The Child of the Marshalsea explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Imprisonment and Confinement

  The chapter explores the physical and psychological confinement of the Marshalsea, as Little Dorrit grows up within its walls and her father is permanently barred from leaving.

• Self-Sacrifice and Devotion

  Little Dorrit's entire childhood and young womanhood are defined by her selfless devotion to her family, as she drudges, plans, and sacrifices for her father, sister, and brother.

• Family Dynamics and Obligation

  The chapter highlights the complex family roles within the Dorrit family, with Amy acting as the de facto head and caretaker despite her youth.

Characters to notice

• Little Dorrit

  Born in the Marshalsea, she grows up with a pitiful and plaintive look, becomes the head of the family, and works tirelessly to support her father, sister, and brother.

• William Dorrit

  The Father of the Marshalsea, imprisoned for debt; his daughter Amy must loosen her clasp of his hand at the prison door, as his feet must never cross that line.

• Fanny Dorrit

  Amy's wayward sister, who learns to dance from a dancing-master in the prison and prefers to be outside the Marshalsea.

• Tip Dorrit

  Amy's idle brother, who repeatedly abandons jobs and even a voyage to Canada, always returning to the Marshalsea.

• Mr. Chivery

  The turnkey who becomes Little Dorrit's godfather, buys her a little armchair, and helps her try to find work for Tip.

• Frederick Dorrit

  Amy's uncle, mentioned as living in the prison and being part of the family for whom Amy cares.

Key passages

• “The baby whose first draught of air had been tinctured with Doctor Haggage’s brandy, was handed down among the generations of collegians, like the tradition of their common parent.”

  The infant, who first breathed air mixed with Doctor Haggage's brandy, was passed from one prisoner to the next as a shared legacy.

  Describes Little Dorrit's birth and immediate integration into the prison community.

• “With a pitiful and plaintive look for everything, indeed, but with something in it for only him that was like protection, this Child of the Marshalsea and the child of the Father of the Marshalsea, sat by her friend the turnkey in the lodge, kept the family room, or wandered about the prison-yard, for the first eight years of her life.”

  She looked at everything with a sad and pleading expression, but her gaze toward her father held a protective quality. For her first eight years, she spent her time with the turnkey, tending the family room, or walking in the prison yard.

  Highlights Little Dorrit's early life and her protective attitude toward her father.

• “She took the place of eldest of the three, in all things but precedence; was the head of the fallen family; and bore, in her own heart, its anxieties and shames.”

  She became the de facto eldest sibling, leading the family and carrying its worries and humiliations alone.

  Describes her assumption of responsibility for her family.

• “Wherever he went, this foredoomed Tip appeared to take the prison walls with him, and to set them up in such trade or calling; and to prowl about within their narrow limits in the old slipshod, purposeless, down-at-heel way; until the real immovable Marshalsea walls asserted their fascination over him, and brought him back.”

  No matter what job Tip tried, he seemed to carry the prison's confinement with him, drifting aimlessly until the actual Marshalsea walls drew him back.

  Illustrates Tip's inability to escape the psychological hold of the prison.