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Book 1, Chapter 6
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
Wegg is headed toward Boffin’s Bower for another reading session with Boffin, but he decides to take a longer route that leads him to a local taxidermist named Mr. Venus. The two know each other, but Venus hasn’t seen Wegg since before Wegg’s leg amputation. Venus has many curiosities in his shop, including the skeleton of a French gentleman that he shows Wegg. Venus explains that his problem is he’s in love with a woman who doesn’t like his shop (Pleasant Riderhood). Wegg listens, but then says he has to be getting on to Boffin’s for his reading job.
The specimens in Mr. Venus’s taxidermy shop recall the dolls that show up as symbols throughout the story, often suggesting manipulation or control (which will become relevant later in Wegg and Venus’s story). Venus’s taxidermy shop also recalls Gaffer’s scavenging work, since both of them earn a living in a line of work that brings them in close proximity to death. In contrast to the enmity between Roger and Gaffer, Wegg and Venus seem to come together due to their lower social status.
Themes
