Dickens Older People: Transitional Novel and Middle Novels (1842-1861)

                 *

The Portrayal of Older Adults in Charles Dickens's Sixth Novel

MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT (1842)

 

[PART TWO]  Pecksniff,  Gamp and Dickens Exposed 

                          

Martin Chuzzlewit "is often considered one of the funniest books Dickens wrote and is certainly one of which he was particularly fond. There are the usual gaggle of eccentrics and grotesques." 

                                                   Browning & Thomas (1)

Regardless of Dickens's view on this, his sixth major novel, he, not surprisingly, always promoted his latest serialisation and book. It is generally accepted that his portrayal of two particular major characters, Seth Pecksniff and Sarah Gamp, is hilarious. They are both older adults, that is, those 50 years or older. 

Nick Hornby reminds us that Dickens can reasonably be compared to writers like Woodehouse, Twain, and Larry David ( whoever he is), and "his humour is ageless, lifting them out of time and place. He is part of pop culture." (2)  Quoting Cruikshank, writing in 1952, Hornby rightly acknowleges that "Dickens was indeed a comic and humourist.' The 'creative imagination of Dickens's conception was at its most intense when creating Pickwick, Micawber, Bumble, but also in terms of Martin Chuzzlewit, Pecksniff and Mrs Gamp. (3) Humour, however, is relative. If we examine Dickens's portrayal of characters like Pecksniff and Gamp, are we overlooking either the humour of the 19th Century compared to today, or the inherent ageism these characters display, and hence the stereotyping of old age and its normalisation? Doddery and forgetful older people can and do mock the ageing process. 

Pecksniff's hypocrisy and Gamp's language and behaviour could be compared to the notion of Fagin being a lovable rogue. Pecksniff was and remains one of the most abhorrent of Dickens's characters. Was Gamp a reflection or representation of a negligent and selfish opportunist? Was Dickens simply using humour and satire to expose the standards of Victorian midwifery and architecture? Was he deliberately or unconsciously ageist, or even gerontophobic, and influenced by his personal predisposition to the negative views of age and ageing prevalent in the Regency, Georgian, and Victorian eras?  

 Pecksniff:     "Was a moral man; a grave man, a man of noble sentiments, and speech. He was a most exemplary man: full of virtuous precepts than a copybook. His hair just grizzled, with an iron-grey, stood bolt upright, or slightly drooped in kindred action with his heavy eyelids.- His very throat was moral. You saw a good deal of it. 

Mr Pecksniff leaving The Dragon.

by Harry Furness. Victorian Webb

 

Gamp: A fat old woman with a husky voice and a moist eye, who had the remarkable power of turning up and only showing the white of it. Having very little neck, it cost her some trouble to look over herself, if one might say so, at those to whom she talked. She wore a very rusty gown, rather the worse for snuff, and shawl and bonnet to correspond.  The face - the nose in particular - was somewhat red and swollen.

 

       

                      Mrs M Gamp.Illustrated                                                                     by Harry Furness                        

 These illustrations convey a great deal about their physical appearance and mannerisms, but it is also important to understand their literary and social significance within the novel. Dickens wanted to expose the general state of nursing and midwifery (4). In terms of Pecksniff, the social standing of professions, such as architecture, had a significant influence during this period, as well as the potential for wealth. Pecksniff was a con man and charlatan who lacked professional and personal integrity. Dickens's intention was to satirise this. In terms of Gamp, he wanted to demonstrate the 'want of sanitary improvements in the neglected dwellings of the poor', which he again satirised through Gamp's portrayal. (5)

Again, returning to the issue of Dickens's humour and satire, was he any different through the lens of today's attitude to age and ageing? The old are often viewed as non-productive, merely a drain on local and national economies. Old Martin Chizzlewit's very pretence of his faked mental and physical infirmity and relatives' desire to protect their inheritance from what they consider to be wealthy older family members through financial, psychological, and even physical abuse resonate today. The question is whether Dickens's intentions enhanced or detracted from the narrative.  Ageism today, like racist humour of yesteryear, was fertile fodder for many stand-up comedians and Television comedy shows. Holby is right when he writes that Dickens wanted his readers to laugh at his comic characters, lines, and situations he created. (6) His characterisations frequently reflected people he had met or been told about ( as in the case of Gamp) and now resonate with people within our families, workplaces and communities, hence his enduring literary relevance. 

