Oliver Twist · Chapter
Chapter XXVI: In Which a Mysterious Character Appears Upon the Scene; and Many Things, Inseparable from This History, Are Done and Performed explained
Fagin navigates the criminal underworld of Field Lane, seeking news of Sikes and the boy Oliver.
What happens
Fagin navigates the criminal underworld of Field Lane, seeking news of Sikes and the boy Oliver. He meets with Monks in a secret conference at the Cripples, where Monks expresses fear of being watched. After a tense search of the house, Fagin convinces Monks his fears are groundless. Later, Fagin confronts Nancy, who is drunk and defiant, and threatens her to ensure Sikes returns with Oliver. Nancy remains indifferent, and Fagin leaves her asleep.
Themes in this chapter
Crime and Punishment
The chapter depicts the criminal network of Fagin, the trade in stolen goods, and the constant threat of violence and execution (Jack Ketch).
Innocence and Corruption
Fagin's manipulation of Nancy and his obsession with recovering Oliver highlight the corruption of innocence by criminal elements.
Characters to notice
- Fagin
Fagin moves through the criminal district, meets with Monks, and later threatens Nancy about Oliver's return.
- Monks
Monks meets Fagin secretly at the Cripples, expressing fear of being watched, but is eventually convinced it was his imagination.
- Nancy
Nancy is drunk and defiant when Fagin confronts her; she refuses to cooperate and expresses hope that Oliver is dead.
- Bill Sikes
Sikes is absent but is the subject of Fagin's inquiries and threats regarding Oliver.
- Toby Crackit
Toby Crackit is mentioned as having brought news to Fagin earlier, and is referenced as being in the house.
Key passages
“The old man had gained the street corner, before he began to recover the effect of Toby Crackit’s intelligence.”
Fagin had reached the corner before he started to calm down from the news Toby Crackit had given him.
Shows Fagin's agitated state after hearing about the failed burglary.
“It is a commercial colony of itself: the emporium of petty larceny: visited at early morning, and setting-in of dusk, by silent merchants, who traffic in dark back-parlours, and who go as strangely as they come.”
Field Lane is its own trading hub for small-time theft, where secretive dealers conduct business in back rooms at dawn and dusk.
Describes the organized criminal economy of the area.
“If he comes back, and leaves the boy behind him; if he gets off free, and dead or alive, fails to restore him to me; murder him yourself if you would have him escape Jack Ketch.”
If Sikes returns without the boy, or if he escapes but doesn't bring Oliver back, then you must kill Sikes yourself to prevent him from being hanged.
Fagin threatens Nancy to ensure Oliver is returned, showing his desperation and ruthlessness.