I fell behind with a virus, so thanks for keeping me up to date. And thanks Jean for all the new material on what we read--.Silver Fork novels to multiphrenia.
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Jean, thank you for the added information on multiphrenia. It is not a "condition" I had ever heard of, and I still find it a difficult one to wrap my head around, but it almost sounds that it indirectly started with the Industrial Age. Prior to this time, people had limited exposures to new people and ideas, therefore they experienced less stress. The more they became exposed to new ideas and new people, the more they had to deal with and compartmentalize. That's what I'm taking away from this diagnosis anyway.Sam, I'm glad you're feeling better and commenting again. I loved your comparisons regarding hurricanes and Robin Williams (one of my all-time favorite comedians and actors - the world lost a treasure when he passed). I loved how you tied Robin's abilities on stage with Dickens' abilities on the written page, "I feel Dickens was capable in changing his narrating perspectives but I felt this was a skill he mastered perhaps from behaviors he developed in real life, or something we can clinically define, but also mental practice. Particularly this statement you made: It required the ability and talent to perceive the world from that perspective and the empathy to voice what he felt that perspective would voice. Yes, indeed! The inimitable Dickens!
Oh, Newman Noggs! Thou art becoming one of my all-time favorite Dickens characters! I literally snorted when he delivered that last line in his conversation with Ralph! What a comeback! Cracks me up still!Ralph: How now? (ie, What?)
Newman: I thought you rang.
Ralph: I did ring.
Newman: I knew you did.
Ralph: Then why do you offer to go if you know that?
Newman: I thought you rang to say you didn't ring. You often do. 😂
And then another bout of shadow boxing in Miss La Creevy's presence! So much personality!
Nicholas thoroughly thrashed Wackford Squeers in a round of fisticuffs earlier in the novel. Recently we saw him summarily knock down Mr Lenville for having had the temerity to call him out to have his "nose pulled" in public. And now, Miss La Creevy and Newman Noggs have had to lay plans to share Kate's plight with Nicholas in the middle of the night for fear that he may take precipitate action which might have profound legal repercussions.It occurred to me to wonder in hindsight if Dickens was indulging in a little crafty foreshadowing when he had Mrs Squeers refer to Nicholas as "Knuckleboy". It certainly seems to fit his propensity for flying off the handle.
Paul wrote: "Nicholas thoroughly thrashed Wackford Squeers in a round of fisticuffs earlier in the novel. Recently we saw him summarily knock down Mr Lenville for having had the temerity to call him out to have..."Good catch, Paul.
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I hope that the plan that Noggs and Miss La Creevy have come up with is a good one. I can’t help wondering what Nicholas will do for those hours he will be waiting for Noggs. Since Noggs won’t be home when Nicholas arrives will he do something they haven’t expected or thought about? I’m a bit concerned about them leaving for the evening and not being home when he arrives.
Bionic Jean wrote: "Peter wrote: "I too found the chapter long and ponderous ..."Ah, we'll have to agree to disagree there, Peter with some readers here enjoying it, and some not. But as I said in my long answer to ..."
Ch 28, M 108 I apologize for being a bit behind. I read Ch 28 carefully this evening, and I actually found it very informative. Kate is beginning to show an astonishing sense of self and courage in that she recognizes that the attentions of these older men are entirely dishonorable; worse, that as a young single woman without a male protector she is in extreme danger. {I don't recall a rape scene in any of Charles Dickens's novels, but I have not read them all. In my opinion, were he being absolutely realistic in his portrayal of Kate and her situation, one of the men would have certainly raped her by this time in the story.}
Kate was revolted and shocked by Mrs. Wititterly's indifference to her plight. And she spoke up in defense of herself with some passion. Considering that Mrs. W was her employer, that took some courage. And then Kate went to her uncle for support, not yet persuaded that he would indeed allow her to be so publicly abused.
" . . . I have come at last to you, the only friend I have at all -- to entreat and implore you to assist me," she challenges Ralph. Both these confrontations show the reader that Kate is not to be toyed with; that she has some inner strength that she may yet draw upon.
Very early in Ch 28 we have a powerful social commentary by Dickens, which I loved in that I was able to related directly to a prominent figure in current American politics. For length's sake, I include this dramatic paragraph within a "spoiler".
(view spoiler)
Finally, this chapter is essential and not a filler in that it shows Kate in extremity confronting her Uncle Ralph with the truth, and it reveals his startling confusion of emotions. I would argue that the author is proposing a dilemma to us, the reader: is Ralph truly a fatally flawed, evil character? Or does he represent the worse of each of us, who constantly must face questions of morality versus self-gain?
Dickens again become the narrator:
"It is one of those problems of human nature . . . --although Raplh felt no remorse at that moment for his conduct towards the innocent, true-hearted girl; although his libertine clients had done precisely what he had expected, precisely what he most wished, and precisely what would tend most to his advantage, still he hated them for doing it, from the very bottom of his soul."