SETH PECKSNIFF AND SAIREY GAMP EXPOSED IN TIME AND PLACE

Writing for the Victorian Webb, specifically on Pecksniff, Dr Jacqueline Banerjee introduces her article by situating Pecksniff's profession in its historical context. It is worth quoting at length. "Dickens had his finger on the pulse of the age when he made the sanctimonious and self-promoting Seth Pecksniff an architect. In architecture, as in other professions, this era of increasing professionalisation was when practitioners began to command respect for the skills that set them apart from the builders who implemented their designs. Particularly in the cities, where great public buildings and offices were rising in response to civic pride and the county's new global reach, architects were competing for commissions and shouldering huge responsibilities. Their social status rose accordingly, while their reputations rested not only on their artistic vision and professional skill, but on meeting their commitments with integrity. Naturally, as in every walk of life, some practitioners affected to have more of these commodities than they actually possessed." (7) It is worth noting, according to Dickens, that Pecksniff and  Gamp were based on real people. (8) (9). The portrayals of both these characters, illustrated and narrated, are brutal.

As usual, Dickens does not specify their chronological age, but uses terms such as "old" and "elderly" as adjectives. We are, however, able, via his descriptions, to lead a reader to perceive them as older people. Given that today's negative terms are often applied to older women and men, we could argue that they were equally negative in the 19th century and certainly applied to Dickens's descriptions. He exaggerates physical and mental infirmity and satirises them. In terms of Pecksniff, he is fake, hypocritical and self-righteous. However, we accept that Dickens was commenting more on the cant of the lower and middle professional classes; hence, Gamp and Pecksniff's chronological age is arguably irrelevant. I do not hold that view, which, as with previous characterisations in his early novels, older people are so frequently cast to represent the social and political classes in general. Some older people can be viewed positively, but nevertheless ageist in terms of their descriptions and experiences (e.g., Pickwick, Scrooge, the two Cheeryble Brothers). The fact that Podsniff was in his fifties meant that he was perceived as pretentious and manipulative, and hence mocked as a proxy for the professional and social class he represented. The relationship with his adult children should also not be ignored. He feeds into a societal ageist view that mythologises and stereotypes old age and older people. Unlike the young Martin Chuzzlewit or many other characterisations in Dickens' early novels, Pecksniff did not reflect on his own life-course behaviour and interfamily relationships, and had no desire or capacity to repent. Others did and took their own lives. 

Was Dickens a moralist?  His writings, even as a young author, oozes with moral indignation. How could he not be when born into an age when there was much to moralise about, especially related to intra-family relationships, the aristocracy's abuses of power, the plight of those living in poverty and their social and financial precariousness. (10). Ageism aside, Dickens's cumulative descriptions of all his principal and supporting characters, whether young or old, rich or poor, and good or evil, remain vivid and enduring. H.C. Dent claims, "Dickens is an author whom it is very difficult to leave off reading" (11). Many of today's readers may disagree, but they are likely not reading this publication either. 

 

            'The Sad State of Mr Pecksniff' by Harry Furniss in The Charles Dickens                                Library Edition ( 1910). The Victorian Webb.

     

 Dickens preached extensively throughout his writings, and Martin Chuzzlewit was no exception. As Paul Allingham points out, he was "a preacher of domestic sentiment and social reform, but on the other hand, he is an artist reflecting the brutality and cruelty of Victorian society"(12). Some might say he sermonised, and his writings were simply a diatribe or a berating. Pecksniff's character was not necessarily a diatribe or a berating, but was clearly a withering indictment of the hypocrisy that permeated Victorian values and attitudes. 

Of both the portrayals of Pecksniff and Gamp, Allingham writes that they are "frauds and hypocrites, but he gradually loses his indignation as he offers amusing details about their characters, particularly speech and appearance"(13). What is missed, however, or left unsaid, is that they mask a negative stereotyping and mocking of older people among the details.  The fate of Pecksniff is that he ended his days living on a meagre income, begging Tom Pinch, his devoted assistant, for money, and frequently propping up bars (a very English term for a public drinking house) with only his oldest daughter visiting him. Pathetic, but he never loses his narcissism. He saw himself as 'a lady's man,' but in today's terms, 'a sexual predator.'  He also saw himself as a victim, but in true Pecksniffian fashion, forgave all those whom he felt had persecuted him. He was lonely, a stereotype of older people today. 

