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In Mary Barton, the wadded shot used in the gun that kills Harry Carson symbolizes Mary Barton’s confused loyalties to Harry, her father John Barton, and her true love Jem Wilson. The paper that will eventually be repurposed as the wadded shot first appears when John Barton asks his daughter Mary to copy down a poem by the radical dialect poet Samuel Bamford (1788–1872). Mary has been flirting with mill owner’s son Harry Carson and ignoring working-class Jem Wilson, who loves her; as such, she uses the blank part of a valentine Jem sent her to copy down the poem and gives it to her father—showing her lack of interest in Jem’s romantic overtures and her current loyalty to Harry. By the time the paper makes its reappearance, Mary has realized she loves Jem, not Harry—yet unfortunately, Harry has been murdered and Jem arrested for the crime.
When Mary’s estranged aunt Esther finds the wadded shot near the crime scene, she brings it to Mary rather than the police because she sees Mary’s name and address on the paper and fears it will implicate her niece. Upon seeing the wadded shot, a horrified Mary realizes that Jem didn’t kill Harry—her father did, because he was the last one in possession of the valentine repurposed for the Bamford poem. Mary burns the wadded shot, even though she knows it could save the boy she loves, because it implicates her father in a hanging crime. When Mary burns the wadded shot, it shows her determination to remain loyal to her father and to absolve Jem in some other way, symbolizing how John’s violent radicalism forces Mary to divide her loyalties between her family and her romantic life.
Wadded Shot Quotes in Mary Barton
The Mary Barton quotes below all refer to the symbol of Wadded Shot. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 22
Quotes
The corner of stiff, shining, thick, writing paper she recognised as a part of the sheet on which she had copied Samuel Bamford’s beautiful lines so many months ago—copied (as you perhaps remember) on the blank part of a valentine sent to her by Jem Wilson, in those days when she did not treasure and hoard up everything he had touched, as she would do now.
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Wadded Shot Symbol Timeline in Mary Barton
The timeline below shows where the symbol Wadded Shot appears in Mary Barton. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 21
...Harry’s death—is curious enough to investigate the crime scene, where she finds a paper ball: wadding for the shot that killed Harry. Smoothing the paper, she sees Mary’s name and address...
(full context)
...swallowing sobs, says she heard about Harry’s murder, went to the crime scene, and found wadding with Mary’s name on it. Mary abruptly changes her attitude toward Esther, feeling it’s kind...
(full context)
...of the heartbreak Esther is alluding to: she is too absorbed in thoughts about the wadding to even ask about Esther’s children. Esther, feeling unwelcome, says she has to go and...
(full context)
Chapter 22
Once Esther leaves, Mary bars the door and covers the windows. She has recognized the wadding as made of paper from the valentine Jem sent her—the valentine she repurposed to copy...
(full context)
...is innocent. She resolves to prove his innocence—somehow without implicating her father. She burns the wadding and, feeling that she must gather all her strength, goes to sleep. The next morning,...
(full context)
