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Martin Chuzzlewit 4: Chapter 36 - 44
I agree that this chapter has a sinister twist that makes your hair stand up. I was interested when Jonas asked if anyone else knew and Montague said "no", because Nadgett absolutely knows. Montague would have been smarter to say, "yes, as an insurance policy."Jonas is capable of anything at this point, and Montague is playing with fire. The lancet was a warning of things to come, I think. It might have been better for Montague if he had let Jonas take the boat. Greed is dangerous and it is all over the place in this novel. The only question I have is whether Jonas will be found out and stopped short of his diabolical intentions.
You're so right about the chapter having an exciting cliffhanger, Jean! Is it Montague that Jonas is thinking of killing with the lancets, or is it some witness who talked to Montague? I wouldn't want to be sleeping in the overnight coach with Jonas around.
Jonas made sure that Bailey would not be their driver. It seemed to me that he didn’t want a witness to what he has in mind. But am I correct in thinking that Bailey stowed away somehow in the back of the carriage?
Mod
Neither wouId I 😱 But then I wouldn't trust Montague Tigg either. In fact the only decent one among them is young Bailey.
Sue - They are all four in the carriage together at the moment, as the chapter ends:
"[Montague] went out to the carriage again, and took his seat. His companion [Jonas] followed immediately. Mr Bailey climbed into the rumble. ‘It will be a stormy night!’ exclaimed the doctor, as they started."
I think Charles Dickens has used the word "rumble" to convey the reverberations of the carriage, but making it a noun implies an uncomfortably crowded rumpus. That's how I took it anyway.
Peter - Thank you so much for pointing out the allusions to William Shakespeare.
Ah, ok. I was thinking of a rumble seat and thinking he was in back. I’ll reread that last bit I think.
Mod
" A dickie seat or rumble was a boot with a seat above it for servants, behind a carriage. Similar to the dickie seat on European phaetons was the spider, a small single seat or bench on spindly supports for seating a groom or footman"
The next chapter does (unusually!) follow straight on, as we can tell by the first word of the title. It's not much of a spoiler to say that we learn a bit more about the type of carriage they are in. It talks about the "front glasses" which are the front windows, so we know it is a closed carriage. It also makes it clear that Bailey is on the outside of the coach - pretty much as Nicholas was with the (view spoiler) in Nicholas Nickleby.
So Bailey has not exactly stowed away, as the others know he is there, but also know he is not privy to their conversation (as you observed). He is like a postilion, and outside the coach itself but on some sort of special seat. Thanks Sue! 🙂
This chapter felt so gothic to me. Jonas is so evil. Montague had better watch out. He feels more like a petty thief to me, where Jonas is already (presumably?) a murderer. If he killed his own father, killing Montague will be easy for him.As Jobling was telling Jonas of the man who was stabbed in the heart, and I was absorbing Jonas’ reaction to it, Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart short story came to my mind. I wondered if Dickens was trying to inject a little bit of gothic horror into his own story. He had just met Poe on his trip to America, so might this be his tribute to Poe?
I don’t like Pecksniff, but I’m afraid for him, too. What evil does Jonas want to inflict on him? And what of poor Tom Pinch? Nadgett has now identified him as the letter carrier, and Jonas has threatened to confront him. Jonas’ enemies list is growing, but who can stop him?
Julie wrote: "That absolutely makes sense as a mode of reading coming out of mystery novels! I'm not really a natural mystery reader, because for me keeping track of the possible solution detracts from getting lost in the world. But I know they're some people's favorite reading, for the opportunity to sort out the puzzle. When I read them, I am instead very happy to have the sleuth explain the whole thing to me at the end, preferably over some kind of nice meal or cup of tea, or in an attractive travel destination. :)."I've been feverishly trying to catch up after being gone a few days, and am finally there!
But I wanted to go back and thank Julie for this comment--so well said and I couldn't agree more. :-)
I have finally caught up and find it difficult not to read ahead! I am loving all these comments. Sara's comment "I was interested when Jonas asked if anyone else knew and Montague said "no", because Nadgett absolutely knows. Montague would have been smarter to say, "yes, as an insurance policy." I did not catch this!! till tomorrow.....
I am a chapter behind and trying to catch up. I have family in town for this month and will do my best to be here as often as I can.I wanted to comment on Mrs. Gamp. At first I thought she was a bit annoying but after getting to “know her” more, I am finding how much I really like her. In this particular scene when Tom unexpectedly connected with Jonas, she was the perfect foil for Tom because of her way with words! Or shall we say, she has a way of talking that makes people listen in such a comedic way. It’s like once she starts you are automatically caught up in her story that you can’t do anything else. Therefore, Tom had nothing to worry about with Jonas and has we saw Tom was all but forgotten so nothing happened that could potentially have been trouble. Mrs. Gamp is the best and she doesn’t even know it - or maybe she does! 😜
She probably does know, Lori, since Mrs. Harris would have been sure to tell her.