If Dickens's portrayal of Pecksniff was savage, his portrayal of Sairey Gamp took it to another level.  There is no ambiguity about Dickens' intention. She was a satirical caricature of the state of nursing (arguably in today's parlance, including social care), reflecting his interest in medical and social reform. He wanted to emphasise, through humour and exploitation of the precarious lower classes, and a deliberate critique of the deplorable state of nursing for those living in poverty. It was, in other words, inhumane and said much yet again about the values of early and mid-Victorian times.

The context of Victorian era Regulations (and the lack thereof) in health and nursing reflected the rudimentary nature of the time and place. Dickens was relatively well-off at this time and could afford to purchase quality healthcare for himself and his expanding family. He was, however, mindful of those who were left to the Sairey Gamp school of nursing. What, therefore, was the regulatory framework? 

The Medical Act of 1858, which established the General Medical Council, was some sixteen years away, and nursing remained unregulated until the Nurses Registration Act of 1919. Furthermore, the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act led to the growth of Workhouses, where infirm older people were warehoused, a phenomenon about which Dickens had much to say and portray. Hospitals were primarily charitable institutions. The Crimean War (1853-56) served as a catalyst for the formalisation of training and its quasi-professionalisation, which Dickens experienced in his early forties, while writing Bleak House, Hard Times, and Little Dorrit. At the time he was writing Martin Chuzzlewit, Gamp represented a critique of the dire straits and how the vulnerable poor were neglected at both the Parish and central government levels. They were in Dickens' crosshairs. Gamp, therefore, epitomised the incompetence, callousness, lack of standards and training, and lack of accountability; her grotesque behaviour mirrored the moral decay of other characters, thus amplifying the corrosion of human decency. By making her both comic and repulsive, and, in addition, I would add, old, he ensured that his readers were both entertained and appalled—a tactic he often used to provoke thought and push for change. (14) Her being 'old and fat'  had nothing to do with this messaging but could have everything to do with Dickens using age as a means of being a comic, whereby old age can be the butt of humour.  If Pecksniff  has become a byword for hypocrisy, Gamp has entered for 'a disreputable caregiver' (15)

         Artist Frederick Barnard's illustration of Charles Dickens's character Sarah                   Gamp, the drink sodden midwife. The fourteenth in The Telegraph's pick of                   the best characters. (Robbie Collin. Posted 14.02.21)

 Karen Chase singles out the portrayal of Gamp as being illuminating in itself, but also illustrates a contribution "to the discontinuity of Victorian Old Age"(16). This is an important observation that goes to the very essence of Dickens' portrayal of older people, whereby, in attempting to understand his portrayals and intentions, we are faced with the challenge of Case's proposition. Namely, to "respect the specificity of ageing, not only the wide diversities of circumstances  (rich and poor, urban and rural, watched and forgotten, powerful and oppressed) but also the distinct act of representation by the novelist."(17) which is, of course, reflected throughout all Dickens's writing. Gamp's characterisation, especially as a "slovenly, gin drinking, an opportunist, neglectful of her patients, proritizing her own comforts and profits from death and misery"(18) Dickens, it could be argued reflected the duality of focussing on ageing as a social concern and internalizing his lived experience. He idealised children and exposed familial and State abuses, but he also, when portraying old age, reflected, and here I am again indebted to Chase's "Ciceronean image of self respect, acceptance and serenity to be ideal" which existed in the 1800s and through today's lens  is "a cruel taunt as a guide to the last years of life" (19) (20)