Jean - thank you for the explanation on the position of actresses. I had forgotten the example in Little Dorrit you mentioned. I had felt it might be considered dangerous for Kate's reputation, but wasn't sure.Also, I love the idea of Dickens being superimposed on his mind in the painting. I have looked at that painting so many times and studied it--now I will see it in yet another way. Brilliant!
Jean and Sam, wow, thank you for explaining multiphrenia to us. Doing a quick Google search, 'multiphrenia and Charles Dickens', brought me to this article, which I found interesting: https://www.theguardian.com/books/201... I wonder how some of you, who have read and studied Dickens much more than me, would feel about the reviews in the article.I agree with Claudia that this chapter brought together two secondary characters who are both looking out for Kate and Nicholas in their kind-hearted way, yet they both are ready to fight! I loved that "though little Miss La Creevy's indignation was not so singularity displayed as Newman's, it was scarcely inferior in violence and intensity." When she started waving around a pencil, realized what it was, and substituted a small fruit knife, I wanted to cheer "Go Miss La Creevy!" She's ready to fight for her friend, although "she made a lunge as she spoke, which would have scarcely disturbed the crub of a half-quartern loaf."
I liked the theatrics of Newman saying "Damn him!" and "dashing his cherished hat on the floor".
I think their plan is a good one and Paul, your point about Nicholas' nickname "Knuckleboy" is a great catch, like Kathleen said.
I have just finished this chapter and as much as I love Newman Noggs and Miss. La Creevy separately, I adore them together. They just play off of one another perfectly. The illustration of Newman boxing again and La Creevy terrified is priceless. They are right to be concerned for how Nicholas is going to react to this news, but I am worried that their plan is not the right one. He is unlikely to just sit on his thumbs and wait for Noggs to return. I expect he will be seeking Kate at any place he thinks he might possibly find her or, worse yet, going to inquire of his uncle what might be afoot.
I am taken with how well Dickens can combine humor and anxiety in one chapter!
Kelly wrote: "Jean and Sam, wow, thank you for explaining multiphrenia to us. Doing a quick Google search, 'multiphrenia and Charles Dickens', brought me to this article, which I found interesting: https://www.t..."Indeed, Kelly, Miss La Crevy is not passive at all, she is as combative as Mr Noggs, in her own way (smile).
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“London at last!” cries Nicholas, who is relieved when they finally reach the city. Everywhere there is hustle and bustle; bright lights and glittering profusion.
“Streams of people … poured on and on, jostling each other in the crowd and hurrying forward, … while vehicles of all shapes and makes, mingled up together in one moving mass … lent their ceaseless roar to swell the noise and tumult … clothes for the newly-born, drugs for the sick, coffins for the dead, and churchyards for the buried—all these jumbled each with the other and flocking side by side, seemed to flit by in motley dance …
Life and death went hand in hand; wealth and poverty stood side by side; repletion and starvation laid them down together.”
After securing rooms, he hurries to Noggs’ residence, anxious and impatient. However although Noggs has made preparations for Nicholas’s visit, he is not at home. Mr Crowl introduces himself to “Mr Johnson”, and Nicholas asks him when Mr. Noggs will return. Mr. Crowl says that Noggs had been reluctantly called away on some urgent business, but that he expects to return by midnight. Until then, he had asked Mr Crowl to entertain Nicholas making himself comfortable and waiting for his return. So saying, he helps himself liberally to the meat on the table.
Nicholas though, is too impatient to know what has happened to have any appetite. So he makes sure that Smike is comfortable and goes straight to Miss La Creevy’s house, only to find that she is also not there. Nicholas worries about going to his mother’s home, because he doesn’t want to cause a problem for her with his uncle. However, he believes Noggs would not have written to him unless the matter were serious, so he decides to take the risk. When the girl tells him that his mother is out and not expected to return home until late:
“his heart beat[…] violently, and he apprehend[s] he knew not what disaster.”
Nicholas returns to Noggs’s garrett. Too restless and apprehensive to remain still, he aimlessly wanders around the city and through Hyde Park. He realises how exhausted he is, and stops at an hotel to have something to eat, even though it looks expensive. The coffee room is full of gilt and mirrors, and Nicholas sits behind a noisy party of 4 gentlemen.
Half asleep over a newspaper, Nicholas is amazed to overhear his sister’s name being mentioned:
“He waited to hear more with a countenance of some indignation, for the tone of speech had been anything but respectful, and the appearance of the individual whom he presumed to have been the speaker was coarse and swaggering.”
“Nicholas Attracted by the Mention of His Sister’s Name in the Coffee-Room - Hablot K. Browne (Phiz) - January 1839
Watching them in the glass, Nicholas is beginning to think he must have imagined it, when he is furious to hear the men toast “Little Kate Nickleby”. Nicholas finds it hard to control his anger but remains motionless, needing to hear more.
