Martin Chuzzlewit · Chapter
Chapter XLVII: Conclusion of the Enterprise of Mr. Jonas and His Friend explained
Jonas Chuzzlewit, having committed murder, travels back to London under cover of night, haunted by guilt and fear.
What happens
Jonas Chuzzlewit, having committed murder, travels back to London under cover of night, haunted by guilt and fear. He disguises himself, takes various coaches, and experiences a troubled dream. After arriving home, he hides his disguise and goes to bed, tormented by the horror of his crime and the dread of discovery.
Themes in this chapter
Greed and Corruption
Jonas's murder of Montague Tigg is the culmination of their corrupt business dealings and greed.
Deception and Trust
Jonas's disguise and secretive journey highlight the theme of deception, as he hides his crime from the world.
Characters to notice
- Jonas Chuzzlewit
The murderer, traveling back to London after killing Montague Tigg, consumed by guilt and fear.
- Tigg Montague
The victim, murdered by Jonas in the wood; his body left among the leaves.
- Seth Pecksniff
Briefly mentioned as Montague's companion earlier; Montague waves goodbye to him before the murder.
Key passages
“He had never read the lesson which these things conveyed; he had ever mocked and turned away from it, but, before going down into a hollow place, he looked round, once, upon the evening prospect, sorrowfully.”
Jonas had always ignored the moral lessons of nature and religion, but now, before descending into the dell, he glanced back at the peaceful evening scene with a sense of regret.
Jonas's fleeting moment of sorrow before committing murder.
“What had he left within the wood, that he sprang out of it as if it were a hell!”
Jonas leaped from the wood as if escaping hell itself, having left the body of the murdered man behind.
The horror of the murder scene and Jonas's frantic escape.
“He became in a manner his own ghost and phantom, and was at once the haunting spirit and the haunted man.”
Jonas felt as though he were both the ghost haunting his own home and the man being haunted, due to his absence from the room where he was supposed to be.
Jonas's psychological torment and self-haunting after the murder.