# Chapter XVII explained — The Old Curiosity Shop

> Chapter companion for The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens.

## What happens

Nell awakens in a strange room and explores a quiet churchyard, reading gravestones and meeting an old woman who has tended her husband's grave for fifty-five years. She and her grandfather then join the showmen Codlin and Short for breakfast and agree to travel with them to the races.

## Themes in this chapter

### Death and Transcendence

Nell's contemplation of the graves and her conversation with the old widow highlight themes of mortality, memory, and the passage of time.

### Innocence vs. Corruption

Nell's innocent curiosity about the churchyard contrasts with Codlin's cynical, miserly behavior.

## Character check-ins

### Nell Trent

Awakens in a strange room, explores the churchyard, meets an old widow, and agrees to travel with Codlin and Short to the races.

### Tommy Codlin

Grudgingly allows Nell and her grandfather to travel with them; packs saved candle-ends and eats greedily.

### Short

Invites Nell and her grandfather to join them; is popular with loungers for his association with Punch.

### Mr. Trent

Awakens after Nell; eagerly agrees to travel with the showmen.

## Key lines

> Death doesn't change us more than life, my dear.

The old woman tells Nell that the changes brought by living are as profound as those brought by dying.

_Reflects the theme of death and transcendence, showing how grief transforms over a lifetime._

> I pluck the daisies as they grow, and take them home... I like no flowers so well as these, and haven't for five-and-fifty year.

The widow explains her enduring attachment to the daisies from her husband's grave, a ritual maintained for over half a century.

_Illustrates the long-term, peaceful remembrance of a loved one._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_old_curiosity_shop_se/chapters/xvii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_old_curiosity_shop_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_old_curiosity_shop_se/chapters