Martin Chuzzlewit · Chapter
XLVI explained
Tom Pinch and his sister Ruth go to visit Merry at Todgers's.
What happens
Tom Pinch and his sister Ruth go to visit Merry at Todgers's. On the way, they encounter Charity Pecksniff and her fiancé Augustus Moddle, who are furniture shopping. Charity introduces them to Merry's house, where they find Mrs. Gamp, Mr. Chuffey, and a subdued Merry. Mrs. Gamp delivers a rambling monologue, and Mr. Chuffey shows his attachment to Merry, who appears deeply changed by her unhappy marriage.
Themes in this chapter
Family and Dysfunction
The chapter highlights the dysfunctional marriages and engagements: Charity's forced cheerfulness with the melancholy Moddle, and Merry's evident misery in her marriage to Jonas.
Hypocrisy and Self-Deception
Charity Pecksniff puts on a gracious, happy facade about her engagement, while Moddle's despair and her own earlier behavior reveal underlying falseness.
Characters to notice
- Tom Pinch
Tom takes Ruth to visit Merry, showing his kindness and concern for her welfare.
- Ruth Pinch
Ruth accompanies Tom, eager to comfort Merry and showing her gentle, perceptive nature.
- Charity Pecksniff
Charity is engaged to Augustus Moddle and is seen furniture shopping; she is cordial to Tom and Ruth, and later leads them to Merry's house.
- Mercy Pecksniff
Mercy appears deeply changed by her marriage to Jonas, showing sadness and a new capacity for sympathy toward dependants like Chuffey.
- Sarah Gamp
Mrs. Gamp arrives at the house for tea, delivering a characteristic rambling speech about Mrs. Harris and her own opinions.
- Chuffey
Chuffey is present in his usual corner, showing attachment to Merry and muttering about Jonas's eventual death.
Key passages
“For you women, you women, my dear, are so kind, and in your kindness have such nice perception; you know so well how to be affectionate and full of solicitude without appearing to be; your gentleness of feeling is like your touch: so light and easy, that the one enables you to deal with wounds of the mind as tenderly as the other enables you to deal with wounds of the body.”
Tom praises women for their natural kindness and sensitivity, comparing their emotional care to a gentle touch that heals mental wounds as tenderly as physical ones.
Tom expresses his idealised view of women's compassion to Ruth.
“You see how misery has changed me. I can feel for a dependant now, and set some value on his attachment.”
Mercy's look to Tom conveys that her suffering has made her more empathetic and appreciative of those who depend on her, like Chuffey.
Mercy's silent communication reveals her transformation through hardship.