He hears his sister called a “jade” and the man he has heard before remarks that she is just like her uncle. She is playing hard to get so that she will be more sought after. It is “infernal cunning” they all agree.
A younger gentleman comments that Mrs. Wititterly has become envious of her and has locked her away. However, the first gentleman claims he will be pleased if does Kate loses her position and returns home to her mother, saying:
“I can do anything with the old lady. She’ll believe anything I tell her”
and they all laugh. As the conversation becomes even more revealing with more wine, Nicholas learns why Noggs wrote that his presence was needed. He learns how his uncle used Kate. The men sneer at Kate’s misery, misinterpret and jeer at her virtue, make licentious jokes about her, and make coarse wagers.
One man leads the conversation, and eventually Nicholas confronts him, although he is so roused that he has to force the words from his parched and scorching throat. His passion almost chokes him.
“‘A mysterious stranger, upon my soul!’ exclaimed Sir Mulberry, raising his wine-glass to his lips, and looking round upon his friends.”
Nicholas throws down his card, revealing himself as the brother of the young lady.
“A momentary expression of astonishment, not unmixed with some confusion, appeared in the face of Sir Mulberry as he read the name; but he subdued it in an instant”
Nicholas demands to know Sir Mulberry’s name, calling him a liar and a coward, but Sir Mulberry Hawk refuses to give Nicholas his name or address:
“Let the fellow talk, I have nothing serious to say to boys of his station; and his pretty sister shall save him a broken head, if he talks till midnight.”
Neither his friends nor the waiter will give it either, although after a while the younger man objects to this, and quietly urges his friend to comply with Nicholas’s request.
Nicholas stays, planning to follow the man home. Sir Mulberry Hawk’s companions leave, but he remains for several hours.
“Nicholas Fumes as Sir Mulberry Hawk Delays” - Charles Stanley Reinhart - 1875
Finally he gets ready to leave:
“Nicholas, who had been fuming and chafing until he was nearly wild, darted from his seat, and followed him: so closely, that before the door had swung upon its hinges after Sir Mulberry’s passing out, they stood side by side in the street together.”
Again, he quietly asks his name, and is refused with an oath.
“’I am the son of a country gentleman,’ returned Nicholas, ‘your equal in birth and education, and your superior I trust in everything besides. I tell you again, Miss Nickleby is my sister. Will you or will you not answer for your unmanly and brutal conduct?’”
Nicholas grabs the reins of the horse, refusing to let them go until Sir Mulberry Hawk reveals his identity. Sir Mulberry refuses and starts to beat Nicholas about the head with his whip:
“A Dramatic Confrontation” - Fred Barnard - 1875
which:
“was broken in the struggle; Nicholas gained the heavy handle, and with it laid open one side of his antagonist’s face from the eye to the lip. He saw the gash; knew that the mare had darted off at a wild mad gallop; a hundred lights danced in his eyes, and he felt himself flung violently upon the ground.”
A crowd chases after the horse, which is attached to the carriage. Nicholas sees there is still a passenger inside it, and staggers away reeling like a drunken man. Then he realises that he is bleeding.
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A Precedent in Real Life for Nicholas using his Fists
You will no doubt remember that this novel is dedicated to William Charles Macready, the great actor. We have been picking up throughout our “Dramatic Dickens” season that the theatre was in a state of flux with some approved plays for the 2 licensed theatres and others which were intended merely as entertainment. Actors were caught in the middle of this, and we have the two extremes in Nicholas Nickleby, with Mr Folair the pantomimist and Mr Lenville the serious actor and tragedian, who are at loggerheads.
William Charles Macready himself, in his diaries constantly bemoaned the status of actors as outcasts. Perhaps I should have said that it was not only the female ones who had poor social status, Sara. Because of the industrial age, and the massive economic expansion leading to huge fortunes being amassed by people formerly considered as being of lowly origin, Victorians were acutely conscious of social respectability.
Actors needed no education, and provided no obviously utilitarian function in society, therefore were looked down on and positively shunned. In Dickens and Popular Entertainment (you were asking about this, Shirley) Paul Schlicke says:
“actors were traditionally treated as outcasts, and an actress was widely held to be little more than a prostitute.”
I’m afraid we do see this attitude from Nicholas. He is so very conscious of his social position and class, that he comes across as positively priggish at times! Think how many times he laughed during his time with the theatre troupe, and showed a condescending superiority. It was not always high spirits - a lot of the time he was laughing at them. He was annoyed when the two main actors barged in one day. He considered it a social intrusion, and congratulated himself when he had “got rid of" them. At various times he laughs at the troupe - and at Mr Crummles himself - who clearly has little education. Then at the end of his sojourn Nicholas tells himself off for wasting time, essentially compromising his social position by what he sees as just fooling around. He reassures himself by saying he had remained:”for the best and sorely against my will”. And at the end he is annoyed at what he considers a pantomime of farewells, and can’t get away quickly enough in his carriage with Smike.
