THE PORTRAYAL OF OLDER ADULT CHARACTERS IN CHARLES DICKENS'S EARLY NOVELS
Novel Four:
THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP (1840/41)
PART TWO: "A most grotesque and fearsomely comic, malevolent user, ogre and leering" older adult (1)
Daniel Quilp was...." so low in stature as to be quite a dwarf, though head and face were large enough for the body of a giant. His black eyes were restless, sly, cunning, his mouth and chin, bristly with the stubble of a course beard; and his complextion was one of that kind which never looks clean and wholesome. But what added most to the grotesque expression of his face, was a ghastly smile...." (2)
Quilp, Mrs Quilp and Mrs Jarwin. Sol Eytinge, r. Woodcarving. Dickens's OCS+Rep inted Pieces ( Diamond Ed). Scanned Image and text by Philip V. Allingham. The Victorian Web
Daniel Quilp was an elderly man, but what was his role in the novel? Did he have to be old to fulfil his function as the primary villain? Did he have to be portrayed as "disabled", and it is argued by some critics to also be Jewish? I will explore these ideas in this blog. If there is one, the plot tells the story of thirteen-year-old Nell Trent (see Part 1) (3) and Quilp, who lends money to her Grandfather, taking control and possession of the curiosity shop and disclosing the old man's gambling addiction. He uses sarcasm to belittle and intimidate those he wishes to control, most notably his young wife. In addition, he eavesdrops to gain leverage over Nell, and Grandfather Trent drives a wedge between Kit and Nubbles when he claims it was Kit who squelched on the gambling habit! (4) Nell's somewhat idle older brother Fred conns the relatively easily led Dick Swiveller in believing that Grandfather Trent is sitting on a fortune. Quilp joins forces to track down Nell when she flees London with her Grandfather, knowing full well that there is no fortune, so his motive is to groom Nell "into marriage "; in other words, if necessary, to rape her. Quilp is, in Dickens's Portrayal, a sexual predator. Had Dickens based the character on an individual he had encountered, or was he simply expressing Victorian assumptions about old age, disability and Jewishness? Everybody whose life was touched by Quilp ended up in dire straights (5). We will, of course, explore the meaning of Quilp's death later.
It is clear, however, that whilst the plot(s) "are loosely improvisatory and episodic, arranged primarily in broad contrasts of comedy and pathos, darkness and light, city and country"(6), the story is inevitably set within a "clear moral framework."(7) In drawing conclusions about all the principle characters in Dickens's canon and especially Dickens and old age, Helen Small reminds us that literary criticism is not evidence. The portrayal of older adults in fiction cannot necessarily be any validation, and in our case, it is neither Dickens's gerontophobia nor even ageism. One must consider "ethnological data, the historical record, or personal testimony"(8). I quote Small, referencing Nussbaum's claim that "literature is an extension of our ethical education."(9) Arguably, many of Dickens's older characters, and hence here Daniel Quilp, as was Pickwick and Fagin, are dominant portrayals. There is no doubt these characters, in my mind, have indeed "taken (the) strongest hold in our collective imagination ( providing) ways by which we recognize ourselves as a society, a civic body"(10). His novels' numerous films, and T.V. adaptions aided and abetted this. Equally, this applies to our collective perception and responses to age and ageing, then as now.
Helen Small is instructive ( though I'll not confuse any reader, or myself, by dwelling on Theodor Adorno's metaphysics as it relates to Dickens and The Old Curiosity Shop, which Small draws upon). As it may, her observation of Dickens's "own expressed concerns about old age and its relation to youth, especially to childhood" picks up on the relationships between Nell Trent and her Grandfather and Quilp. Minor points out that "critics rarely pick up on the statement of Quilp's age accompanying his first appearance " and that " no account of his appearance or behaviour reminds" us of it (11). Well, this armchair critic does! Though, to be fair, Dickens inevitably portrays his older major characters' dress, economic circumstances, physical and mental conditions and much else, he does not necessarily dwell on their chronological age. Still, he has already framed them as "elderly" or "old" and used a range of pretty harsh and memorable descriptions of them alongside the age reference. Ageism is about othering, imagining and negative portrayals, but can this apply to fictional characters where the context of their behaviour and personality is about the plot and their relationship to it, together with the circumstances and characters around them?
