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Book 2, Chapter 12
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
The stranger leaves Roger’s house and goes out walking into the dark and dirty Limehouse Hole. It turns out the stranger is Rokesmith, who is the same person as Julius Handford, and who is in fact also the real John Harmon, still alive. John feels like an imposter among the living as he investigates his own supposed death. He initially came back to England skeptical of old Mr. Harmon’s wealth and the provision in his will stipulating that John must marry Bella.
In addition to cliffhangers, Dickens’s novels often included shocking plot twists as a way to keep people interested in reading the next installment. In this case, John’s true identity gets revealed when there is still quite a bit of the novel left to go. This builds dramatic irony as the audience knows something about John (or Rokesmith) that none of the characters know yet.
Themes
Literary Devices
John thinks back on how he ended up in his current situation. On John’s boat back to England, George Radfoot served as third mate. Radfoot looked a lot like John, and John made a deal with Radfoot about temporarily switching identities so that John could spy on Bella and assess her before being forced to marry her.
John has been through several identities through the course of the story: himself, Julius Handford, Rokesmith, and now even George Radfoot. This reflects John’s struggle to find himself, which is made particularly difficult by his father’s attempts to manipulate him.
Themes
When the ship docked in London at Roger’s shop, John had no suspicions that anything was wrong. He realized too late that he was given drugged coffee, so that Radfoot and Roger could rob him of the plentiful cash he was carrying. They then threw him in the river, leaving him to drown. But although Radfoot and Roger didn’t realize it, John survived and made it back to shore. John initially thought he would get reported missing and was surprised to see newspapers eventually declare him dead.
This passage reveals that Roger is not just a morally gray character like Gaffer, who steals from the dead, but instead an outright villain who is willing to resort to murder to make some money. John’s “death” in the river allows him to come out as a new person (Julius Handford, then later Rokesmith). In many ways, this resembles a baptism ritual in Christianity, and this baptism imagery will continue to show up throughout the novel. Like a baptism, John’s “death” gives him a chance to wash away his old self and live a new life.
Themes
Posing as Julius Handford, John went to the police station to find that body that they had identified as him—and he realized it was actually Radfoot. John considered coming forward to set things straight but eventually decided against it. He found that he liked being dead and that it seemed like a good thing for the Boffins to inherit the wealth he would’ve received, particularly with how well they’ve treated Bella. John decides he’ll never bring “John Harmon” back to life.
John’s actions after his death reflect his selflessness—but perhaps also his fear of taking on responsibility. John knows, from his time as Boffin’s secretary, that while wealth comes with benefits, it also comes with burdens. Being Rokesmith allows him to evade the responsibilities his father wished to place on him.
Themes
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John (who is still Rokesmith to the rest of the world) goes back to the Boffin house and sees Bella alone in the drawing room. Bella says she’s been meaning to have a conversation with Rokesmith: She believes that his conduct toward her has been dishonorable and that he’s been showing too much interest in her. Bella doesn’t want to hurt Rokesmith, but she wants him to give up ever mentioning his admiration for her again. Rokesmith agrees, feeling that by doing so, he has buried John Harmon even deeper.
Bella’s relationship with Rokesmith suddenly takes on a new dimension now that the audience knows that Rokesmith is really John. Bella’s claim that Rokesmith is dishonorable seems to be a vague way of saying that he doesn’t have enough money for her. What she doesn’t realize is that if she pursued her affection for Rokesmith instead of holding it back, she would actually end up with John—and his family fortune as well.
Themes
Literary Devices