As for the nose-pulling altercation, certainly that was very funny to read, and both Mr Folair and Nicholas thought it was amusing and absurd. But what of the tragedian Mr Lenville? It may have been a “faux” fight for them as Peter calls it, but Mr Lenville came off looking like a fool, sprawled on the floor and crying in his wife’s arms. Mr Folair maintains it would be good publicity, but is this really the image a tragedy actor wants to remain in people’s minds?
Back to the “eminent tragedian” William Charles Macready’s constant plea in The diaries of William Chalres Macready, 1833-1851 was about the lack of social esteem which he could command, because he was an actor. When he was working at the approved (licensed) theatre of Drury Lane, he felt a lot of antagonism towards the manager and theatrical entrepreneur, Bunn. William Charles Macready had high ideals and wanted to recreate the full glory of English classic classic drama on stage, but Bunn wanted to fill seats with paying customers.
One day in 1836, their tempers finally clashed. William Charles Macready felt humiliated at being cast in a truncated version of William Shakespeare's Richard III, feeling this “low theatre” to be beneath him. Backstage he physically assaulted the manager Bunn. But this act of tragic desperation quickly descended into farce, when William Charles Macready, still clad in the hump for his stage role as Richard III, accused the manager of ruining him, while Bunn, crying “Murder!” grasped the actor’s little finger between his teeth until rescue arrived. 😆🤣
Does this sound familiar? Just a couple of years later, we read of the absurd altercation between Mr Lenwille (who I now feel rather sorry for!) and Nicholas.
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1. Nicholas’s attack on Squeers was motivated for the best humanitarian reasons, and made us all cheer. The Dotheboys Hall scenes had been so melodramatic, that it was clearly signalled that right would prevail in the end, and we could thoroughly enjoy them. (There is the little matter of the school still existing after Nicholas leaves, but Charles Dickens has made his point, and brought another social evil to the public consciousness, just as he had with workhouses in Oliver Twist.)
2. The next confrontation was a theatrical one, and not instigated by Nicholas. As described in the previous post, although we enjoyed the entertainment, this also highlighted a very real dichotomy for those concerned. I do wonder how William Charles Macready reacted to reading this, although perhaps (like Elizabeth Dickens with Mrs Nickleby) he did not recognise any connection between himself and Mr Lenville.
3. In today’s chapter 32, we have yet another example of Nicholas pushed into physical attack, and for another, different reason. His sister, a lady, has been maligned and insulted, and so has he. This is gallantry - protection - motivated by social outrage at a man he considers a coarse bully, usurping the privilege of his class. To answer your question Lee, Charles Dickens does not describe rape scenes per se; they happen “off stage” as it were, but there are implied instances of this and domestic abuse in his novels, yes. Perhaps he felt giving graphic details of this to be unnecessary.
As Paul says, Mrs Squeers’ unknowing naming of Nicholas was quite apt! Charles Dickens had unconsciously given us some foreshadowing. Perhaps even subconsciously, as he tells us in the preface that Nicholas will be an impetuous hero, although he did not know the details of this unplanned serial. (I have to stress again that there will only be a handful of instances of foreshadowing, as Charles Dickens only had a broad idea of a couple of things that would be resolved in the end.)
This makes 3 cases where Nicholas uses his fists, and this last one sounds pretty serious! Lori and others were quite right to worry that Nicholas would not just "twiddle his thumbs" when left alone, despite the best laid plans of Miss La Creevy and Noggs to keep him out of trouble. I was also struck by the use of deux ex machina here.
I do wonder why the police have not been called each time … or perhaps they have …
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I really liked the engraving by Fred Barnard this time. These “dark plates” he made can really emphasise the drama, can’t they.
“heel-taps” means the dregs of their drinks
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“the minutes appeared to move with leaden wings indeed, and ... their progress did not seem the more rapid from the monotonous ticking of a French clock, or the shrill sound of its little bell which told the quarters.”
It really heightens the tension.
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In fact I find the way this chapter was written very interesting.
The four men in the hotel are total strangers to Nicholas, although we could readily identify Sir Mulberry Hawk from his coarse vulgar manner and the fact that he leads the conversation. We can identify Lord Frederick Verisopht by his manner of speech, and since they are two couples, we deduce that the two “followers” are Mr Pyke and Mr Pluck. So this is in part from Nicholas’s point of view, as it describes the events in the hotel not knowing who the four are, with one exception.
Sir Mulberry Hawk is named throughout. I pondered why this should be, as it does not conform to accepted rules of narration. Eventually I concluded that what this does, is to make Sir Mulberry Hawk stand out even more. It is most effective, isolating Nicholas and him as antagonists.
