The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens - Essay Example

? Commentary: “The Old Curiosity Shop.” This passage from Chapter IX of Charles Dickens’ “The Old Curiosity Shop” is a typical example of the great author’s writing. It features the three main characters of the story: the grandfather, Little Nell and Daniel Quilp. It depicts Nell’s vigil at the window, her conversation with her grandfather and Quilp’s dialogue with the old man. The passage illustrates Dickens’ mastery over the use of setting as a means of communication, illuminates different facets of Nell’s character and shows Dickens’ complex characterization of Quilp. Dickens’ uses the setting communicate Nell’s emotions to the reader. Nell’s mood is reflected by the streets and rooftops of London. As Nell keeps her anxious vigil, the window serves as Nell’s peephole into the life of the outside world. The lonely child has no lively companions of her own age and no parents. She spends most of her time waiting for her grandfather’s return form his trips outside the shop. As she gazes on the windows of the houses facing her, she wonders about the lives which go on in those rooms. Nell projects her loneliness on to the setting and wonders “whether those rooms were as lonesome as that in which she sat.” Her loneliness is further emphasized by her perception that the people living in those rooms do not want her company, as she sees “them look out and draw in their heads again.” She interprets their failure to communicate with her as a sign of their rejection. In spite of this rejection, the street is Nell’s only glimpse of life and she is sorry when night falls and her tableaux of the world comes to an end. She is forced to return to the “dull” room, in which “everything was in its place and hadn't moved.” Here again, the room’s setting is used by Dickens to communicate the unchanging routine and boredom of the little girl’s days. As the “bright and companionable” windows grow dark and the street becomes “gloomy and quiet,” the author uses this image to highlight the girl’s dark thoughts. Dickens uses the image of coffins being borne down the street to convey Nell’s morbid state of mind. The little girl is haunted by various sinister possibilities regarding her grandfather: “If he were to die - if sudden illness had happened to him, and he were never to come home again, alive,” or if he were to commit suicide. As Nell looks at the “crooked stack of chimneys on one of the roofs,” she sees in her imagination the “ugly faces that were frowning over at her and trying to peer into the room.” This is an example of Dickens’ powerful imagery in his settings. The image of the ugly faces staring disapprovingly at Nell is a metaphor for the threat of bankruptcy and evil hovering over her life in the guise of Daniel Quilp. Dickens also uses the sombre setting to convey to the reader his characteristic criticism of the poor living quarters and the squalid environment of London. In this context, the evil-looking chimney stacks may be seen as a metaphor for the smoke-spewing monster of industrialization. Dickens’ attitude is reflected in Nell’s plea to her grandfather to exchange life in London with a life in the country where they can “walk through country places, and sleep in fields and under trees” and “work in open roads or fields.” The dark and gloomy streets of London outside Nell’s window symbolize the dark side of city life. Dickens’ setting in this passage connects to the next chapter in the novel. In the shadows of the street below, Kit lingers, standing guard over his precious Nell. His attention is totally focused on her window. As Nell keeps anxious vigil at her window, Kit keep his own vigil over her. Nell “is sitting alone at that window,” while Kit remains “watching in the open street for fear any harm should come to her” (Dickens, Chapter 10). This is a very poignant depiction of Kit’s love for Nell. Dickens cleverly links his setting in this passage in Chapter 9 with the following chapter to move the reader with the depth of Kit’s emotions. The passage also illuminates the various facets of Nell’s character. It is evident that the grandfather’s anxiety and stress are disturbing the little girl. She is in a state of high tension. Her tremendous love for her grandfather shines through the passage, as does her gentle and god-fearing nature. Although Nell is seen as an anxious girl, beset by anxiety, whose troubled mind makes her “sob herself to sleep,” the passage also reveals another side to her character. It is the same Nell who responds to her grandfather’s fear of beggary with the impassioned cry, “What if we are?' --- Let us be beggars, and be happy.” Here, Dickens shows the reader a Nell who rises above childhood and demonstrates the courage to seek a new way of life. She is willing to