Summary: Chapter 38
During a storm, Mr. and Mrs. Bumble travel to a sordid
section of town near a swollen river to meet Monks in a decaying
building. While Mr. Bumble shivers in fear, Mrs. Bumble coolly bargains
with Monks. They settle on a price of twenty-five pounds for her
information. Mrs. Bumble relates how Old Sally robbed Oliver’s mother. Mrs.
Bumble says she discovered a ragged pawnbroker’s receipt in Old
Sally’s dead hands and that she redeemed it for the gold locket, which
she then hands to Monks. Inside, he finds a wedding ring and two
locks of hair. The name “Agnes” is engraved on the ring, along with
a blank for the surname. Monks ties the locket to a weight and drops
it into the river.
Summary: Chapter 39
Bill Sikes is ill with a fever. Nancy nurses him anxiously,
despite his surly attitude. Fagin and his friends drop in to deliver
wine and food. Sikes demands that Fagin give him money. Nancy and
Fagin travel to Fagin’s haunt. He is about to delve into his store
of cash when Monks arrives and asks to speak to Fagin alone. The
two men leave for a secluded room, but Nancy follows them and eavesdrops. The
narrator does not reveal the content of the conversation. After Monks
departs, Fagin gives Nancy the money. Perturbed by what she has
heard, she dashes into the streets and away from Sikes’s residence
before returning to deliver the money. Sikes does not notice her
nervousness until a few days later. Sensing something, he demands
that she sit by him. After he falls asleep, she hurries to a hotel
in a wealthy area. She begs the servants to allow her to speak to
Miss Maylie, who is staying there. Disapprovingly, they conduct her
upstairs.
Summary: Chapter 40
Pity us, lady—pity us for having only
one feeling of the woman left and for having that turned . . . from
a comfort and a pride into a new means of violence and suffering.
See Important Quotations Explained
Nancy confesses to Rose that she is the one who kidnapped
Oliver on his errand for Mr. Brownlow. She relates that she overheard Monks
tell Fagin that he is Oliver’s brother. Monks wants Oliver’s identity
to remain unknown so that Monks himself can claim their family’s
full inheritance. Monks would kill Oliver if he could do so without
endangering himself. He has also promised to pay Fagin if Oliver
is recaptured. Rose offers to help Nancy leave her life of crime.
Nancy replies that she cannot, because she is attached to Sikes
despite his abusive ways. She refuses Rose’s money. Before leaving,
Nancy informs Rose that she can be found on London Bridge between
eleven and twelve every Sunday night in case further testimony is
needed.
Summary: Chapter 41
Not long after Nancy and Rose’s meeting, Oliver tells
Rose that he saw Mr. Brownlow on the street. Oliver and Mr. Giles
have ascertained Brownlow’s address, so Rose immediately takes Oliver
there. Mr. Grimwig is visiting when they arrive. Rose tells Brownlow
that Oliver wants to thank him. Once Rose and Brownlow are alone,
she relates Nancy’s story. Oliver is brought in to see Brownlow
and Mrs. Bedwin. After their happy reunion, Brownlow and Rose relay Nancy’s
information to Mrs. Maylie and Losberne. Brownlow asks if he can
include Grimwig in the matter, and Losberne insists that they include
Harry. They agree to keep everything a secret from Oliver and decide
to contact Nancy the following Sunday on London Bridge.
Analysis: Chapters 38–41
The title of Oliver Twist is deceptively
simple. Although it does nothing more than state the protagonist’s
name, the central mystery of the novel is, in fact, the protagonist’s
true identity. Oliver’s misfortunes have had much to do with the
false or mistaken identities others have thrust upon him. Dickens
conceals the solution to the mystery of his true identity, leaving
just a clue here and there in order to move the plot forward. Various
people seek to conceal Oliver’s identity for their own personal
gain. Oliver’s identity is intertwined with Monks’s identity, and
the connection between the two of them has shrouded both their identities
in mystery. Once it becomes clear that Oliver and Monks are brothers,
the novel enters its final stage. We begin to have some idea of
who Oliver might be, but the story continues since Oliver himself
has yet to find out.
The meeting of Nancy and Rose represents the clash of
two very different worlds. Rose has been raised amid love and plenty,
and, as a result, her virtue and kindness are almost unreal. On
the other hand, Nancy has struggled for survival in the streets,
and instead of conventional virtue, her life is full of crime and
violence. Yet both were once penniless, nameless orphans. Rose simply
had the good luck to be taken in by Mrs. Maylie, who offered her
a road of escape from her unfortunate position. Now, Rose offers
Nancy a similar road of escape, but it is already too late for Nancy.
Their characters can be seen as part of Dickens’s argument that
the environment in which people are raised and the company that
they keep have a greater influence on their quality of character
than any inborn traits. Rose and Nancy were born in similar circumstances:
only the environment in which each was raised has made them so different.