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This was quite an exciting chapter! But first, I caught up after several days away, and was too late to comment on Chapter 31. I did want to say how much I loved it particularly. The way it began with Ralph’s musings, and the quote Jean mentioned, and the bringing together the two kind-hearted characters of La Creevy and Noggs. I thought the Barnard illustration was perfect--so true what you say, Jean, about the dark plates. Like Lori, I worried very much about what Nicholas would do with no one available to welcome him, and from this last chapter, it seems we had reason to worry!
Also, I’m glad you’re feeling better, Sam, and thank you for that brilliant comparison between Dickens and Robin Williams. I can see a portrait of Williams similar to that one Jean shared of Dickens with his imaginings all around the room. Of course the pictures would be quite different (!), but the brilliance is very similar. I’m so glad you mentioned this!
Kathleen C.
The altercations do seem to be building in intensity as we go along, and I am concerned if Nicholas ever has a full confrontation with Ralph over what he has done to Kate. For Nicholas, this would be a killing offense, to put her in this path, deny her any protection at all, when in fact you are meant to be her protector. He more or less told Nicholas that he would take care of the mother and Kate as long as Nicholas remains apart from them. I was glad Nicholas got the better of the fight, but I am afraid of repercussions. I love your explanation of why Hawk is consistently named, Jean. I do think it serves to bring him to the forefront and separate him in both his responsibility and his evilness from those of his companions.
Finally, you have taught me well because I did notice particularly the use of the clock--as Nicholas counted the bells of the hour, I felt it was a warning of what was to come. The two men were standing still and waiting at that moment, but this was a very temporary state and things were destined to explode when Hawk could no longer delay his exit.
´London at last.´ indeed, Jean, we are back and ´Life and death … went hand in hand.´ It doesn’t take long for Dickens to tell us that the coachman ´let out his whip-lash and touched up a little boy …´The melodramatic nose pulling scene and Noggs’ delightful shadow boxing of previous chapters is contrasted with Nicholas’s direct bloody confrontation with Hawk in this chapter and in Nicholas’s earlier physical confrontation with Squeers. Twice Nicholas comes to the defence of the defenceless. First Smike and now his sister Kate. Nicholas shows his honour as well when he promptly paid the money he owed to Browdie. I’m always conflicted as to whether I’m to read Nicholas as being a noble youth or an impetuous one who matures through the novel.
Certainly one’s ´Dickens antenna’ needs to be on alert when clocks and time are mentioned. In this chapter he introduces the concept of looking into a mirror and standing in front of a fireplace. Physical confrontations seem to becoming increasingly serious and the different ways one expresses their emotions, be they caring or crudely, continue to evolve. From the City of London to the use of a lash we continue to see Dickens’s ever-increasing growth as a writer.
Dickens may or may not know exactly where he was going in this novel so far but he certainly does know what will help him get where he is going.
Bionic Jean wrote: "Chapter 28: Miss Nickleby, rendered desperate by the Persecution of Sir Mulberry Hawk, and the Complicated Difficulties and Distresses which surround her, appeals, as a last resource, to her Uncle ..." Massive undertaking for your Summary of Ch 28, Jean. Thank you!
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I love this, Peter! Charles Dickens had a pretty sensitive radar of his own, didn't he? And great catch about the mirrors - something to ponder with that motif.
Aw Sara you are very kind, but I'm sure you "get" Charles Dickens as well as I do - and have wider experience of Wilkie Collins too.
Lee - Thank you so much 😁 I very much enjoyed your accurate analysis of ch 28 yesterday ...
I admit I had forgotten how very long these chapters are. I wonder if others also read through one "scene", and expect it to be the end of a chapter, but no, we change to another place and group of people - and sometimes even a third - eek! And representing the subtleties faithfully without altering or overly interpreting them is tricky.
Wow! My heart is palpitating still from that last scene! I was so worried something like this would happen despite Noggs and Miss La Creevy’s plan to try to calm Nicholas before telling him. Having Crowl there to keep him company was just not the way to handle the situation. Now it has turned out worse than ever. Nicholas has been caught off guard and while he showed that he could wait and not pounce right away, the blood boiled to a point of no return. Like Sara I now worry about his confronting Ralph. I don’t see he will be able to hold back and control himself. Hawk is the worst type of villain. He’s seedy and vile. He has no thought for another, only himself.
Lori wrote: "Nicholas has been caught off guard and while he showed that he could wait and not pounce right away, the blood boiled to a point of no return."For the first time, I thought this chapter showed up a plot hole that just wasn't credible. Why was Nicholas so absolutely insistent on Hawk disclosing his name and address? Surely, a moment's thought would tell him that any of Noggs, Kate, or his father would provide him with the culprit's name and address. Plus, had he not made such a scene, it is likely that the waiter would have provided him with the information on the spot that night.
