Barnaby Rudge · Chapter
Chapter 26 explained
Mr.
What happens
Mr. Haredale and Gabriel Varden discuss their concerns about Mrs. Rudge, with Varden revealing he saw a highwayman in her house and that she prevented him from detaining the man. They go to her house, only to find she and Barnaby have left, and Sir John Chester is now there, having bought off the two agents who were helping Edward and Emma's secret courtship.
Themes in this chapter
Manipulation and Exploitation
Sir John Chester manipulates events by buying off the agents to thwart Edward and Emma's relationship.
Guilt and Retribution
Haredale's dark suspicions about Mrs. Rudge's past and her possible connection to the murder of his brother.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Geoffrey Haredale
Disturbed by Varden's revelations about Mrs. Rudge, and confronts Chester at the widow's house.
- Gabriel Varden
Reveals his suspicion of Mrs. Rudge's involvement with a highwayman, and accompanies Haredale to her house.
- Sir John Chester
Has taken over the widow's house and reveals he has bought off the two agents assisting Edward and Emma.
- Mrs. Rudge
Absent from her home; she and Barnaby have left, and her whereabouts are unknown.
- Barnaby Rudge
Gone from the house with his mother, leaving no word.
Key passages
“But care and suffering (and those have changed her) are devils, sir—secret, stealthy, undermining devils—who tread down the brightest flowers in Eden, and do more havoc in a month than Time does in a year.”
Grief and hardship have altered her more than the natural passage of time ever could.
Varden defends Mrs. Rudge's changed appearance and character.
“I have seen, sir, in connection with her, something that has filled me with distrust and uneasiness. She has made bad friends, how, or when, I don't know; but that her house is a refuge for one robber and cutthroat at least, I am certain.”
I've noticed something troubling about her—she's associated with dangerous people, and I'm sure her home shelters a criminal.
Varden confesses his suspicion to Haredale.
“Bought them off. I have found it necessary to take some active steps towards setting this boy and girl attachment quite at rest, and have begun by removing these two agents.”
I paid them to leave, to put an end to the young couple's romance by getting rid of their helpers.
Chester reveals his scheme to Haredale.