Of course Mrs. Harris! That’s awesome, Sara!
I missed why Mrs Gamp was at the dockside.Also, I wanted to comment that I felt uncomfortable when Ruth was making her pudding, because she and Tom behaved more like newlyweds than brother and sister. Yes, I realize that they had not seen each other for many years. Still, it felt a bit creepy.
I do believe Jonas is losing it, like a cornered rat. I think he is going to try that stab-through-the-heart move on someone, but I'm not sure who. My money is on Montague, though, since he feels trapped by him and at his mercy. As to whether he can pull it off, that's a whole different story! He seems to be trying to get Montague alone, but Bailey is there, and I'm sure Nadgett is hovering somewhere just out of sight. Montague is rather a knowing one, and is probably already suspicious of Jonas's behavior, so he may be able to take care of himself. I don't have a lot of faith in Jonas doing anything particularly well!
Kathleen wrote: "I missed why Mrs Gamp was at the dockside.Also, I wanted to comment that I felt uncomfortable when Ruth was making her pudding, because she and Tom behaved more like newlyweds than brother and si..."
My understanding was that Mrs. Gamp was present at the dockside solely to see about Merry, as she knew she was being taken to Amsterdam by Jonas. Not much goes on that Mrs. Gamp doesn't know about.
As for Tom and Ruth, they were giddy with excitement to be together, have a home instead of living in someone else's home as a servant, and like school children again. This was playfulness. I think the attitude of brothers to little sisters was very different then...there was a feeling of responsibility that is often missing now and people used endearments toward one another when speaking. Remember they are all the family that they have.
Mod
These are such great interpretations and speculations ... and well done if you managed to hang on for a day at the end of the previous chapter. I honestly can't imagine what it must have been like to wait a whole month in suspense. No wonder Charles Dickens used to be accosted in the street by fans wanting to know what would happen next.
I do wonder though, if this is why he carries straight on with the action, rather than taking up another of the story threads as he usually does with a new installment.
So hold on to your hats; we're in for quite a ride! 😱
Mod
Chapter 42: Continuation of the Enterprise of Mr. Jonas and His Friend
The action follows straight on.
As Jonas and Montague set out (with Bailey outside with the coach driver) it is a hot evening, still and heavy before a storm.
“Lightning flashed and quivered on the black horizon even now; and hollow murmurings were in the wind, as though it had been blowing where the thunder rolled, and still was charged with its exhausted echoes.”
But it felt as though worse weather was far off:
“And now a very few large drops of rain began to fall, and thunder rumbled in the distance.”
As the carriage clatters onwards, they pass many people on the way, stopping at inns to secure their loads, and waiting for the storm to pass. Jonas watches them as they pass by:
“groups of watchful faces seemed to be looking out upon the night and them,from almost every house they passed.
It may appear strange that this should have disturbed Jonas, or rendered him uneasy; but it did.“
He feels nervous and edgy. Jonas’s erratic and excited mood worries Montague:
“The eye, partaking of the quickness of the flashing light, saw in its every gleam a multitude of objects which it could not see at steady noon in fifty times that period … in a trembling, vivid, flickering instant, everything was clear and plain; then came a flush of red into the yellow light; a change to blue; a brightness so intense that there was nothing else but light; and then the deepest and profoundest darkness.”
As the lightning flashes, Montague thinks he sees Jonas raise up his bottle as though he is going to smash him in the head with it … but the next moment Jonas seems to be sitting as though he hadn’t moved. Montague cannot be sure what he has seen. Has this really happened, or has he had an hallucination? It may have been a curious optical illusion. But still he calls out to the driver to stop. Jonas is quite composed, but Montague says:
“‘I wish we had never started on this journey. This is not,’ said Montague, recoiling instinctively, and speaking in a voice that betrayed his agitation; ‘this is not a night to travel in.’”
And Jonas agrees, blaming Montague the while for wanting to travel at night. As the storm continues, Montague puts his head out of window, and pretends that his worry is about Bailey, who is sitting outside getting drenched in the rain.
