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Book 4, 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
With the help of Mortimer Lightwood, John and Bella set the record straight about what really happened to John Harmon. Mrs. Wilfer finally puts aside any bad feelings when she goes to visit the couple with Mr. Wilfer. Lavinia and her future husband George Sampson also come to the house, and George seems a little jealous.
Just as Headstone and Roger suffered the consequences of their negative actions, Bella continues to enjoy the benefits of her positive actions. She manages to overcome some of her final obstacles to happiness, like getting her mother’s approval for her marriage.
Themes
Jenny now lives with Riah, who has become like a second father to her, and she still sews clothes for dolls. One day, Sloppy comes to see her. She remarks on how much taller he seems to have gotten lately. The two of them talk amiably, possibly even romantically. At last, Sloppy get to the point of his visit: He’s come to pick up a doll that Jenny has made for Bella’s daughter.
Jenny and Sloppy are both outcasts with a strong sense of loyalty toward the people they love. This passage shows them getting along well, possibly suggesting the beginning of a romantic relationship. Jenny’s relationship with Riah highlights the value of chosen family—Riah isn’t related, but he’s a better father to her than Mr. Dolls was.
Themes
One of the biggest events of John and Bella’s new married life is when Eugene and Lizzie come to visit. Eugene is weak and needs to lean on Lizzie, but he’s been getting stronger. Mortimer also comes, and Eugene tells him how, although Eugene’s father was reluctant to accept Lizzie at first, he recently suggested that she should get her portrait done, which Eugene sees as an endorsement. Eugene talks about perhaps going with Lizzie to one of the colonies, to avoid the social stigma of their marriage. While Mortimer would be sad to see Eugene go, he admits it might be a good idea.
Although the ending of the novel is overwhelmingly happy, there is still a tinge of sadness to it, as Eugene hasn’t fully recovered his health and he and Lizzie may still have to leave the country. This is all in keeping with the novel’s realism. Although Dickens sometimes incorporates improbable plot points and coincidences, Our Mutual Friend still captures something authentic about life in London during this time period. The novel begins and ends with a reference to Britain’s colonies (where John was coming from in the beginning of the novel), perhaps suggesting that despite the novel’s very local setting, it also has connections to the wider world.
Themes