We know that Dickens regularly drew inspiration from individuals he knew or observed. Still, with Daniel Quilp, there is no evidence that he was based on a real-life individual. It is possible he combined several personalities, physical attributes, and descriptions. Even if this is the case with Quilp and the description and behaviour were simply a product of Dickens's imagination serving only to demonstrate greed, cunningness, and malevolence in the story, does this let him off the hook?
Quilp is an iconic villain. He was harsh and uncompromising, but he was no fool. A strategic thinker who manipulated all those around him. Dickens had created a monster who made Wackford Squeers in Nicholas Nickleby look like a model educationalist and teacher. Quilp is about the relationship he had with the young- exploitative, abusive, and a paedophile but also about comeuppance who, like Fagin, paid the price for his behaviour of criminality and perversion. He was no Bill Sykes, who also came to a sticky and fatal end. There were other powerful old-age characters in Dickens. Scrooge is a classic with an equally iconic portrayal demonstrating a transition into a good, kindly, warm, if not pretty 'juvenile' later life. Metaphysics - the science of existence and philosophy to one side; who cares that Quilp had a large head, black eyes, a ghastly smile and a grotesque expression? These attributes were about his character, not his chronological age, even though he was termed "elderly." It is said that many of Dickens's major older characters in his early novels were more about the "embodiments of a pure comic spirit and their capacity to cause hurt". They were clowns, unrestrained, vivacious and resourceful. "Quilp is bulling his young wife by a display of indiscriminate veracity," writes E.D.H Johnson and "these characters also make an enduring appeal through their historonic virtuosity."(12) They are pantomime, to be booed on and off stage and Dickens loved a panto. Still, he was also a severe social commentator. We are invited to see the characters as they are, old or not. Dickens's comic and grotesque creations during his young adulthood writing did not require them to age or need any further literary development. (13)
Characters From Dickens: Issued by John Player & Sons. A branch of Imperial Tobacco. Co. (of Great Britain & Ireland) Ltd. A Series of 50. No 27 ( 1923)
The representation of Quilp, as with Grandfather Trent ( Part1), through a 21st Century lense, however, leads us to consider "isms". Much has been written about women and girls in Dickens. Of particular note is that of Michael Slater and, latterly, the edited work of Edward Guiliano (14)(15). I will explore later in the Series Dickens and Older Women. That said, the general consensus from scholars and commentators is that they are benign. Regarding Little Nell ( and others), we see Dickens's attitude towards their descriptions as innocent, virtuous, vulnerable and chase. In terms of women, whilst he portrayed their strengths and weaknesses, he acknowledged the societal constraints and oppressive circumstances; Mrs Quilp is a case in point. But they were also depicted as strong, intelligent and capable. Many of his older women were wise, nurturing, resilient, and supportive of younger generations. Dickens, it is said in general terms, respected their wisdom and experience. (16) This narrative has become accepted without question. In one regard, the conclusion is innocuous if we view all of Dickens's older adults equally. The importance of Quilp's Portrayal presents a language and narrative of old age and one that fed the stereotypes common in the era and feeds into today. It is all very well to view Quilp as a comic Punch and Judy type. However, if we are comfortable critically analyzing Dickens's Portrayal of women, girls, and children generally, why not with his older adults? The present-day and Victorian negative framing of old age was and is synonymous with disease, illness, infirmity, and disability. Was Quilp viewed as a stereotypical elderly villain or simply a villain who happens to be old? The age disparity in sexual relationships has been a feature of many cultures, past and present. Quilp was married to a young wife. Was he an ephebophiliac? We know he lusted after Nell, but it was less about establishing a relationship and more to do with sexual abuse and rapeing a thirteen-year-old girl.
From Quilps' age portrayal, two additional intersections need to be explored, namely disability and antisemitism. Had Dickens created old-age, disability and Jewish hate stereotypes in one character? Were there unconscious biases in play here?