“‘Serve him right,’ said Jonas. ‘I’m glad of it. What the devil are we stopping for? Are you going to spread him out to dry?’”
and will not countenance having a wet boy inside the carriage, any more than he would have the driver and horses inside. Feeling increasingly nervous, Montague tells the postillion to take care and not go too fast in the storm. Jonas begins to sing an old song as he drinks, and seems to realise its horrific meaning as he sings:
“It may lighten and storm,
Till it hunt the red worm
From the grass where the gibbet is driven;
But it can’t hurt the dead,
And it won’t save the head
That is doom’d to be rifled and riven.“
Montague is frightened of Jonas’s strange mood:
“Instead of Jonas being his tool and instrument, their places seemed to be reversed”
so he silently resolves to let him have his own way until their business is concluded, and then Montague will get rid of him. They agree that they will go to Salisbury, and then visit Mr. Pecksniff in the morning. At this prospect of conning his father-in-law, Jonas become even more boisterous.
However the storm seems to be dying down. It is sheer bad luck that
for the final stage of their journey their new horses are restless, as
they had been terrified by the tempest while in their stable. Now, as they see things exaggerated by the lightning as it gets close to dawn, the horses become harder to control. Taking a sudden fright at something, they dash off wildly down a steep hill. The driver is flung from his saddle as the carriage goes to the brink of a ditch, and crashes over into it.
Montague and Jonas are flung out of the carriage, and Jonas comes to first. He realises that Montague is lying unconscious near the horses, and “as if his own faint body were suddenly animated by a demon” he rushes to bring the panicked horses near enough to bash Montague’s brains out with their hooves. Jonas urges them on wildly with his shouts and cries:
“Mr. Jonas exhibits Presence of Mind” - Hablot K. Browne (Phiz) - April 1844
The driver realises what is happening, and desperately tries to prevent it:
“The gentleman—in the road—he’ll be killed!”
but Jones takes no notice, so at the risk of his own life, the driver pulls Montague out of the way together, and he and Jonas cut the horses free. Jonas then claims that it is he who had presence of mind.
Montague wakes up and stumbles around. The postillion tells Jonas that he should have taken more care not to let the horses’ hooves near an unconscious man. Jonas curses, but Montague has listened carefully to every word that has been said. He changes the subject and asks about Bailey.
They find him in a field, unconscious and near death. Jonas does not care overmuch, and says it will be quicker if the driver takes him back on horseback, but Jonas insists they stay together. It is a slow difficult journey, but the three men take Bailey and lead the horses, walking to the nearest village.
“On the Road to Salisbury” - Harry Furniss - 1910
Their luggage is sent for and a surgeon is promptly called. The doctor looks at Bailey and says he probably won’t live, as he has a bad concussion. Montague is upset and worried about Bailey, whom he seems to truly cares for:
“I would rather have lost … a thousand pounds than lost the boy just now.”
That night, Montague checks his room and locks his door carefully. But “his fears or evil conscience reproduced this door in all his dreams”. He dreams about an enemy, a shadow, or a phantom behind the door, and that it is his life’s work to keep the terrible creature trapped and prevent it from forcing its way in upon him. Nadgett is in the dream too and a strange man with a bloody smear upon his head, but it is all confused and incoherent.
Montague wakes up to find Jonas standing beside his bed.
“Jonas Subtly Menaces Mr. Montague” - Awoke to find Jonas standing at his bedside watching him. And that very door wide open - Fred Barnard - 1872
Jonas claims that he thought the door led to the hallway, although this is shown not to be the case. Montague is now very afraid of Jonas, and although he dresses with care, intending to still carry out his plan with Pecksniff, he is determined that he will return home alone, no matter what.
Mod
I think we have some of Charles Dickens's best writing so far here, especially in the powerful imagery of the storm. This will have come from Dickens’s own early adult experience, riding across country through the night, producing copy when he worked as a court reporter. There is often a description of a storm in his novels; you might be able to think of a few examples!
We’ve also noticed several times how important the weather is in this novel. Peter mentioned it yesterday and as Plateresca told us earlier, John Sutherland said Charles Dickens had “Shakespearian confidence in making the elements do whatever it is that the current mood and dramatic needs of his narrative require them to do.”
I personally highlighted so many passages in this chapter! Often they are a perfect continuing example of the pathetic fallacy. Whatever Jonas is plotting, the doom-laden mood is captured and reflected by this powerful storm.
And what did you make of his chanting?
Mod
“It was very dark; but in the murky sky there were masses of cloud which shone with a lurid light, like monstrous heaps of copper that had been heated in a furnace, and were growing cold.”
How about you?
Mod
Mod
I look forward to your comments!