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Gentlemen sort things out between them. They do not involve others, except sometimes one close male friend.
"Surely, a moment's thought would tell him that any of Noggs, Kate, or his father would provide him with the culprit's name and address."
1. Noggs - Nicholas would not want to jeopardise Noggs's position with his employer, Ralph Nickleby. Noggs has risked enough for Nicholas already. Plus, he probably (correctly) thought Noggs would try to dissuade him.
2. Kate - Gentlemen never involve ladies in affairs of honour.
3. His father - His father is dead.
"Plus, had he not made such a scene, it is likely that the waiter would have provided him with the information on the spot that night."
The waiter is clearly taking his cue from (or toadying to, if you like) Sir Mulberry Hawk, just as his 3 friends mostly are. Here is the sentence that tells us this:
"‘That gentleman, sir?’ replied the waiter, who, no doubt, knew his cue, and answered with just as little respect, and just as much impertinence as he could safely show: ‘no, sir, I do not, sir.’
The waiter had paid no attention whatsoever to Nicholas at any point until now, except presumably to take his order, after the waiter had finishing conversing with "an elderly gentlemen" who was disputing the bill. But he recognised where the power and the money were.
Nicholas has only had "a pint of wine and a biscuit" but the party of four will have been drinking and dining lavishly. I don't expect Nicholas looks very smart either, given that he has been travelling all day in a coach, with 4 changes of horse, trying frantically to find his friends and family, and then wandering around London for hours. Hawk sums him up making a snap judgement by his appearance, by the damning words: "boys of his station". Nicholas is lucky to have been served at all by a waiter at an expensive hotel.
I might add that Sir Mulberry Hawk and his friends might be regulars at a hotel we have been told "looks expensive", but that would be conjecture.
Bionic Jean wrote: "Plus, he probably (correctly) thought Noggs would try to dissuade him.."Dissuade him from doing what? Nicholas has made absolutely no indication as to what he would do when he knew Hawk's name and address? As a reader on the edge of his seat, I certainly have no idea. If it was Nicholas' idea to simply beat the stuffings out of him for his vulgar impertinence, why wouldn't he have done so on the spot?
"Kate - Gentlemen never involve ladies in affairs of honour."
It's not as if Kate isn't already involved. As her brother and, nominally, the man in her life, he could simply demand that she tell him Hawk's name and address. The source of the information would never be disclosed.
"His father - His father is dead. "
Oops! I meant his uncle, of course.
"The waiter is clearly taking his cue from Sir Mulberry Hawk."
Had Nicholas stayed calm and held his peace, the waiter would have had no reason or incentive to conduct himself that way. After Hawk and his party had left the coffee shop, Nicholas could have fabricated any number of perfectly reasonable lies as to why he was asking for Hawk's name and address.
In this chapter, we're treated first to Dickens at his lyrical and atmospheric best, capturing the stunning contradictions of life in the great city, concluding his description with "Life and death went hand in hand; wealth and poverty stood side by side; repletion and starvation laid them down together" That entire paragraph on its own is a little masterpiece!And immediately thereafter, Dickens swiftly transforms the mood, culminating in a violent confrontation between Nicholas and Mulberry Hawk. Surely Dickens must have anticipated this episode as a work to be arranged for the stage.
Jim wrote: "In this chapter, we're treated first to Dickens at his lyrical and atmospheric best, capturing the stunning contradictions of life in the great city, concluding his description with "Life and death..."An eloquent, evocative piece of writing indeed. I wonder if Dickens recalled this paragraph as he penned his memorable and oft-quoted opening paragraph in A TALE OF TWO CITIES, likewise a string of juxtaposed opposites and contradictions.
It's especially interesting that this was a description of London which was one of the two eponymous cities in that later novel.
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I'll put this under a spoiler tag just to save space. There's no new information here, (and no spoilers either!)
(view spoiler)
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Great point about the drama and theatricality of the final scene. The whole of Nicholas Nickleby is so very theatrical, isn't it.
I, too, worry about Nicholas' hot-headed temper. As he was beating Hawk, I worried that he would kill him and end up on the gallows. Unless he can get himself under control, he will be of no use to his mother and sister. I do find it strange that he behaves more like his uncle than his meek and mild father. And it is strange also that both Nicholas and Kate have exhibited a strong backbone, something both of their parents lacked.We were talking earlier that Kate's lack of a dowry would prevent her from marrying well, and I think I remember us saying that Hawk was above her in social rank. Yet, Nicholas told Hawk, "I am the son of a country gentleman, your equal in birth and education, and your superior I trust in everything besides." I just wondered how Nicholas drew this conclusion, supposedly, never having met Hawke before. Was it dress, speech and comportment that gave this away?
