Little Dorrit · Chapter
More Fortune-Telling explained
Arthur Clennam visits Little Dorrit in the Marshalsea, urging her to confide in him and trust him with any secret unhappiness.
What happens
Arthur Clennam visits Little Dorrit in the Marshalsea, urging her to confide in him and trust him with any secret unhappiness. Mr. Pancks bursts in, excitedly hinting at a great discovery and treating the Collegians. He draws Clennam outside, where with Mr. Rugg he reveals papers that indicate a major fortune for the Dorrit family, though no wrongdoing is involved. Little Dorrit remains pale and troubled, deflecting Clennam's inquiries about a possible secret.
Themes in this chapter
Imprisonment and Confinement
The Marshalsea prison dominates the setting, with Little Dorrit's life and identity bound to its walls, even as a potential fortune looms.
Secrecy and Revelation
Pancks's excited hints and the eventual disclosure of papers point to a hidden fortune, while Clennam presses Little Dorrit about a secret she denies having.
Social Class and Hypocrisy
The contrast between the Collegians' carousing and Little Dorrit's quiet devotion highlights the hypocrisy of social pretensions within the prison.
Characters to notice
- Little Dorrit
Pale and troubled, she deflects Clennam's probing about a secret, insisting she has none and that her place is in the Marshalsea.
- Arthur Clennam
Visits Little Dorrit, gently presses her to confide in him, and later learns from Pancks of the discovery affecting the Dorrit family.
- Mr. Pancks
Bursts in excitedly, treating the Collegians and hinting at a great fortune; he reveals papers to Clennam and Rugg outside the prison.
- Maggy
Present in the room, she interjects with a confused reference to a fairy tale about a princess and a secret.
- Mr. Rugg
Accompanies Pancks outside the Marshalsea, producing papers and assisting in the revelation of the Dorrit fortune.
- William Dorrit
Mentioned as being in the chair at the Collegians' gathering, making speeches while unaware of the impending discovery.
Key passages
“I press for no confidence now. I only ask you to repose unhesitating trust in me.”
I am not demanding that you tell me your secrets at this moment; I simply ask that you trust me completely.
Arthur Clennam reassures Little Dorrit that he does not require immediate disclosure, only her trust.
“Pancks the gipsy, fortune-telling.”
I am Pancks the gypsy, here to tell fortunes.
Mr. Pancks announces himself in a playful, mysterious manner, hinting at the revelation to come.
“I am coming into my property, that's the fact. I can afford to be liberal.”
The truth is, I am about to inherit some wealth, so I can be generous.
Pancks's cryptic remark foreshadows the Dorrit fortune, though he speaks as if it were his own.