Well Jean where does one start? This is one of the most exciting, disturbing, and problematic chapters in this novel, if not in all of Dickens.Jonas is frightening, evil, and I believe capable of murder. I was intrigued how Dickens framed this chapter. We really don’t know if Montague was dreaming or was somewhat too inebriated to think and perceive clearly. Perhaps both? Could his mind be playing tricks on him? I doubt it. I think that Montague realizes what Jonas is capable of, or even has already done to someone already. Montague’s mind is overwhelmed.
We do know that Jonas did attempt to trample Montague with the horses. That would only heighten his worry when he woke up to find Jonas in his room.
A little speculation. I don’t know to what extent, if at all, Dickens folded some of the plot of Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ into the recent chapters. That said, a storm that precedes Duncan’s murder is also seen here. Pathetic fallacy indeed. The bloody death of King Duncan is followed by the murder of Macduff who was killed by assassins hired by Macbeth. While Jonas has not met any witches, the concept of murder, blood, dreams and hallucinations run through this chapter.
When Montague ends the chapter with the words ‘I’ll travel home alone’ I wonder if he is being too optimistic. Will he live long enough to go home again?
Maybe he will travel home alone in a coffin. Sorry to be creepy, but Montague's chances are not looking good right now.
Will Montague even survive a visit with Pecksniff, if he actually makes it through that walk? I doubt Jonas cares about acting on behalf of the company anymore no matter what Montague might be holding over him.
The imagery in this chapter is sublime! I found myself regretful that we weren't reading it a few days earlier--it would have contributed greatly to a truly spooky Halloween! He creates that ominous, strobing effect so brilliantly with his prose:"Louder and louder the deep thunder rolled, as through the myriad halls of some vast temple in the sky; fiercer and brighter became the lightning . . . the horses . . . plunged and started from the rills of quivering fire that seemed to wind along the ground before them . . . in a trembling, vivid, flickering instant, everything was clear and plain: then came a flush of red into the yellow light; a change to blue; a brightness so intense that there was nothing else but light: and then the deepest and profoundest darkness" (606).
Then, once Dickens has created this nightmarish atmosphere, he throws a monster into the mix. Montague thinks he sees Jonas with a bottle held over his head, about to administer a killing blow. As if this is not frightening enough, he observes on Jonas "an expression in his face; a combination of the unnatural excitement he had shown all day, with a wild hatred and fear which might rendered a Wolf a less terrible companion" (607). This indicates that Jonas has, in this moment, become something subhuman, so monstrous that a ferocious wild animal would be preferable.
I have to say--I really didn't think old Jonas had it in him! I knew he was craven and detestable, and even that he may have committed murder in the past, but I assumed that was in a cowardly fashion, such as poison. I never thought he would have the chutzpah to actually physically attack another man (a woman, maybe, but not a man)! There definitely seems to be an element of mania involved in his behavior, which renders him unpredictable. This is in line with the wild animal comparison.
I hope poor Bailey survives his concussion!
The storm is the perfect vehicle for heightening the mood and danger that is already in the air. Jonas seems unafraid of anything, which is all the more sinister and screams that he is the thing to fear in this night.The Shakespearean element is marvelous. "By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes," I'd say Jonas is as evil as Macbeth, maybe more so.
I think it is masterful the way Dickens turns the tables on Montague Tigg. He thinks he is a force to be reckoned with, right up until he is alone in a carriage with this maniac, and now he would give all that money he states just to have Bailey present as a barrier. You can bet if Bailey were not injured, he would be sleeping on Montague's floor.
Like Sue, I don't like Montague's chances.
I love the idea of the MacBeth element and immediately thought of the opening lines:When shall we three meet again?
In thunder, lightning, or in rain?
When the hurly-burly’s done,
When the battle’s lost and won.
Mod
“Remember Remember the 5th of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see of no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot“
(18th century English folk rhyme, nearly all children seem to know this, or learn it at school)
Charles Dickens references this a few times in Martin Chuzzlewit - here’s more from the Dickens Museum, under a spoiler just to save space:
(view spoiler)
Cindy picked up the vibes here:“I found myself regretful that we weren’t reading it a few days earlier--it would have contributed greatly to a truly spooky Halloween!”
This is definitely on the right lines, with the imagery Charles Dickens was conjuring up …
In recent times the festival of commemorating 5th November has tended to become merged with Hallowe’en (whose popularity in England has developed comparatively recently, perhaps over the last 50 years or so) However bonfires and fireworks on 5th November are still more widespread all over Britain than Hallowe’en activities. And Charles Dickens had Guy Fawkes night firmly at the front of his mind, knowing his readers would pick up the allusions and underlying tone.
