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Book 1, Chapter 11
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Our Mutual Friend, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Society, Class, and Character
Greed and Corruption
Marriage, Adoption, and Family
Education vs. Real-World Experience
Misfits and Outcasts
Summary
Analysis
Mortimer and Eugene have dinner together in Mortimer’s office. It’s springtime in London. Eugene fantasizes about being a lighthouse keeper instead of a lawyer, but Mortimer thinks it would get lonely. Eugene mentions that his father has found a prospective wife for him, one who supposedly comes from money. Eugene doesn’t like having to do everything his father tells him.
Like Bella and John Harmon, Eugene is another character who struggles due to the expectations his parents have set for him about marriage. His father’s choice of a future wife for him seems to prioritize seeking wealth in marriage, but Eugene’s own fantasy about being a lighthouse keeper shows how he doesn’t value material things—or at least wishes that he didn’t.
Themes
A stranger comes by the law office and asks if Mortimer is in. He says he’s come to collect the reward that Boffin set related to John’s murder. The man reveals his name as Roger Riderhood. Roger says he is certain that the man who killed John is Gaffer—Roger knows because he used to be Gaffer’s partner. Mortimer is not convinced by the claim. But Roger says he has a witness: himself. He heard Gaffer confess to the deed. He says Gaffer confessed to killing John for money, then told Roger not to betray him.
Although this passage does not directly specify that Roger’s story is a lie, it strongly implies it, given how convenient everything in the story is for Roger. As Roger goes on with the story, he seems to become bolder, even claiming that Gaffer gave him a full confession. This is yet another example of the effect greed has on people, as it causes Roger to sell out his former partner for a reward, leaving Gaffer to face the possible punishment for murder.
Themes
Literary Devices
Mortimer asks Roger why he didn’t come forward earlier, when the government was offering its own reward. Roger claims he felt troubled the whole time back then, but he doesn’t explain why he didn’t say anything. Roger says that hearing about the new reward (posted by Boffin) is what finally motivated Roger to divulge everything he knows.
The more Mortimer asks questions about Roger’s story, the less reliable it seems. Roger barely makes any attempt to hide the fact that he is less interested in bringing the truth to light and is more interested in trying to get his hands on the reward money, even if it means selling out Gaffer.
Themes
Privately, Mortimer and Eugene discuss how they don’t trust Roger, but they agree to take him to the police and see if he says something useful anyway. Before going to the police station, they go by Gaffer’s house, but he and his boat are away. Only Lizzie is there, sitting by the fire. Mortimer and Eugene don’t disturb Lizzie and instead take Roger to the Inspector. The Inspector listens to everything and makes plans to arrest Gaffer when Gaffer gets back home.
In spite of how unbelievable Roger’s story is, Mortimer and Eugene have no proof against him, showing how lies can gain traction. Although Gaffer is himself a morally ambiguous character, the moment where Mortimer and Eugene see Lizzie alone by the fire suggests that an innocent person could also be harmed by Roger’s lie. The fact that the Inspector takes Roger’s story at face value shows again how the justice system in London is flawed.
Themes
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