The Old Curiosity Shop · Chapter
XIV explained
Kit Nubbles returns to the old curiosity shop, now deserted and locked, and feels a mournful sense of loss.
What happens
Kit Nubbles returns to the old curiosity shop, now deserted and locked, and feels a mournful sense of loss. He spends the day trying to earn money by holding horses but fails until he meets the Garland family, who hire him for a small errand and give him a shilling. Kit uses the money to buy gifts for his family and hopes Nell and her grandfather have returned.
Themes in this chapter
Poverty and Suffering
Kit's struggle to earn money and his concern for his family's empty cupboard highlight the harsh realities of poverty.
Family and Community
The Garland family's close bond and Kit's devotion to his own family underscore the importance of familial love and support.
Characters to notice
- Christopher Nubbles
Kit visits the deserted shop, struggles to earn money, and is hired by the Garland family for a small task.
- Abel Garland
Abel is celebrating his 28th birthday and signing articles with the notary, accompanied by his parents.
- Mr. Chuckster
Chuckster witnesses the signing of Abel's articles and jokes with Kit, calling him 'Young Snob'.
- The Notary
The notary, Mr. Witherden, officiates the signing of Abel's articles and speaks warmly of family.
Key passages
“It is not uncommon for people who are much better fed and taught than Christopher Nubbles had ever been, to make duties of their inclinations in matters of more doubtful propriety, and to take great credit for the self-denial with which they gratify themselves.”
People who are more privileged than Kit often convince themselves that their selfish desires are obligations, and then pride themselves on their supposed self-restraint.
The narrator comments on the hypocrisy of the well-off, contrasting them with Kit's honest simplicity.
“He was only a softhearted grateful fellow, and had nothing genteel or polite about him; consequently instead of going home again in his grief to kick the children and abuse his mother... he turned his thoughts to the vulgar expedient of making them more comfortable if he could.”
Kit, being genuinely kind and not pretending to be refined, responded to his sadness not by taking it out on his family but by trying to improve their situation.
This highlights Kit's innate goodness and contrasts him with those who use grief as an excuse for cruelty.