Mod
On the night of the storm Mrs. Lupin is sitting in the Dragon, feeling melancholy. At intervals she says to herself, “Dear me! Ah, dear, dear me!”
Then a traveller arrives out of the rain:
"Familiar Faces" - Fred Barnard - 1872
He is well wrapped up and all Mrs. Lupin can see is his chin, but he seems a good-natured fellow. He requests beer, and Mrs. Lupin cheerfully suggest he go into the kitchen, where there is a fire and good company. He can go and dry himself there.
When the traveller mentions that a relation of his named Mark Tapley works at the Dragon, Mrs. Lupin becomes very distressed. Not trusting herself to to face him, she says:
“Nobody should be made more welcome at the Dragon, master, than any one who brought me news of Mark. But it’s many and many a long day and month since he left here and England. And whether he’s alive or dead, poor fellow, Heaven above us only knows!”
The stranger asks gently where he went, and Mrs. Lupin breaks down as she tells him. The traveller catches her in his arms, and she cries out in astonishment as she recognises him. It is Mark himself!
During their happy reunion Mark jokes and kisses Mrs Lupin many times, but she does not seem to mind. Then he remembers why he is there. He tells Mrs. Lupin that Martin is outside, but they don’t want anyone to know that they have come back until they have news from her so that they can decide what to do. Mrs. Lupin says there are only those in the bar, and they would be overjoyed to see them anyway, but does as he asks.
Mark and Martin watch secretly, and are happy to see their old friends once again. While they wait and chat like old friends, Mark tells Martin how glad he is that Martin has kept his considerateness, and not reverted to his old self upon returning. It makes Martin sigh to think of his former selfish behaviour.
Mrs. Lupin looks after Mark and Martin with as Mark says:
“Neat wines, good beds, and first-rate entertainment for man or beast … It was impossible to help it—a ghost must have hugged her”
and so Martin and Mark both do. Mrs. Lupin says that Mr Pecksniff’s young gentlemen always were the life and soul of the Dragon, but she would never have expected them to make so free … but she does not really mind. And what changes there have been since they left.
Martin and Mark are keen to catch up on all the news they have missed, but Mrs. Lupin insists that they eat their supper first. Then when Martin finds out that Mr. Pecksniff has been courting Mary, he jumps up and means to go out and do something violent, “smooth-tongued villain that he is!”, but Mark manages to calm his temper:
“He could not help thrusting his hands to the very bottom of his pockets, and muttering at intervals, ‘Pecksniff too! That fellow! Upon my soul! In-deed! What next?’ and so forth; nor could he help occasionally shaking his fist at the chimney, with a very threatening countenance; but this did not last long; and he heard Mrs Lupin out, if not with composure, at all events in silence.”
Mrs. Lupin is surprised at this, having thought of Mr. Pecksniff as:
“a noble-spoken gentleman” and carries on with the news about Tom Pinch, which makes Martin see red all over again:
“‘Well, but we know beforehand,’ returned the politic Mr Tapley, ‘that Pecksniff is a wagabond, a scoundrel, and a willain.’
‘A most pernicious villain!’ said Martin.“
Mark gives a long impassioned speech encouraging Martin to ignore Pecksniff, but to go to his grandfather and try to talk to him. Martin does not think this will work, but Mark says that Martin should try for Mary’s sake. He also advises Martin to write to Mary instead of meeting secretly, so that everything can be as above board as possible.
They agree, and retire to bed.
Mod
“The heavy rain beat down the tender branches of vine and jessamine, and trampled on them in its fury; and when the lightning gleamed it showed the tearful leaves shivering and cowering together at the window, and tapping at it urgently, as if beseeching to be sheltered from the dismal night.”
Mod
And those who were matchmaking here must have a broad smile too.
Your thoughts?
My first thought is admiration for you and Plateresca for summarizing these intricate chapters so well. Thank you, Jean!In the last chapter, I loved not only Dickens' marvelous weather descriptions, but also how he used Montague's dreams to ratchet up the tension. I believed the dreams, just as I might with my own imaginings!
And in this chapter we get relief from the tension in the warmth and coziness of the Dragon and the renewed friendship between Mark and Mrs. Lupin. I just love it when Dickens has his characters overflow with emotion. 🥰
Bionic Jean wrote: "My favourite quotation from this first half is near the beginning:“The heavy rain beat down the tender branches of vine and jessamine, and trampled on them in its fury; and when the lightning gle..."
