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Chapter 5
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
Pickwick and his friends join some other guests in the parlor of Manor Farm. Wardle’s elderly mother, who is deaf and requires special attention, sits in the center of the room, surrounded by her family. The rest of the guests, including a clergyman named Mr. Miller, are already gathered for the evening’s entertainment. Before long, the group soon decides to play cards. Pickwick joins a game of whist with Wardle’s mother, Miller, and another gentleman. Meanwhile, the other guests engage in a boisterous game of Pope Joan, filled with laughter and playful teasing. During the game, Tupman flirts with Miss Rachael, while Snodgrass does the same with Emily Wardle, Wardle’s daughter.
The presence of so many people in the Wardle family sitting room demonstrates the general generosity Mr. Wardle possesses when it comes to sharing his home with others. He already has an entire community that he has built up, which he graciously invites the Pickwickians to join. At the beginning of the novel, it is mentioned that Tupman is skilled in the arena of love. However, it is also said that Winkle possesses athletic prowess, but given what he has demonstrated so far, it seems the opposite is true. As such, there is a suggestion that Tupman’s flirtations with Miss Rachael will not go as planned.
Themes
After the games, the party gathers around the fire for supper. As they relax, Wardle reflects on his love for Manor Farm and the happy times spent there. Miller is encouraged to recite his poem, The Ivy Green, which he does to the enjoyment of the guests. Afterward, the conversation turns to stories, and Pickwick expresses interest in hearing about a man named John Edmunds, whom Miller has mentioned. Miller agrees and begins the tale of Edmunds.
The oral tradition of storytelling is important throughout the novel and is something Pickwick genuinely values. Although Pickwick sometimes describes his research as “scientific,” really it is rooted in the joy of gathering experiences and recording personal narratives. He is driven not by detached, empirical inquiry but by a fascination with human stories, which aligns with his appreciation for friendship and shared moments
Themes
John Edmunds’s father was once the most notorious man in Miller’s village, known for his cruel, savage, and lazy disposition. He was an abusive drunk who caused great suffering for his family. His wife endured his mistreatment for the sake of John, and though they were poor, her constant hard work kept them afloat. Despite the abuse, she remained devoted to John and attended church regularly with him.
The portrait of Edmunds’s father conveys Dickens’s concern with moral degradation, where vice and idleness manifest in cruelty. The tension between Edmunds’s devotion to her son and her abusive household creates a paradox, where love is both a source of strength and a burden that defines her existence.
Themes
As the years passed, John grew into a young man, but he became reckless and fell in with bad company. He was eventually arrested for a robbery and sentenced to death. His mother’s heart broke when she heard the sentence, and she prayed desperately for his life. The sentence was later commuted to 14 years in a penal colony instead of execution, but the damage had been done. The mother’s health rapidly declined, and she passed away before her son was sent to the penal colonies.
John’s descent into recklessness mirrors his father’s earlier moral failure. His commuted sentence offers a glimpse of mercy, but his mother’s death leads to complete emotional devastation. The narrative suggests that redemption may come too late to repair familial bonds, as the price of forgiveness is borne by those who remain.
Themes
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Years later, John returned to the village after serving his sentence. He found that his home and the people he knew had changed. His mother was dead, and no one recognized or welcomed him. He wandered through the village, feeling lost and heartbroken. Finally, he came across an old man working by the roadside and recognized him as his father. Overcome with anger and grief, Edmunds confronted his father. Quickly, the confrontation grew violent and the old man, terrified, collapsed and died from a burst blood vessel. Edmunds, filled with remorse, later became a penitent man and worked for Miller.
John’s return comes with a feeling of alienation, where the passage of time erases familiar connections and leaves him adrift. His confrontation with his father is a cathartic release of suppressed emotions, though it only leads to further tragedy. John’s eventual penitence signals an uneasy resolution, as Dickens presents redemption not as triumph but as a quiet, ongoing process of atonement through service to God.
Themes
