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Book 3, 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 apologizes to Venus and is glad that Venus stopped him from trying to steal the bottle from Boffin. Wegg admits that the reason he’s been on edge is that he recently discovered a cash-box, and he didn’t want Boffin to find it. Wegg reveals that the box contained old John Harmon’s will. In the will, Harmon leaves only a small portion of his property to Boffin and the rest to the Crown (government). If this will came to light, it would cause Boffin to lose everything.
Finding the cash-box in the mounds doesn’t satisfy Wegg but just makes him more jealous and greedier about what other wealth the mounds might contain. Although Wegg seems at first to have regained his senses after being knocked down by Venus, it soon becomes clear that he intends to blackmail Boffin, showing that even if he doesn’t use violence against Boffin, he’s still willing to use underhanded tactics.
Themes
Wegg proposes cutting the will in half so that he and Venus each have a piece. Venus thinks that might invalidate it, so he proposes instead that Wegg can keep the box and label, but Venus will keep the will itself. Wegg agrees, feeling it’s good to be trustful. They decide to let Boffin clear out his Mounds of dust, since he clearly believes there is something valuable in them. If Boffin does indeed find anything valuable, they’ll threaten him with the will.
Wegg’s suggestion of cutting the will in half recalls the Biblical story of the judgement of Solomon (Solomon suggests cutting a child in half as a deliberately barbaric suggestion to expose a liar). Wegg’s greed and paranoia nearly leads him to destroy the document on which his whole scheme depends.
Themes
Venus mentions that he is interested in Pleasant, but she rejected him. Wegg begins to secretly regret his partnership with Venus, who will take a portion of any money they earn despite the fact that he doesn’t actually know much about any treasure buried in the Bower’s dust. After Venus parts ways with Wegg, Wegg is too restless to sleep, so he goes over to the Boffin mansion. He watches Henerietty, Boffin, and Rokesmith, muttering threats to himself about each of them, then goes back to bed. He invents a tune about Boffin and keeps repeating it to himself: “He’s grown too fond of money.”
Although Wegg in the previous passage said that it was good to trust people, his greed once again gets the better of him, as the thought of having to share a fortune that he doesn’t even possess yet drives him away from his friend Venus. Wegg goes even further in his obsession when he goes over to watch the Boffin family. The song that Wegg sings at the end of this chapter “He’s grown too fond of money,” is supposed to be about Boffin (who has indeed taken a miserly turn lately). But in fact, it could just as easily apply to Wegg, who has become consumed with the possibility that he may one day get ahold of a fortune for himself.
Themes