So many good quotes in this chapter, so far!!! Being an American, the following quote made me chuckle, especially coming from Mrs Lupin. "How could he ever go to America! Why didn't he go to some of those countries which are not quite barbarous; where the savages eat each other fairly, and give an equal chance to every one!" 616-7
Jodi wrote: "Bionic Jean wrote: "My favourite quotation from this first half is near the beginning:“The heavy rain beat down the tender branches of vine and jessamine, and trampled on them in its fury; and wh..."
Fabulous quote, Jodi. I am not a psychologist, but I love the passive/aggressive Mr. Dickens when he has a point to make.
Mod
😆Jodi and John - I deliberately skipped over that, thinking it might be a little too ... acerbic. Yes, passive aggressive I guess. Why insult just one continent, when you can insult so many more! 🤣 (But of course Charles Dickens's point on the ordinary English person's view of slavery at this time is well made.)
Bionic Jean wrote: "It's cleverly constructed, to continue the storm of chapter 42 at the start, but then we have another of those cosy domestic scenes which Charles Dickens does so well...."I love your point, Jean, of Dickens showing us flip sides of the same storm. Once Jonas and Montague take shelter at the inn, they are still plagued with malice, suspicion, and terror. Our international travelers, once safely ensconced in the Dragon, are full of love and gratitude (for the most part). I was so happy to see Mark and Mrs. Lupin reunited! It is so great to see our destined couples coming together.
My favorite quote was the charming way Dickens presented Mark's reaction to seeing his beloved again: "'I a'n't a kissin' you, now, you'll observe. I have been among the patriots: I'm a kissin' my country.' It would have been very unreasonable to complain of the exhibition of his patriotism with which he followed up this explanation, that it was all lukewarm or indifferent. When he had given full expression to his nationality, he hurried off to Martin" (618).
Of course, I am delighted to see Mrs. Lupin and Mark reunited. He is just going to have to find a way to be jolly and have Mrs. Lupin at the same time. I also like the way Martin listens and respects Mark's opinion now. I think it will be the making of him, for Mark is quite right about Mary and this will spare her from having to practice any deception--something we know she is not comfortable with.Dickens always seems to know when he needs to pull back on the darkness and let a little light in.
Yes, I love how you worded that, Sara. The reunion of Mark and Mrs Lupin was a wonderful scene that really felt genuine and heartfelt, on both sides. And Martin sounds so sincere now compared to the egotistical young man who left a year earlier.
Cindy wrote: "He creates that ominous, strobing effect so brilliantly with his prose"Getting caught up here--strobe effect is an excellent way to describe this, Those Jonas chapters are eeriness on eeriness.
I find myself really rooting for Bailey. He seems so normal next to the other two that I don't want him ending up the casualty. It certainly feels like he can't be the last casualty.
Kathleen wrote: "I felt uncomfortable when Ruth was making her pudding, because she and Tom behaved more like newlyweds than brother and sister."I felt a little of the same! I think Sara is right that they are just "giddy with excitement to be together" and that sibling attitudes were different then than they are now. But I did kind of have to remind myself of the difference as I was reading. And I wonder if this is a little bit why John had to pop into the picture: not that there's anything wrong with Tom and Ruth being together, but just that it doesn't work so well as a resting place for the book--that is, a place for these two characters to end up.
We know Tom is attached to Mary, who I expect to end up with Martin, so out of all the potential couples rattling around in this book, he seems to me to be the most likely person to be left out. So I wonder if he'll just live as happily ever after as he can in his sister's house. He doesn't seem to want anything more than that right now.
Mod
The next day, Mark takes a letter from Martin to his grandfather. However, Mr. Pecksniff sees who it is and answers the door himself.
“Mr Pecksniff was as cheerful as ever, and sang a little song in the passage.”
He is very genial, but he understands who the letter is from and for, and tears up the letter, gives Mark the pieces, and dismisses him.
After an hour, Martin and he return together. A servant girl opens the door when they knock, and they brush past her and into the parlour where Mark bars the way to the door. Mr. Pecksniff is sitting there with Mary and old Mr. Chuzzlewit, who “droop[s] his grey head, and hide[s] his face in his hands."
This sign of his grandfather’s love and his tears smites Martin to the heart.
“He could not bear to see them. He could not bear to think they fell at sight of him. He could not bear to view reflected in them, the reproachful and irrevocable Past.”
Martin moves across the room to take his hand. But before Martin can reach him, Mr. Pecksniff moves between them and affects to protect the old man, accusing Martin of breaking into the house like a thief.
