The Way We Live Now · Chapter
Mr. Cohenlupe Leaves London explained
Dolly Longestaffe, having agreed to wait two days for Melmotte's payment, visits his lawyer Squercum, who is frustrated by the delay and suspects Melmotte will not pay.
What happens
Dolly Longestaffe, having agreed to wait two days for Melmotte's payment, visits his lawyer Squercum, who is frustrated by the delay and suspects Melmotte will not pay. Squercum has uncovered details about the Pickering property and the railway scheme, and sees Melmotte as a grand swindler he wishes to expose. Meanwhile, in the City, news spreads that Cohenlupe has fled London, and Melmotte's clerk Croll senses the house is falling. Melmotte later arrives at the office, and that night, after dismissing his wife, he sits up alone drinking and smoking, doing no work.
Themes in this chapter
Speculation and Ruin
Cohenlupe's flight and Melmotte's impending collapse illustrate the ruin that follows speculative schemes.
Deception and Hypocrisy
Melmotte's promises to pay are doubted by Squercum, and the chapter reveals the deceptive nature of his financial operations.
Characters to notice
- Dolly Longestaffe
Visits Squercum in Fetter Lane, reluctantly agrees to delay proceedings against Melmotte, and feels elevated by the business importance.
- Squercum
Dolly's lawyer, frustrated by the compromise, suspects Melmotte will not pay, and is driven by ambition to expose Melmotte as a grand swindler.
- Augustus Melmotte
Promises to pay Dolly on Friday; later arrives at his office in Abchurch Lane, and that night sits up alone drinking and smoking, doing no work.
- Mr. Cohenlupe
Has fled London; his disappearance is seen as a bad sign for Melmotte's house.
- Herr Croll
Melmotte's German clerk, cautious and sensing the fall, has his own investments and is not willing to sacrifice himself.
- Madame Melmotte
Dismissed by Melmotte after being told to pack jewels; she creeps out and begins packing her ornaments.
Key passages
“It is said that if you were to take a man of moderate parts and make him Prime Minister out of hand, he might probably do as well as other Prime Ministers, the greatness of the work elevating the man to its own level.”
A person of average ability, if suddenly made Prime Minister, would likely perform as well as any other, because the importance of the role lifts them to meet its demands.
The narrator uses this analogy to explain how Dolly rises to the occasion of business.
“Ven de rats is going avay it is bad for de house. I like de rats to stay.”
When the rats are leaving, it's bad for the house; I prefer the rats to stay.
Croll uses a metaphor to express that Cohenlupe's flight signals the impending collapse of Melmotte's enterprise.