The Other-end-of-Nowhere explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Moral Education and Redemption

  Grimes's repentance and release through his own tears illustrate the possibility of redemption through genuine remorse and moral change.

• Punishment and Justice

  Grimes's punishment in the chimney and his subsequent chance at reform reflect the theme of justice tempered with mercy.

• Adventure and Exploration

  Tom's journey to the Other-end-of-Nowhere, encountering strange creatures and geological wonders, embodies the spirit of adventure.

Characters to notice

• Tom

  Tom travels to the Other-end-of-Nowhere, encounters a bogey, and attempts to help Mr. Grimes escape his punishment.

• Mr. Grimes

  Grimes is found trapped in a chimney, weeping with remorse. His own tears wash away the soot and mortar, leading to his release and a chance at redemption.

• Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid

  The fairy oversees Grimes's punishment and eventual release, revealing she was the Irishwoman who warned Grimes earlier. She gives Grimes a new task sweeping the crater of Etna.

• Ellie

  Ellie is mentioned indirectly through the story of Grimes's mother, who kept a school in Vendale and could not abide chimney-sweeps.

• Sir John Harthover

  Sir John is referenced in the context of the earlier journey to Harthover with Grimes and Tom.

Key passages

• “And there Tom was very near being kneaded up in the world-pap, and turned into a fossil water-baby; which would have astonished the Geological Society of New Zealand some hundreds of thousands of years hence.”

  Tom almost got mixed into the primordial ooze and became a fossil, which would have amazed future geologists.

  This shows the author's playful use of contemporary scientific ideas about fossils and geology.

• “For, as poor Grimes cried and blubbered on, his own tears did what his mother’s could not do, and Tom’s could not do, and nobody’s on earth could do for him; for they washed the soot off his face and off his clothes; and then they washed the mortar away from between the bricks; and the chimney crumbled down; and Grimes began to get out of it.”

  Grimes's own tears of repentance cleaned him and broke down the chimney that imprisoned him, achieving what no one else could.

  This emphasizes the theme of personal redemption through genuine remorse.

• “Get him to sweep out the crater of Etna; he will find some very steady men working out their time there, who will teach him his business: but mind, if that crater gets choked again, and there is an earthquake in consequence, bring them all to me, and I shall investigate the case very severely.”

  Send Grimes to clean Mount Etna's crater, where other reformed sinners work; if it clogs and causes an earthquake, they will be held accountable.

  This illustrates the fairy's role as a moral overseer and the idea of punishment fitting the crime.