“Mr. Pecksniff Announces Himself as the Shield of Virtue” - Hablot Knight Browne (Phiz) - April 1844
Old Mr. Chuzzlewit tells Mr. Pecksniff to stand aside so he can see his grandson. Martin begs his grandfather to listen to him, and despite the interjections of Mr. Pecksniff, he relates the story of his journey. He asks his grandfather for help in finding honest work. Mr. Chuzzlewit seems entirely under the control of Mr. Pecksniff, and won’t even respond to Martin. Mr. Pecksniff asks if he wishes him to reply for him, and the feeble old man says:
“‘Yes,’ said old Martin, leaning back in his chair, and looking at him, half in vacancy and half in admiration, as if he were fascinated by the man. ‘Speak for me, Pecksniff, Thank you. You are true to me. Thank you!’”
Mr. Pecksniff and Old Martin Chuzzlewit - Harold Copping - 1924 (colour lithography)
But Martin begs him to reply:
“Still Martin looked steadily and mildly at his grandfather. ‘Will you give me no answer,’ he said, at length, ‘not a word?’”
Finally Mr. Chuzzlewit says that he will repay the stranger who lent Martin money to return to England. Martin writes Mr. Bevan’s information down for his grandfather. After more posturing from Mr. Pecksniff, Mr. Chuzzlewit makes to leave the room.
“The obsequious Mr Pecksniff proffered his arm. The old man took it. Turning at the door, he said to Martin, waving him off with his hand,
‘You have heard him. Go away. It is all over. Go!’“
So now Mark and Martin are momentarily left alone with Mary. Martin expresses his worry about how helpless his grandfather has become. Mary wants to know why there had been no word from them:
“’Sickness, distance; the dread of hinting at our real condition, the impossibility of concealing it except in perfect silence; the knowledge that the truth would have pained you infinitely more than uncertainty and doubt,’ said Martin, hurriedly”
He asks Mary if Mr. Pecksniff is really trying to court her, and Mary confirms it. Mr. Pecksniff has talked to Mr. Chuzzlewit about his intentions in marrying Mary, and though Mr. Chuzzlewit is not opposed to it, he also has stated that he won’t force Mary to marry against her will. Mary has been avoiding Mr. Pecksniff so as to not give him the opportunity to continue courting her.
“Dear Martin, I must tell you … that the kindness of your grandfather to me remains unchanged. I am his companion still. An indescribable tenderness and compassion seem to have mingled themselves with his old regard; and if I were his only child, I could not have a gentler father …”
Mary says she has heard of similar cases, where a feeble person has roused themselves before death, and enquired for familiar faces “once very dear to them; but forgotten, unrecognised, hated even, in the meantime.”
Perhaps that might happen here. She cannot tell how he really feels towards Pecksniff. Mary says that she will try to help mend Martin’s relationship with his grandfather, and Martin tells her that he will not ask her to leave Mr. Chuzzlewit. He says that he will wait years for her, if need be. In a very few words she brings him up to date with all the changes; about Tom Pinch’s departure and Jonas too. The narrator comments drily that this is very unlike the Houses of Parliament, where “it is the custom to use as many words as possible, and express nothing whatever.”
When Mark and Martin leave Mr. Pecksniff’s, they pass a familiar gentleman coming in. He is revealed later, by Mrs. Lupin, to be Merry’s husband, Jonas.
“‘A very fine-looking gentleman with him—in the best room now,’ whispered Mrs Lupin, glancing up at the window as they went into the house. ‘He has ordered everything that can be got for dinner; and has the glossiest moustaches and whiskers ever you saw.’”
Martin tells her that his attempt at reconciling with his grandfather failed, and he will next go to London to visit Tom Pinch. Once in the past he helped Tom, he says with a melancholy smile, so now he will see if Tom can help him to get work.
Mod
In the confrontation between Martin, Mr. Pecksniff, and old Mr. Chuzzlewit, Mr. Pecksniff constantly interjects while Martin tries to speak to his grandfather. Everything that Martin says, Mr. Pecksniff twists to put Martin in a negative light, thus influencing his grandfather against him. Because of the way Mr. Pecksniff continuously interrupts Martin’s speech, Charles Dickens begins referring to him as the “Chorus,” indicating the chorus in Greek theatre: usually a group of singers who commented on the goings-on in the play.
When Martin and Mark have a moment alone with Mary, she describes Mr. Pecksniff as having a great influence over Mr. Chuzzlewit. She also mentions in particular that Mr. Chuzzlewit changes his behaviour the moment Mr. Pecksniff enters the room, which she interprets as Mr. Chuzzlewit being afraid of or intimidated by Mr. Pecksniff. I wonder if this is significant.
