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Book 1, Chapter 15
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
Rokesmith slowly starts managing all of Boffin’s affairs as his secretary. The only task he won’t do is speak to Mortimer directly. Not coincidentally, Mortimer has been looking for Julius Handford recently in relation to John’s murder case (Handford, who has totally disappeared, looks exactly like Rokesmith). Boffin continues to check in with Reverend Milvey and Mrs. Milvey about their progress in finding an orphan, but they struggle to come up with good candidates.
This passage strongly implies that Rokesmith is Handford, once again raising the question of whether or not Boffin should trust him, given that “Julius Handford” may have some connection to John Harmon’s murder case. Boffin’s struggle to find a suitable orphan to adopt shows the difficulty of doing good, and how even the best intentions aren’t always enough to solve more complicated logistical problems.
Themes
Boffin and Henerietty hear from Reverend Milvey that an older woman named Betty Higden might have a promising orphan. Betty can’t read but she gets help from a young man named Sloppy, who reads her the reverend’s request about an orphan. Johnny, Betty’s grandson, is an orphan. Henerietty promises Betty that she and Boffin could give Johnny a good new home. Although Betty is initially reluctant to let anyone take Johnny away, she begins to see how it could be good for Johnny. When Johnny hears about the toys Boffin will have, he is interested too.
This passage continues to explore the idea that doing good can be surprisingly complicated. At first, it seems like fate that there’s an orphan named Johnny, since Boffin and Henerietty were planning to rename their newly adopted son John after John Harmon. But Betty’s reluctance, combined with the fact that Johnny himself only accepts the arrangement after he hears about toys, shows how this adoption isn’t quite the fairy tale it seems to be.
Themes
Literary Devices
Boffin and Henerietty go home after meeting Betty. Rokesmith goes back to the Wilfers, at a time in the evening when he’s hoping to run into Bella, and he does. He tells Bella that he has a message from Henerietty: The Boffins will be ready for Bella to live with them in about a week or two. Mrs. Wilfer notices Rokesmith with Bella and, unsure of her lodger’s intentions, comes in to interrupt. Still, she says Boffin is lucky to have an assistant as fine as Rokesmith. As Rokesmith goes to his room, he thinks about how pretty Bella is—and how he knows something important that Bella doesn’t.
This chapter again ends with a twist, confirming that Rokesmith has a secret he’s hiding from everyone else. Rokesmith’s interest in Bella seems to be futile, given that Mrs. Wilfer and even Bella herself want a rich husband for her. This raises the question of whether Rokesmith will be able to overcome society’s expectations or whether his love for Bella is doomed.
Themes
