The Old Curiosity Shop · Chapter
Chapter XXXV explained
Mr.
What happens
Mr. Swiveller and the Brass siblings grow increasingly concerned about their mysterious lodger, who has been asleep for over twenty-six hours. After failed attempts to wake him, they finally rouse him with a loud battering at the door. The lodger, a sunburnt man with a rakish air, invites Swiveller into his room and begins preparing a meal using a curious silver apparatus.
Themes in this chapter
Greed and Exploitation
Brass attempts to coerce Swiveller into fabricating a story about the lodger's property, revealing his willingness to exploit a tenant for financial gain.
Class and Social Hierarchy
The power dynamics between the Brass siblings, their clerk Swiveller, and the mysterious lodger highlight the precarious social positions of those in the lower middle class.
Characters to notice
- Richard Swiveller
Now working as a clerk for Sampson Brass, he participates in the attempt to wake the lodger and later converses with him.
- Sampson Brass
Anxious about the sleeping lodger, he tries to manipulate Swiveller into claiming false statements about the tenancy.
- Sally Brass
Impatient and sharp-tongued, she rings a hand-bell and later dives into her bedroom when the door is flung open.
- The Small Servant
Lingers on the stairs and flees to the coal cellar when the lodger bursts out.
Key passages
“We have been moving chests of drawers over his head, we have knocked double knocks at the street-door, we have made the servant-girl fall downstairs several times, (she's a light weight, and it don't hurt her much,) but nothing wakes him.”
Brass lists the various noisy attempts they have made to rouse the lodger, including deliberately causing the servant to tumble down the stairs.
Highlights the callous treatment of the small servant and the desperation to wake the lodger.
“I should let him have his sleep out”
Swiveller suggests they simply allow the lodger to continue sleeping undisturbed.
Shows Swiveller's casual indifference to the situation, in contrast to Brass's anxiety.