Mod
“A person of Mr Tapley’s observation could not long remain insensible to the fact that Mr Pecksniff was making the end of his nose very blunt against the glass of the parlour window, in an angular attempt to discover who had knocked at the door. Nor was Mr Tapley slow to baffle this movement on the part of the enemy, by perching himself on the top step, and presenting the crown of his hat in that direction.”
I could just see this in my mind’s eye: it’s so theatrical! I delighted in quite a few others too. How about you?
I got my physical book back from the library yesterday (had to give it up for someone else for a short time, and have been reading online). When I saw again the cover illustration, which is the Phiz one above, I realized, "Oh my, this is exactly where we are!" I didn't realize before how well it encapsulates the story about the two Martins and the ridiculous Pecksniff between them.And speaking of Pecksniff, my favorite quote from toward the end of this chapter is from Mark about Pecksniff: "...if he had happened to come back again, while we was there. I had the door all ready, Sir. If Pecksniff had showed his head, or had only so much as listened behind it, I should have caught him like a walnut."
Such a satisfying image! 😁
We began with a very eerie and scary coach ride in horrible weather followed by a night’s sleep where threats of harm or even death hovered over the scene to this part of the story where a somewhat equal storm of domestic family affairs will end the chapter. Martin’s return is significant for many reasons but I noticed most how he handed himself and his situation with much more maturity and calmness. If we reflect back on the Monomyth it is apparent that his life and character are in the assent phase. He has returned to where his journey began, but returned a man changed for the better. Let us see if his next steps confirms Campbell’s theory.
I found it disconcerting as we learn that Jonas is now entering the scene. That said, I hope Pecksniff is taught a lesson by Jonas.
The first paragraph of Chapter 43, which is made up of just two sentences, is a wonderful bit of writing. Such a clear image and you can feel it as much as you can see it:On the night of the storm, Mrs. Lupin, hostess of the Blue Dragon, sat by herself in her little bar. Her solitary condition, or the bad weather, or both united, made Mrs. Lupin thoughtful, not to say sorrowful. As she sat with her chin upon her hand, looking out through a low back lattice, rendered dim in the brightest daytime by clustering vine leaves, she shook her head very often, and said, `Dear me! Oh, dear, dear me!'
Sue wrote: "The reunion of Mark and Mrs Lupin was a wonderful scene that really felt genuine and heartfelt, on both sides. And Martin sounds so sincere now compared to the egotistical young man who left a year earlier."Agreed on both. I am glad Mark is back and maybe even inclined to stay this time! And Martin is doing so well. In addition to everything people have already mentioned, he seems so much more respectful and aware of Mary and her circumstances, and of her importance to his grandfather.
I wonder if Tom's mysterious employer will continue to play the part of helping out people who have recently come to their senses, and also turn up some work for Martin!
I was struck by two aspects of that confrontational meeting in Pecksniff’s parlor. The first was Old Martin’s intense gaze at Pecksniff’s face as he asked him questions and listened carefully to his answers. The second was Mary’s mention of Old Martin’s seeming normal behavior when alone with her which changed as soon as Pecksniff entered the room. Is Martin as crushed and subservient as Pecksniff and others assume or has he assumed a role so well that he has fooled those around him? And for what purpose?
Dickensians!
Books mentioned in this topic
Martin Chuzzlewit (other topics)Nicholas Nickleby (other topics)
Oliver Twist (other topics)
Oliver Twist (other topics)
The Rivals (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Charles Dickens (other topics)Harold Copping (other topics)
Charles Dickens (other topics)
Harold Copping (other topics)
Charles Dickens (other topics)
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If we look back to Browne’s illustration of chapter 38 we see Nadgett on the left side of Jonas and Montague on Jonas’s right. Montague is in the process of fixing his hair, thus changing his appearance. In this chapter we read that Jonas has ‘thrown aside his cloak, as having no more motive for concealment.’ Both men have outwardly changed their appearance (and Tigg his name) in order to mask darker purposes. Jonas seems initially to be in a weakened position since Montague has caught him out. But as we see, Jonas pivots, changes his attitude, and then presents a mind and purpose aligned with Montague. Our question is who do we trust? Anyone?
The episode at the end of the chapter when Jonas admires a scalpel, and even gets instructions of how to use it makes the reader’s blood chill. Whose blood will be shed. Jonas is, as has been noted by Jean and others as seemingly becoming unhinged.
Disguises, false words, unclear motives, even unclear victims to come all present themselves now. And the weather is stormy, just as it was when Macbeth and Lady Macbeth proceed to accomplish their evil deed.