I did catch that paragraph that Jim cited and also loved Dickens' juxtaposition of wealth and poverty. I found this sentence truly heartbreaking: "...pale and pinched-up faces hovered about the windows where was tempting food, hungry eyes wandered over the profusion guarded by one thin sheet of brittle glass - an iron wall to them..." What a contrast that must have been in real life, involving all of man's senses (sight, smell,...)
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What a great point, Shirley! I wonder who they had as an example. 🤔
Yes, I deliberately included Nicholas's "country gentleman" sentence, as it is the first time he has said it outright. Nor should a gentleman ever need to say this, but Nicholas has been goaded by being called a "puppy" and doubly insulted as "a boy of his station".
"Was it dress, speech and comportment that gave this away?" Exactly so, you've got it! Plus all the money the 4 must have been throwing around in such an expensive hotel. And when Nicholas continues "your equal in birth and education", this will be deduced both by his speech and accent, "and your superior I trust in everything besides" is a jibe: a deliberate insult back. YAY Nicholas! 👏
What a fantastic, emotive quotation you selected, thank you. 😊
Jim and Jean, the beginning of this chapter with the descriptions of London was such good reading. I was particularly moved by this: "hungry eyes wandered over the profusion guarded by one thin sheet of brittle glass - an iron wall to them", like Shirley mentioned.I agree with you, Jean, about Fred Barnard's engraving! There is something about the dark bringing out the drama, absolutely. Gorgeous!
I like the list cataloging Nicholas's violent episodes. I can't blame the guy and feel his anger is justified, but at the same time wonder if violence is the way to go.
Like everyone else above, I love the opening lines of the chapter. Dickens knows how to show the dynamics of the big city, especially in the evening. He paints the background, the lights, the movements of busy streets but also stresses out affluence and deprivation. In fact this apparently innocent description of settings, like a scene illuminated by limelights suggested something dramatic about to occur.
The skilfully carved phrases mentioned by Jean in her summary "Life and death went hand in hand; wealth and poverty stood side by side; repletion and starvation laid them down together.", -we could not miss the social critic beneath - are announcing a confrontation, which actually happened before the end of the chapter.
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"Dickens ... paints the background, the lights, the movements of busy streets ... this apparently innocent description of settings, like a scene illuminated by limelights suggested something dramatic about to occur."
Lights, camera, action! Brilliant 👏
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Noggs returns home before the time he had agreed to with Miss La Creevy, being too impatient to stay out longer. Both Smike and Noggs are concerned as the hour gets late, and Nicholas has failed to return.
When Nicholas does come back, Noggs is aghast to see his condition. Nicholas tells Noggs he has heard part of the story and has guessed the rest, and he knows why Noggs has summoned him. However, he wants to hear Noggs’s version of events. He refuses to let Noggs tend to his wounds until he does:
“Come …You had a sister of your own, you told me once, who died before you fell into misfortune. Now think of her, and tell me, Newman.”
Noggs tells him what has transpired, much of which Nicholas already knows. Nicholas then tells Noggs about his confrontation with Sir Mulberry Hawk. Noggs feels so angry that he is inadvertently a bit rough in treating Nicholas’s wounds, causing him some pain, which Nicholas bears quietly.
They make plans for Nicholas’s mother to leave his uncle’s house, and sending Miss La Creevy to break the news to her. Nicholas writes a letter to his uncle, which Noggs will deliver. Having arranged all this, Nicholas returns to the inn for the night.
“Although Nicholas experienced some pain on first awakening next morning, he sprung out of bed as the clock struck seven, with very little difficulty, and was soon as much on the alert as if nothing had occurred.”
He tells Smike that Noggs will visit shortly, and takes a hackney coach to the Wititterlys. Kate sobs in his arms when she sees him, and begs him not to leave her there, for she is so miserable. Nicholas tells her that he will never leave her again. He had only done so before, to prevent misfortune from befalling her and their mother, but he tells her that he too has been miserable in being separated from them.
Mr. Wititterly enters, and Kate introduces him. Nicholas tells her employer that she is leaving, and says they will forfeit her salary due with this abrupt departure. He will send for her things later that day. Mr. Wititterly is glad to see the back of Kate, as Sir Tumley Snuffim told him that she “disagreed with Mrs. Wititterly’s constitution.”
The narrator comments drily that Mr. Wititterly:
“was accustomed to owe small accounts, and to leave them owing. All men have some little pleasant way of their own; and this was Mr. Wititterly’s.”
Nicholas and Kate leave, and their hackney coach makes good speed. He sends Kate in before him to prepare his mother for his appearance. Noggs is already carrying out their furniture from the house.
Mrs. Nickleby, despite being prepared by Miss La Creevy, doesn’t understand what is going on or why she has to leave.
“she was in a state of singular bewilderment and confusion, and could by no means be made to comprehend the necessity of such hurried proceedings.”
