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Chapter 2
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
After the Parliament meeting, Ralph receives a letter sealed with black wax. The letter informs him that his brother, Nicholas Sr., has died. Nicholas Sr.’s widow, Mrs. Nickleby, and her two children, Nicholas and Kate, have traveled to London and are staying in a boarding house. Ralph travels to the boarding house. He meets with the house’s proprietor first. He tells the proprietor that he has heard that an impoverished widow is renting a room from her. The woman, named Miss La Creevy, says that’s true and that they paid the first week in advance. Ralph tells Miss La Creevy to evict them before the end of the week, as they won’t be able to pay more, and he, as their only relation in the city, has no intention of helping them out financially.
Ralph’s greed and miserliness are put on full display in this section. Ralph is wealthy, but he would rather see his brother’s family evicted and thrown on the street than offer them any financial or material assistance. Moreover, he has no feelings of loyalty toward his family. As soon as Ralph hears that his brother has died, instead of reacting with sadness or wondering how he might help his brother’s family, he immediately goes to speak to Miss La Creevy to try and sabotage Mrs. Nickleby, Kate, and Nicholas.
Themes
Ralph then goes to talk with Mrs. Nickleby, Kate, and Nicholas. Ralph and Nicholas have a tense, contentious exchange when Ralph reacts callously to Nicholas Sr.’s death. Ralph tells Mrs. Nickleby that she married poorly and suffered from her husband’s lack of intelligence and ambition. Mrs. Nickleby begins to believe Ralph. Kate says that she has received a proper education, and Ralph softens a little. He says that perhaps he can find her a boarding school to attend. When Ralph asks Nicholas what he plans to do, Nicholas says he plans to work and not live off his mother.
Ralph continues to show his selfishness and how little he cares about others. This section also begins to establish both Nicholas and Mrs. Nickleby as characters. Nicholas is depicted as someone who doesn’t back down from a fight, even if that person is, like Ralph, more powerful than he is. Mrs. Nickleby is shown to be easy to manipulate, as Ralph begins to convince her over the course of a short conversation that she married the wrong man.
Themes
Ralph proposes a plan. He says that he saw an ad looking for someone to work at a boarding school in Yorkshire called Dotheboys Hall, which is run by Mr. Wackford Squeers. The ad says they would prefer if the candidate had a Master of Arts degree. Nicholas says he doesn’t have a degree, and Ralph says Mr. Squeers will hire Nicholas on Ralph’s recommendation. Ralph says that if Nicholas takes the position, then he (Ralph) will look after Kate and Mrs. Nickleby in London. Kate is aggrieved by the possibility that Nicholas would move that far away and separate the family, but Nicholas responds optimistically. He thinks it’s the best way to help his family and sees thousands of possibilities before him. He tells Ralph that if he’s offered the position, he’ll accept it.
Ralph seems to be a person who possesses not just wealth but power, as he assures Nicholas that his word alone will be enough to get Nicholas a job that he is not qualified for. In contrast to Ralph, Nicholas puts his family’s needs above his own. Before Nicholas makes a pivotal life decision—one that would send him to Yorkshire and separate him from his family just after Nicholas Sr. has died—he doesn’t consider his own feelings or what he wants. Instead, he thinks of what is best for Kate and Mrs. Nickleby and uses that line of reasoning to make his decision.
Themes
