Little Dorrit · Chapter
Sun and Shadow explained
The chapter opens in a Marseilles prison cell where Monsieur Rigaud and John Baptist Cavalletto are confined.
What happens
The chapter opens in a Marseilles prison cell where Monsieur Rigaud and John Baptist Cavalletto are confined. Rigaud recounts his version of the events leading to his imprisonment, claiming he married Madame Barronneau after her husband's death and that her death was a suicide during a quarrel. The prison keeper arrives with soldiers to transfer Rigaud to trial, leaving Cavalletto alone. The chapter contrasts the oppressive confinement of the prison with the bright sunlight outside, and ends with the prison keeper's daughter singing a song that echoes through the jail.
Themes in this chapter
Imprisonment and Confinement
The entire chapter takes place in a prison cell, emphasizing physical confinement and the psychological effects of imprisonment on both Rigaud and Cavalletto.
Secrecy and Revelation
Rigaud's narrative about his wife's death is a self-serving account that conceals the truth, while Cavalletto's silent skepticism hints at hidden knowledge.
Characters to notice
- Monsieur Rigaud
A prisoner in Marseilles, he narrates his version of his wife's death, claiming it was suicide during a quarrel. He is proud, manipulative, and insists on his gentility despite his imprisonment.
- Signor Cavalletto
A fellow prisoner, he is a small, contented Italian man who accepts his confinement with equanimity, eating bread and smoking cigarettes. He listens to Rigaud's story with skepticism.
- Mr. Tinkler
The prison keeper who brings soldiers to transfer Rigaud to trial. He is calm and professional, and carries his young daughter with him.
Key passages
“I have been treated and respected as a gentleman universally. If you try to prejudice me by making out that I have lived by my wits—how do your lawyers live—your politicians—your intriguers—your men of the Exchange?”
Rigaud claims he has always been treated as a gentleman and argues that living by one's wits is no different from the professions of lawyers, politicians, and businessmen.
Rigaud defends his character by equating his cunning with respectable professions.
“It has been said that I treated Madame Rigaud with cruelty. I may have been seen to slap her face—nothing more. I have a light hand; and if I have been seen apparently to correct Madame Rigaud in that manner, I have done it almost playfully.”
Rigaud admits to slapping his wife but downplays it as playful correction, dismissing accusations of cruelty.
Rigaud's casual admission reveals his dismissive attitude toward domestic violence.
“There is no sort of whiteness in all the hues under the sun at all like the whiteness of Monsieur Rigaud’s face as it was then. Neither is there any expression of the human countenance at all like that expression in every little line of which the frightened heart is seen to beat.”
Rigaud's face turns deathly pale with fear when he is called to leave the cell, showing his terror despite his bravado.
The narrator emphasizes Rigaud's hidden fear beneath his confident exterior.