Eothen explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Wealth and Poverty

  Explores the stark contrast between the wealthy Osborne and the impoverished Sedley, and the humiliation of accepting charity.

• Gender and Power

  Highlights the suffering and sacrifice of women like Amelia, who endure 'long slavery' and are tyrannized by men.

• Appearance vs. Reality

  Dobbin's cheerful demeanor on the ship hides his deep anxiety about Amelia, and Amelia's smiles mask her inner misery.

Characters to notice

• Amelia Sedley

  Living in poverty, caring for her father, and accepting charity from Mr. Osborne; described as a 'poor-spirited, despicable little creature' who sacrifices herself for her family.

• John Sedley

  Now a bankrupt old widower, dependent on his daughter and the charity of his former rival, Mr. Osborne.

• Mr. Osborne

  Takes pride in humiliating his old rival Sedley by offering financial aid, and provides money for Georgy's upbringing.

• Georgy Osborne

  Visits his mother occasionally, patronizes his grandfather Sedley, and is being sent to school.

• William Dobbin

  Recovers from illness on the ship Ramchunder, learns Amelia is not married, and returns to England with Joseph Sedley, determined to help her.

• Joseph Sedley

  Returns to England on the same ship as Dobbin, carrying letters from Amelia that reveal she is not marrying.

Key passages

• “The successful man of the world cursed the old pauper and relieved him from time to time.”

  Mr. Osborne, a prosperous man, both insulted and occasionally helped the impoverished Sedley.

  Illustrates the theme of wealth and poverty and the power dynamics between the two men.

• “O you poor women! O you poor secret martyrs and victims, whose life is a torture, who are stretched on racks in your bedrooms, and who lay your heads down on the block daily at the drawing-room table; every man who watches your pains, or peers into those dark places where the torture is administered to you, must pity you—and—and thank God that he has a beard.”

  The narrator laments the hidden suffering of women, who endure daily torment in domestic life, and suggests men should be grateful they are not subject to such treatment.

  Highlights the theme of gender and power, critiquing the oppression of women in society.

• “Some such boons as these were the best which Fortune allotted to poor little Amelia. Her life, begun not unprosperously, had come down to this—to a mean prison and a long, ignoble bondage.”

  Amelia's life, once promising, has been reduced to a miserable existence of servitude and confinement.

  Emphasizes Amelia's fall from prosperity to poverty and her role as a caretaker.