Our Mutual Friend · Chapter
The Feast of the Three Hobgoblins explained
Bella Wilfer leaves the Boffins' household after a serious disagreement over Mr.
What happens
Bella Wilfer leaves the Boffins' household after a serious disagreement over Mr. Boffin's treatment of a household member. She returns to her family home, where her mother and sister Lavinia react with hostility and suspicion toward the Boffins. Despite the tension, Bella remains cheerful and grateful, revealing to her father that she is engaged to marry a man with a modest income, and that she will always keep a peaceful corner in her home for him.
Themes in this chapter
Social Class and Mobility
Bella's return from the wealthy Boffins to her modest family home highlights the tensions between social aspiration and family loyalty.
Charity and Hypocrisy
Mrs. Wilfer's condemnation of the Boffins as 'halls of slavery' and her own harsh treatment of Bella reveal the hypocrisy in her moral stance.
Characters to notice
- Bella Wilfer
Leaves the Boffins' house after a serious difference with Mr. Boffin, returns home, and reveals her engagement to her father.
- Reginald Wilfer
Bella's father, who supports her decision and shares a tender moment with her after the family conflict.
- Mrs. Wilfer
Bella's mother, who expresses her disapproval of the Boffins through silent glares and later a verbal attack.
- Lavinia Wilfer
Bella's sister, who taunts Bella about the Boffins and announces that George Sampson is paying his addresses to her.
- George Sampson
Lavinia's suitor, present at the family supper and subjected to Mrs. Wilfer's glares.
Key passages
“The City looked unpromising enough, as Bella made her way along its gritty streets. Most of its money-mills were slackening sail, or had left off grinding for the day.”
Bella walked through the dirty streets of the City, where most businesses were closing for the day.
Sets the scene of Bella's journey home, emphasizing the weary, commercial atmosphere.
“I have had a very serious difference with Mr. Boffin on the subject of his treatment of a member of his household, and it's a final difference, and there's an end of all.”
Bella explains that she and Mr. Boffin had a major disagreement about how he treated someone in his house, and she has left for good.
Bella announces her departure from the Boffins' household, the central conflict of the chapter.
“Your lovely woman was told her fortune tonight on her way home. It won't be a large fortune, because if the lovely woman's intended gets a certain appointment that he hopes to get soon, she will marry on a hundred and fifty pounds a year.”
Bella tells her father that a fortune-teller predicted she will marry a man who hopes to earn a modest salary of one hundred and fifty pounds a year.
Bella reveals her engagement and the modest financial prospects of her future husband.