Nicholas Nickleby · Chapter
Smike becomes known to Mrs. Nickleby and Kate. Nicholas also meets with new acquaintances. Brighter days seem to dawn upon the family. explained
Nicholas brings Smike to meet his mother and sister, and they warmly accept him.
What happens
Nicholas brings Smike to meet his mother and sister, and they warmly accept him. Nicholas considers his future and decides to try the Register Office again, where he encounters a kind-hearted old gentleman. The Nickleby family settles into a cottage, finding joy and peace in their new home, while Ralph Nickleby remains isolated and miserable.
Themes in this chapter
Family and Loyalty
Nicholas's determination to include Smike as part of his family and the warm acceptance by Kate and Mrs. Nickleby highlight the theme of familial bonds and loyalty.
Resilience and Moral Integrity
Nicholas's buoyant and sanguine temperament, his refusal to give up despite setbacks, and his commitment to providing a home for his loved ones exemplify resilience and moral integrity.
Ambition and Speculation
Nicholas's contemplation of the Register Office and the placards promising fortunes reflect the theme of ambition and the speculative nature of seeking one's fortune.
Characters to notice
- Nicholas Nickleby
Brings Smike to meet his family and contemplates his future, deciding to try the Register Office again.
- Smike
Anxiously awaits Nicholas, is brought to meet Kate and Mrs. Nickleby, and later helps make the garden beautiful.
- Kate Nickleby
Warmly welcomes Smike and busies herself with settling into the new cottage.
- Mrs. Nickleby
Takes possession of the cottage, talks incessantly, and is part of the family's new happy life.
- Miss La Creevy
Comes to help settle the cottage, loses her tools, and falls off steps while assisting.
- Ralph Nickleby
Contrasted with the happy Nicklebys; he is alone and miserable.
Key passages
“I shall rise to the surface many thousand times yet, and the harder the thrust that pushes me down, the more quickly I shall rebound, Smike.”
Nicholas tells Smike that he will always recover from setbacks, and the more difficult the challenge, the faster he will bounce back.
Demonstrates Nicholas's resilience and optimistic outlook.
“When I speak of home, I speak of the place where—in default of a better—those I love are gathered together; and if that place were a gypsy’s tent, or a barn, I should call it by the same good name notwithstanding.”
Nicholas defines home not as a physical building but as wherever his loved ones are, even if it is a humble shelter.
Highlights the theme of family and loyalty.
“There surely never was such a week of discoveries and surprises as the first week of that cottage.”
The first week in the cottage was filled with many unexpected finds and joyful surprises.
Captures the newfound happiness and domestic bliss of the Nickleby family.