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Chapter 23
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Prince and the Pauper, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Appearances vs. Reality
Wealth, Poverty, and Morality
Justice
Nature vs. Nurture
Summary
Analysis
Outside, the streets are deserted and the day is nearly over. The constable leads Hendon and Edward into an empty market square. Hendon stops him in the very middle of it and he asks the constable to look another way while Edward escapes. The constable is indignant and he threatens to arrest Hendon, but Hendon repeats word for word the conversation between the constable and the woman. The constable says the whole thing was a joke but he panics when Hendon says he’ll go back and ask the judge what he thinks about jokes like that.
Hendon does blackmail the constable but he also knows that doing so is illegal. Still, Hendon is willing to do this to protect Edward, which is further evidence of how loyal Hendon is to people whom he loves.
Themes
The constable mentions his wife and kids and he asks Hendon what he wants. Hendon repeats that he wants the constable to pretend not to see Edward escape. The constable doesn’t want to because it’ll ruin his career, but Hendon uses a nonsense string of Latin words to convince the constable that buying the pig from the woman for such a low price was a major crime for which the constable can be executed. The constable is horrified so he reluctantly agrees to look the other way and tell everyone that Hendon broke down the door to liberate Edward. Hendon also tells him to return the pig (the constable agrees) and not to worry because the judge likes Edward and he won’t be sad to know that Edward escaped punishment.
Hendon rightly guesses that although the constable is expected to enforce the law, he doesn’t really know the law. All it takes is a few random Latin words strung together to convince the constable that he’s committed a far worse crime than he ever imagined. Hendon doesn’t just use this to his advantage, but he helps avenge the poor woman who lost money on the pig. Again, this demonstrates just how committed Hendon is to morality and justice despite not owing Edward or the woman anything.
Themes
