The Old Curiosity Shop · Chapter
LV explained
The old man awakens to a deep, selfless solicitude for Nell, tending to her every need.
What happens
The old man awakens to a deep, selfless solicitude for Nell, tending to her every need. The villagers and schoolboys show her universal tenderness, and a young boy, fearing she will become an angel, begs her to stay. The sexton shows Nell a crypt that will be closed in spring, and the old man overhears strangers pitying her, which wrings his heart.
Themes in this chapter
Innocence vs. Corruption
Nell's pure innocence is contrasted with the foreboding of her early death; the village's tenderness toward her highlights her untainted nature.
Death and Transcendence
The boy's fear that Nell will become an angel, the sexton's crypt, and the old man's grief over strangers' pity all point to her impending death and spiritual transcendence.
Family and Community
The village community, schoolboys, and the old man's devotion form a surrogate family around Nell, showing collective care and love.
Characters to notice
- Nell Trent
The child who is universally loved and pitied; she sobs when a boy begs her not to become an angel, and she promises to stay as long as Heaven lets her.
- The Schoolmaster
Brings books and reads aloud to Nell in the evenings.
- Abel Garland
The bachelor who visits in the evenings, tells tales that please Nell, and reads to her.
Key passages
“The very schoolboys, lighthearted and thoughtless as they were, even they cared for her. The roughest among them was sorry if he missed her in the usual place upon his way to school, and would turn out of the path to ask for her at the latticed window.”
Even the most carefree schoolboys showed concern for Nell; the toughest would go out of his way to check on her if she wasn't in her usual spot.
Illustrates the universal affection and protective instinct the community feels for Nell.
“Why, they say, replied the boy, looking up into her face, that you will be an angel, before the birds sing again. But you won't be, will you? Don't leave us Nell, though the sky is bright. Do not leave us!”
The boy tells Nell that people say she will die and become an angel before spring, and he pleads with her not to leave them.
Foreshadows Nell's death and the child's desperate attempt to keep her among the living.
“From that time, the old man never for a moment forgot the weakness and devotion of the child: from the time of that slight incident, he, who had seen her toiling by his side through so much difficulty and suffering, and had scarcely thought of her otherwise than as the partner of miseries... awoke to a sense of what he owed her, and what those miseries had made her.”
After a small event, the old man finally realizes Nell's sacrifices and becomes wholly devoted to her, putting her needs above his own.
Marks a turning point in the grandfather's character, shifting from self-absorption to selfless love.