face any hardship. In this passage, Dickens shows the reader the contrast between the grandfather and Nell. On the one hand there is the old man who hurtles towards ruin on the pretext of making his granddaughter happy with his amassment of wealth. He depicts his gambling as a proof of his love for Nell, saying that he has “ventured all” for her. On the other hand there is the girl who scorns wealth as the measure of happiness. She values her grandfather’s health and peace of mind more than money. She is willing to labor in the fields or beg, if only she has her grandfather for company and need “never think of money again.” Although the grandfather considers this to be the innocent attitude of a child, this passage shows that it is Nell who is the wiser of the two. The Nell depicted in this passage is the harbinger of the courageous girl of the later chapters who leads her grandfather away from the clutches of Quilp and is his guide in the Midlands of England. After all, it is Nell who manages to avoid pursuit for months and is capable of finding a safe refuge for herself and the old man. This passage emphasizes the courageous facet of Nell’s personality and gives it the spice which other depictions of innocence and gentleness lack. It is in this passage that Nell begins the metamorphoses form the child who helplessly cries herself to sleep to the woman who takes care of her broken grandfather. Dickens’ complex characterization of Daniel Quilp is effectively portrayed in this passage. By following up Nell’s tender conversation with her grandfather with Quilp’s sinister sayings, Dickens skilfully contrasts the purity of Nell with the sadistic depravity of Quilp. He brings home to the reader the theme of “The Old Curiosity Shop”: the struggle of good versus evil. Although Quilp is unequivocally evil, Dickens gives his villain a dimension of complexity by presenting Quilp in a different way. This is very clearly seen in this passage. There is something grotesque in Dickens’ depiction of Quilp. His entrance itself is fantastic: he has “entered unseen,” and pops out unexpectedly, startling Nell and the old man. Quilp appears to be larger-than-life in this passage. He is less human than monstrous and Dickens’ describes him as “fantastic and monkey-like.” His figure is so bizarre that Nell and the old man are left “half doubting its reality.” Quilp does not sit in a chair as would a normal man, but makes himself comfortable by “perching himself on the back with his feet upon the seat.” Quilp’s posture: “one leg cocked carelessly over the other, his chin resting on the palm of his hand, his head turned a little on one side, and his ugly features twisted into a complacent grimace”- reminds the reader of Dickens’ apt blending of setting and character at the beginning of the passage. This gargoyle-like portrait of Quilp is reflected in the ugly faces Nell imagines to be leering at her from the crooked chimney stacks. Here, Dickens gives life to the inanimate chimney stacks by making them symbols of Quilp. This symbolism is particularly apt as gargoyles are often used as water spouts on rooftops. The depiction of Quilp in this passage has a nightmarish quality, corresponding to Nell’s disturbing dreams at night. The passage also demonstrates Dickens’ use of sarcasm to add complexity to Quilp’s character. The author mocks him as “this agreeable figure;” the dwarf does not make his presence known during the intimate interaction between Nell and her grandfather because he is “actuated, no doubt, by motives of the purest delicacy;” he sits because he is “one of that kind of persons who usually make themselves at home;” he says that he came through the door because he is “not quite small enough to get through keyholes.” The passage has a large section devoted to Quilp’s “admiring leer” and his lecherous description of Nell. This succeeds in raising the reader’s hackles and gives Quilp’s villainy a darker overtone. Dickens gives the reader a forthright glimpse of Quilp’s villainy with his assertion that Quilp “delighted in torturing (the old man), or indeed anybody else when he could.” Dickens paints Quilp in shades of the bizarre and the absurd. The passage emphasizes setting and characterisation. Dickens uses the setting to convey Nell’s fears and anxieties, to subtly criticize London’s industrialization and poverty, and to make a meaningful connection to the next chapter. The imagery inherent in the setting reflects the evil lurking in the story in the guise of Quilp. The passage also demonstrates the courageous aspect of Little Nell’s personality. In this excerpt, Dickens paints a complex picture of Daniel Quilp which elevates the villain to a higher plane of evil. It is evident that the passage under discussion is crucial to the development of “The Old Curiosity Shop.” Read More