The Old Curiosity Shop · Chapter
XLVII explained
The single gentleman and Kit's mother travel urgently by post-chaise to find Nell and her grandfather.
What happens
The single gentleman and Kit's mother travel urgently by post-chaise to find Nell and her grandfather. They arrive at Mrs. Jarley's waxwork to discover she has just married George. The couple reveals that Nell and her grandfather have disappeared, and despite all efforts, they cannot be traced. The single gentleman is devastated by the news, while unbeknownst to him, Nell and her grandfather are safe at an old church porch awaiting the schoolmaster.
Themes in this chapter
Innocence vs. Corruption
Nell's innocence is contrasted with the corrupting influences of her grandfather's secret dealings and the world's rumors about her being a stolen child of nobility.
Family and Community
The single gentleman's desperate search for Nell and her grandfather underscores the theme of familial bonds, while the community's rumors and the newlyweds' kindness highlight communal ties.
Characters to notice
- Christopher Nubbles
Kit is mentioned as the son of Kit's mother, who travels with the single gentleman.
- Nell Trent
Nell is the subject of the search; she and her grandfather have disappeared from Mrs. Jarley's, but are later revealed to be safe at the old church porch.
- Mrs. Jarley
Mrs. Jarley has just married George; she informs the single gentleman of Nell's disappearance and expresses regret that he did not arrive sooner.
- The Schoolmaster
The schoolmaster is mentioned as the one Nell and her grandfather await at the old church porch.
- Mr. Trent
Nell's grandfather is referenced as the old man who disappeared with Nell; his imbecility and company are discussed.
Key passages
“The good woman, being not a little embarrassed by the novelty of her situation, and certain maternal apprehensions that perhaps by this time little Jacob, or the baby, or both, had fallen into the fire, or tumbled downstairs, or had been squeezed behind doors, or had scalded their windpipes in endeavouring to allay their thirst at the spouts of teakettles, preserved an uneasy silence;”
Kit's mother felt awkward in her new surroundings and worried that her younger children might have gotten hurt at home, so she remained quietly anxious.
This passage highlights Kit's mother's domestic anxieties and her discomfort with the journey.
“Rumours had already got abroad that the little girl who used to show the waxwork, was the child of great people who had been stolen from her parents in infancy, and had only just been traced.”
Word had spread that the girl who once displayed the wax figures was actually a nobleman's child, kidnapped as a baby and recently found.
This reflects the public's tendency to romanticize Nell's story, contrasting with the tragic reality.