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Chapter 19
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Nicholas Nickleby, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Greed and Selfishness
Power and Abuse
Altruism and Humility
Family and Loyalty
Injustice, Complicity, and Moral Integrity
Summary
Analysis
On Monday, Miss La Creevy goes to Madame Mantalini’s shop to tell her that Kate is too sick to come to work. Miss La Creevy isn’t sure what’s wrong with Kate. Last night, though, Kate’s eyes were pink as if she had been crying. Miss La Creevy assumes that Ralph is to blame. At the shop, Miss La Creevy finds Miss Knag instead of Madame Mantalini. Miss La Creevy tells Miss Knag that Kate won’t be coming to work, and Miss Knag says as far as she’s concerned, Kate could never come back. Miss La Creevy says that seeing as Miss Knag isn’t the shop’s proprietor, her opinion is of no importance.
The altercation with Mulberry profoundly impacts Kate, and Miss La Creevy’s assessment that Ralph is to blame is correct. Though Mulberry harassed Kate, Ralph put Kate in that situation and failed to step in when he knew Mulberry was acting inappropriately. In that way, Ralph is complicit in Mulberry’s harassment of Kate. Unlike Nicholas, though, Ralph does not seem morally troubled by his complicity in wrongdoing, as instead of addressing the situation head-on, he swore Kate to secrecy so that no one would face consequences for what happened.
Themes
When Miss La Creevy returns home, Nicholas comes to visit while she is drinking tea. He tells her that he left the school in Yorkshire and has been struggling to get by in London. He says he tried to see Ralph earlier, but Ralph was already gone. He’s learned that Ralph intends to visit Kate and Mrs. Nickleby to tell them about what happened at Dotheboys Hall. Nicholas asks Miss La Creevy to go to his mother and sister before Ralph does and tell them that Nicholas will come to visit them shortly. When Miss La Creevy arrives at Kate and Mrs. Nickleby’s home, though, Ralph is already there.
The consequences of Nicholas’s decision to leave Dotheboys Hall begin to come to a head. Nicholas tries to circumvent Ralph because he worries about what Ralph will do if he’s able to speak to Kate and Mrs. Nickleby before he (Nicholas) is. Nicholas’s concern also says something about Ralph’s character. Though some might wonder whether Ralph would make good on his threat to abandon his brother’s widow and her children, Nicholas knows that Ralph is immoral enough to go through with what he said he would do.
Themes
Ralph tells Mrs. Nickleby and Kate everything that happened at Dotheboys Hall. He also says that Nicholas stole a valuable ring from Mrs. Squeers when he left. Kate doesn’t believe a word of it, but Mrs. Nickleby isn’t sure what to believe. Ralph says that Nicholas should be handed over to face justice, but he won’t do that out of consideration for Kate. Kate understands that comment as a form of blackmail to make sure she won’t say anything about what happened the night before with Mulberry. Nicholas then enters the house. He says that the accusations aren’t true and that one of the Squeerses must have planted the ring on him when he left. He found it in his belongings when he arrived in London and promptly had it returned to the Squeerses in Yorkshire.
Mrs. Nickleby shows again that she is easily susceptible to manipulation, as she believes Ralph’s (and Fanny’s) lie that Nicholas stole a ring. Nicholas’s explanation of events makes it clear that the Squeerses will create conspiracies to try and take down their enemies. Ralph subtly threatens Kate by implying that he’ll send Nicholas to the authorities if she says anything about Mulberry. That shows again that Ralph has no loyalty to his family and cares first and foremost about his own business dealings and profit.
Themes
Ralph says he will have nothing to do with Nicholas any longer, and he’ll have nothing to do with anyone who associates with Nicholas either. Mrs. Nickleby says she won’t abandon her son, even if he is guilty. Kate is exasperated that her mother could even consider the possibility that Nicholas is guilty. Nicholas interrupts and says that he will leave and won’t see them for a long time. He tells Ralph that, from a distance, he will keep apprised of Mrs. Nickleby and Kate’s well-being and will seek vengeance against Ralph if he does anything to harm them. Before Mrs. Nickleby can rise to stop him, Nicholas leaves.
In contrast to Ralph, Nicholas puts the well-being of his family above all other considerations and is willing to sacrifice himself to ensure that they are okay. In this case, Nicholas doesn’t want to be separated from his family and leave them again, but he thinks that this is the best option under the circumstances, considering that if he stays, Ralph will unceremoniously throw him and his family out on the street.
Themes
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As Nicholas makes his way down the street, he wonders if he made the right decision. But, he thinks, Kate and his mother (Mrs. Nickleby) will be better off without him for the time being. At some later point, he’ll be able to return and provide for them. When he returns to his apartment, he finds Smike waiting for him. Smike says that today he attempted to leave, but he didn’t want to be apart from Nicholas. He knows that he has become a burden to Nicholas and has seen Nicholas grow thinner as he experiences the impacts of poverty. Nicholas says that he won’t be the one to separate the two of them. He says Smike is his only comfort and their hearts are linked. If they will be poor, Nicholas says, then they will help lighten the load for each other and will be poor together.
Smike’s decision to try and leave Nicholas mirrors Nicholas’s decision to leave his family. Just as Nicholas perceived that his presence would be a burden on his family if he were to stay in London, Smike believes he is becoming a burden to Nicholas. Nicholas, however, responds again by embracing Smike. Nicholas's relationship with Smike also shows how Nicholas, after leaving his family, looks for a new kind of family with Smike. He tells Smike that their fates are intertwined and pledges the same kind of loyalty to Smike that he feels toward his family.
Themes
