Previous
Chapter 50
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
In Arthur’s dark and dusty house, he tries on a suit. It’s the suit he plans to wear when he marries Madeline. Arthur’s housekeeper, Peg, jibes him. She says that it won’t matter what he’s wearing when he gets married because his bride won’t want to look at him. Peg is upset because she imagines she’ll be let go once Arthur marries. Arthur assures her that he won’t fire her. Arthur likes her because she costs next to nothing to employ and because she is hard of hearing, which means that he doesn’t have to worry about her overhearing his business dealings.
Arthur, like Ralph, underpays the primary person who works for him. For Ralph, while that plan might save him money, it ultimately backfires in the sense that Newman actively works against Ralph as a result of Ralph’s mistreatment. Arthur and Ralph’s mistreatment of their employees becomes an example of the shortsighted nature of much of their self-interested behavior. While that behavior may provide benefits in the short term, it can end up coming back to bite them in the long term.
Themes
Newman arrives at Arthur’s house with a letter from Ralph. After Arthur reads it, he drops it on the floor. When Arthur is out of the room, Newman discreetly reads the letter. In it, Ralph says that Mr. Bray has agreed to have the wedding the day after tomorrow. He also says that Arthur should not go to the Brays’ house for the next couple of days. Madeline doesn’t enjoy his presence, and he has been over too often recently. If Arthur keeps going, he threatens to undo the work Mr. Bray has done to arrange the marriage. Arthur writes a reply and gives it to Newman to bring back to Ralph.
As Ralph suspected he would, Mr. Bray has apparently given up his opposition to the marriage, abandoning the moral reservations he felt and giving in to his own self-interest. In that way, the novel presents the conflict between virtue and self-interest as a choice, and what one chooses in pivotal moments when those two options present themselves can radically alter both the person making that choice and those impacted by those kinds of decisions.
Themes
Newman brings Arthur’s response to Ralph. The response says that Arthur agrees and is prepared for the wedding. Ralph then asks Newman about the man he has seen Newman with. Newman says the man’s name is Brooker, and he’s been insisting that he needs to meet with Ralph. Ralph tells Newman that if Newman sees Brooker again, he should hand him over to the police. Newman then goes to meet Nicholas, who he hasn’t seen in a long time. Nicholas and Newman go to a tavern together.
Ralph again displays his tendency to mistreat the people close to him. In this case, when Newman tells Ralph that Brooker wants to speak to him, Ralph says to hand him over to the police (something that Ralph has done to Brooker before). The novel will later explore how Ralph’s decision to eschew friendship and stir enmity in those close to him impacts him in the long term.
Themes
Newman tells Nicholas that he thinks he’s on the verge of finding out some secret information about Ralph from Brooker, though he’s not sure exactly what the information might be. Nicholas and Newman then catch each other up to speed on what has happened in their lives since they last met. Newman brings up Cecilia Bobster, the woman he mistook for Madeline. He asks Nicholas the name of the woman he had actually been interested in. When Nicholas says that her name is Madeline Bray, Newman says that she is set to be married to a friend of Ralph’s, named Arthur, who is every bit Ralph’s equal in evil. Nicholas is shocked and upset. He thinks he must stop the marriage at any cost. He runs from the tavern, and Newman shouts after him to try and get him to stop. He’s afraid of what Nicholas might do.
Nicholas has shown himself to be quick-tempered before, which makes Newman nervous about how he might react to the news that Arthur is set to marry Madeline. Newman also hints that the information from Brooker may have a significant impact once it comes out, which foreshadows events that will happen later in the novel. Newman’s comment that Arthur is Ralph’s equal in evil makes the threat that Arthur poses even more clear. In essence, Newman suggests that Arthur will terrorize Madeline in the same way that Ralph has terrorized Nicholas. For Nicholas, as someone who cares deeply about others and Madeline in particular, the situation is untenable.
Themes
Get the entire Nicholas Nickleby LitChart as a printable PDF.