'MINORITY MALICE: THE CURIOUS CASE OF DANIEL QUILP' (17)
Top: Watercolour illustration by Joseph Clayton Clarke of Fagin (O.T.)
Wikipedia
Below is the original watercolour of TOCS: Tennant, Dudley - Jonkers Books. From Little Nell and the TOCS. Told to Children by Ethel Lindsay. S.W. Partridge & Co. (1921). Stock ID 37765
I discussed the case of Fagin in an earlier blog (18), and he is name-checked here to demonstrate why age and antisemitism intersect for the second time in Dickens's early writing.
"Dear Mr Dickens": Antisemitism exposed?
Eliza Davis is best known for her correspondence with Dickens and was a fan. She was very impressed with his depiction of poverty, child labour, and the precariousness of the working class of London. Dickens was already a celebrity and powerful. On her first reading of Oliver Twist, Eliza was moved by the boys' Portrayal and his story until she reached Chapter Eight. She then challenged the Portrayal of Fagin, pointing out that Dickens had "encouraged a vile prejudice against the despised Hebrew."(19). Dickens's initial reaction was defensive. He replied, "I have no feeling towards the Jews but a friendly one. I always speak well of them, whether in public or private and bear testimony ( as I ought to do) to their perfect good faith in such transactions as I have ever had with them" (20). He could have added, 'Some of my best friends are Jews.' but did say "it is unfortunately true, of the time to which the story refers, that that class of criminal almost invariably was a Jew"(21). Davis had also asked Dickens to "atone for a great wrong."(22)
Dickens's antisemitism had a history! Dr Helena Kelly, an Oxford University academic, writes, "If Oliver Twist's antisemitism is bad, The Old Curiosity Shop is worse."(23) and continues that "Quilp's helpers, the corrupt lawyer Sampson Brass and Sampson's sister Sally, are Jewish; their ethnicity not -at this time- ever explicitly stated but clearly indicated."(24) Kelly is uncompromising. She argues that we should not minimize Dicken's antisemitism" while murmuring some bromide about ignorance, or widespread Victorian attitudes...Dickens chose racist tropes in his work because there was a market for it. For many people, that might make the situation even worse" (25). Kelly's proposition is that both the Fagin and Quilp portrayals served to ensure " that no one was likely to suspect that he had Jewish relatives", which he wanted to hide. (26)
Before examining the intersections between old age, disability and antisemitism, " The Curious Case of Daniel Quilp" by Tobias Langdon is worth exploring. The argument is that " if an accusation invokes a hate-filled stereotype, the accusation can be dismissed out of hand" as it needs to be benchmarked against statistical reality. Basically, Dickens's own defence of Davis. Langdon alerts us to the notion of 'hidden hate'. If Dickens resented the criticism of Fagin, then Daniel Quilp was a response to it, and whilst his Jewishness was implicit, Fagin had been repeatedly called a Jew, Quilp is repeatedly called a dwarf. (27) Langdon's position is that Dickens 'intended to expose reality in the hope of reforming it. Jewish criminals like Fagin really existed' (28). Quilp to Langdon was Dickens's way 'to convey some shocking ideas about minorities in general', and as a dwarf, he belonged to a 'visible minority and subject to majority prejudice based on liberal ideology and hence the vitriol Dickens received' and still does! That said, Quilp's creator ( remember, he was not based on a natural person whom Dickens had come across) produced an anti-semitic, "elderly", and "disabled" dwarf stereotype but chose to avoid another 'Fagingate'. One just has to look at the numerous illustrations of Quilp, both at the time and subsequently, that portray a stereotypical Jew (29). What does Langdon conclude? "Dickens was motivated not by hate or prejudice but by realism and personal observation"(30)
Dickens's The Old Curiosity Shop Library Edition, facing V.33
Victorian Image (unsourced)
2:187
'Mr Garland Charges Kit to Return: Hablot Browne (Phiz). (1840) Note the illustration does not give a clear indication of the description in Dicken's text
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