She suggests that Nicholas talk to his uncle to find out what his version of the story is. Nicholas tells her that his uncle doesn’t deserve the consideration. He has insulted their honour. His mother complains that he is a brute, a monster;
“and the walls are very bare, and want painting too, and I have had this ceiling whitewashed at the expense of eighteen-pence, which is a very distressing thing, considering that it is so much gone into your uncle’s pocket.”
She is upset that Sir Mulberry Hawk is such a wretch, because she was hoping that he would marry Kate and get Nicholas a position in the government. Recollecting similar cases:
“Mrs. Nickleby gave fresh vent to her grief, and wept piteously.”
Nicholas and Kate are busy with the furniture, so Miss La Creevy tries to cheer her up. Mrs. Nickleby worries about what the two “perfect gentlemen” Mr. Pyke and Mr. Pluck, will think when she tells them that Sir Mulberry Hawk is a base wretch. They won’t believe her, she is certain, and will laugh. Nicholas tells her they won’t have the opportunity to laugh at them. Eventually, Mrs Nickleby is got out of the house, and the whole family is welcomed back to Miss La Creevy’s place, until they can find other lodgings. Mrs. Nickleby keeps worrying that they have left something behind at the other house.
Nicholas meets Noggs near Golden Square as arranged at half past nine, and gives him the letter he had written to his uncle and the key to his uncle’s house. He warns Noggs not to mention the fight with Sir Mulberry Hawk to his family, and asks Noggs how badly Sir Mulberry Hawk had been hurt, but Noggs doesn’t know. Noggs tells Nicholas to get some rest, for he is feverish and obviously ill.
Noggs delivers the letter after taking it out from his hat a few times and admiring it. Nicholas has written a vehement letter to his uncle, saying that his family has left his house. He says they renounce him in disgust, for he shames them and he hopes Ralph will remember his dark deeds on his deathbed.
Ralph Nickleby reads the letter twice:
“and frowning heavily, fell into a fit of musing; the paper fluttered from his hand and dropped upon the floor, but he clasped his fingers, as if he held it still.”
“Nicholas Denounces Ralph’s Failure to Protect Kate” - Charles Stanley Reinhart - 1875
Then suddenly he is furious, particularly when he sees Noggs staring at him. Noggs though affects unconcern, going about his work.
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Publication Issues
Installment 10 was for January 1839, as we can see from Hablot Knight Browne’s illustration earlier. All this time, Charles Dickens has been writing episodes of Oliver Twist in the morning, but this month marked the final installment of publishing that. What a relief it must have been! And even so, these two serials were still only part of his writing commitments.
Charles Dickens was still editing Bentley's Miscellany, 1838, Vol. 3 - and we learned during our read of Oliver Twist that there was a lot of antagonism between the two men by this time, before it finally came to a head and he resigned. Charles Dickens was no longer a parliamentary reporter by now, but he did still write occasional journalistic pieces, and contributed several reviews and articles to “the Examiner” while he was writing Nicholas Nickleby.
He’d managed to put off the planned Barnaby Rudge for a while. but evidently was feeling the pressure, as he was never again to write 2 serials simultaneously. In fact at the end of Nicholas Nickleby he aimed to take a break from serial writing and to move on to editing another miscellany, Master Humphrey's Clock. In fact this did not work out quite as he had planned, because he became so taken up with the first parts of a serial story there, that he decided to make it a full-blown serial novel, and we have The Old Curiosity Shop as a result (and Barnaby Rudge followed in due course in the same way).
But those two novels are slightly in the future, and for now Charles Dickens was taken up with writing about young Nicholas and editing the journal, as well as meeting constantly with friends for walks, dinners, going to his beloved theatre, and other outings.
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“as the horses happened to live at Whitechapel and to be in the habit of taking their breakfast there, when they breakfasted at all, they performed the journey with greater expedition than could reasonably have been expected.”
😆
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Enjoy the day off! There’s lots here to read, and comment on, if you missed any of the posts in this installment. And well done everyone; we are now half way through this long novel.
Dickensians!
Books mentioned in this topic
Jane Eyre (other topics)Pride and Prejudice (other topics)
Pride and Prejudice (other topics)
Red Pottage (other topics)
Oliver Twist (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Charles Dickens (other topics)Charles Dickens (other topics)
Edgar Allan Poe (other topics)
Charles Dickens (other topics)
Fred Levit (other topics)
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Actually I'd mistakenly anticipated others would enjoy the anecdote about one of Charles Dickens's youngest fans. I can't believe that he would have been precocious enough to read the text for himself, even if Thomas Hughes did become an author, but can just imagine this older brother reading selected scenes aloud to the 5 year old William Hughes 🥰
Let's move on now to today's chapter, which begins by showing Ralph's doubts, before really moving the story on and building the tension ...