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Chapter 49
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Pickwick Papers, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Male Friendship
Predatory Social Institutions
Social Class and Inequality
Marriage and Courtship
Generosity and Forgiveness
Summary
Analysis
The next morning, Pickwick wakes to a rainy day, which mirrors his downcast mood after the disappointment of the previous evening. Breakfast is a quiet affair, with Bob and Benjamin also subdued feels down due to the weather and yesterday’s events. As they wait for the weather to clear, the group grows increasingly restless. They read and re-read newspapers, pace the room, and stare out at the rain. Eventually, Pickwick, tired of waiting, orders the chaise, and they set off despite the worsening rain and muddy roads.
The rainy morning mirrors Pickwick’s melancholy, setting the tone for the group’s low spirits. Their restlessness becomes a kind of cabin fever where nothing seems to distract them for long. Pickwick’s decision to leave, despite the poor conditions, shows his need for action. He’d rather move through discomfort than wallow in disappointment without any clear goal in mind.
Themes
The discomfort of the journey is preferable to the boredom of staying inside, and they all agree that it was the right decision to leave. As they travel, the rain intensifies. Bob tries to keep his spirits up by drinking a glass of brandy and talking to Sam, who remains upbeat in spite of everything. By the time they reach Towcester, the entire group is worn down. They decide that continuing the journey is impossible, so Sam suggests they stay at the Saracen’s Head, an inn where they can have a warm meal and comfortable beds.
The worsening rain adds a sense of physical struggle to their emotional exhaustion, though the group embraces the discomfort, seeing it as better than stagnation. By the time they reach Towcester, the journey has worn them down to the point of accepting their limits. Choosing the Saracen’s Head as a stopping point is practical and offers them a temporary reprieve from the mental and physical strain of their travels.
Themes
Once inside, the travelers sit by the fire to warm up while awaiting their dinner. As they settle in, Sam notices a familiar face through a half-open door: Mr. Pott, the editor of the Eatanswill Gazette. Sam approaches Pott, who, fearing for his safety in what he believes to be a hostile political area, explains his need for secrecy. Pott eventually greets Pickwick, and the group agrees to share dinner. During the meal, Pott talks about his ongoing feud with the rival Eatanswill Independent. He also mentions that Mrs. Pott has left him, under the guise of touring health resorts (in truth, however, she has effectively—though not legally—ended their marriage).
Pott’s paranoia about political hostility indicates that he still has not dropped his obsession with the subject, even though Mrs. Pott has left him. Although Pickwick is still happy to hear about Pott’s political rivalry, his constant talk of politics carries with it a greater feeling of melancholy now that it has ripped his marriage apart. Because divorce was almost never an option in Victorian society, the Potts are still married, but only in the legal sense of the term—their romantic relationship has ended.
Themes
As dinner progresses, another guest arrives at the inn: Mr. Slurk, editor of the Eatanswill Independent and Pott’s sworn enemy. Unbeknownst to each other, Pott and Slurk end up in the same kitchen, each reading their respective newspapers with increasing contempt for the other. Tension builds as both editors exchange insults indirectly through their reading until they openly begin mocking each other. Bob stokes the conflict by pretending to take an interest in the newspapers, further provoking both men.
The tension between Pott and Slurk builds slowly, with both men using their newspapers as tools for indirect insults, once again showing how their rivalry is rooted more in ego than substance. Bob’s decision to stoke the conflict by pretending to care about the newspapers adds an element of mischief to the scene, as he is more interested in entertainment than resolving disputes.
Themes
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The situation turns into a physical confrontation when Slurk strikes Pott with a carpet-bag. A chaotic brawl ensues, with Pickwick caught in the middle, trying to separate them. Sam eventually intervenes, stopping the fight by pulling a sack over Pott’s head. Bob and Benjamin help calm the situation, and the editors are taken to their rooms, still fuming with anger. The next morning, Pott and Slurk depart the inn separately. Though there is mention of a duel, they ultimately return to their war of words in their respective newspapers instead. With the weather clearing up, Pickwick and his companions continue their journey back to London.
Once again, bruised egos lead to physical conflict. Pickwick’s attempts to mediate see him once again as the reasonable figure among men who would resort to violence to protect their egos. Sam’s intervention with the sack is a moment of comic relief, which restores order in a way that words could not. Ultimately, the fact that Pott and Slurk return to their newspapers rather than pursuing a duel suggests that their rivalry exists more comfortably in print than in real life.
Themes