It is generally concluded by scholars that Dickens, like many older adults in Victorian society, feared personal decline and infirmity in later life. Indeed, for Dickens, this fear led him to try to outpace it.  As a result, he "looked old" even in his fifties. Some say he worked himself into an early grave. A notion with which I remain uncomfortable. Nevertheless, the thirty-one-year-old Dickens did not. The forty-to fifty-seven-year-old Dickens did. The portrayals in Martin Chuzzlewit perhaps demonstrate his ambivalence, but they also, like previous novels we have explored, idealise old people. The idealisation of older people today exists and is equally ageist and patronising. The notion of honouring one's father and mother has been deeply rooted in the values of societies throughout the ages and was a significant part of the era in which Dickens lived, regardless of class. Yet, that could be compromised by economic necessity, often leading to a mix of guilt, frustration, and detachment among adult children. We know that Dickens discharged his duty of care materially to his parents, both of whom, throughout his childhood and into adulthood, drove him to distraction. The intersections of duty, economic dependence, and the notion that older parents can become a burden, along with the fear of decline, collided with class variations and general perspectives on old age and ageing, resulting in cultural shifts that marginalised older people as being out of step with modernity.  Dickens, as he grew older into his thirties and forties, was not immune to these factors, personally having to manage the mix of obligation, sympathy, and unease towards later life. He was yet to face his wife Catherine's middle and later years, and he did not cover himself with glory in his behaviour towards her. He did, however, ensure she was financially secure post their separation and her abandonment. He was cruel, a trait that he exhibited throughout his life.

It is interesting to reflect on how much his emotional immaturity and personality contributed to the portrayals of both young and older characters. But we get ahead of ourselves. As we have considered in all his previous novels, there appears to be a reflection in numerous older portrayals of the good, the bad, and the ugly of Charles Dickens himself. But there again, we all do. 

    

 

    Dickens, as the young and the older writer  

                              

                           

 

  In Part Three, I examine other main and especially supporting portrayals of older adults, continuing to explore these in the context of Victorian attitudes, while also discussing ageism as it is understood today. **

 

  SOURCES, NOTES AND REFERENCES

1. BROWNING. S. and THOMAS.S. The Real Charles Dickens. 'White Owl ( an imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd.) Yorkshire & Philadelphia. (2025)'  (p73)

2. HORNBY. N. Dickens The Funny Bits  Forward. Bodleian Library Publishing. (2024) (p10)

3. Ibid. Quoting CRUIKSHANK. ( p14)

4. DICKENS. C. Quoted by HAWES. D. Who's Who in Dickens. Preface to the Cheap Edition. (1949) (p 86)

5. Ibid. In HAWES. (p 86)

6. Ibid. HORNBY. (p 11)

7. BANERGEE. S.  Seth Picksniff, Architect. The Victorian Webb. Literature, History and Culture in the Age of Victoria (Created 2.12.18)

8. PHILIPS A. J. & GADD L. The Dickens Dictionary. Bracken Books. London. ( Index to Originals ( p 325-370) (1928) (p 345)

9. Ibid. PHILLIPS & GADD. (p 241)

10. DENT. H.C. The Life and Characters of Charles Dickens. Odhams Press Ltd., London. Noted that the date of publication is not given in Dent's publication. (p 506-7)

11. Ibid. DENT (p 508)

12. ALLINGHAM, P.V. An Overview of Dickens' Picaresque Novel Martin Chuzzlewit. Victorian Webb. ( Modified 22.03.19) (p1)

13. Ibid  ALLINGHAM. (p 2 )0

14. GROK 3. (Beta) AI. ( Downloaded 8.04.25) This was in response to a number of Questions asked by me ( a) What was the general attitude of younger generations in Victorian society (1800s) towards old age and older people? (b) What was Dickens' view both personally and in terms of ageing? (c) What were the Regulations in the Victorian era regarding nursing, and what was Dickens's intention in portraying Sarah Gamp the way he did? My narrative in the text was based on the results, checked, and where there is a direct quote, I have inserted quotation marks. I was particularly impressed with the accuracy and length of the response. compared to other AI platforms that, on occasion, present misleading or inaccurate information. 

15. Ibid. GROK 3.  

16. CHASE K.  The Victorians and Old Age, Oxford University Press. (2009) (p277)

17. Ibid. CHASE (p277)

18. Ibid. CROK 3. 

19. Ibid. CHASE (p278).

20. CICERO Marus Tullius. How To Grow Old. Ancient Wisdom for the Second Half of Life. Translated by FREEMAN T.  Princeton University Press (2016)

* There appears to be, in determinig the Early, Middle and Later Novels differing opinions. I have used the following on the basis that there is no right or wrong!

Transiontial Novel: Martin Chuzzlewit ( 1842)

Dombey and Son (1846 ) - this could easily be considered as an Early Novel, but given the transiitional nature of Martin Chuzzlewit I have place as the first of his Middle novels

David Copperfield ( 1850)

Bleak House ( 1852 -53)

Hard Times ( 1854)

Little Dorrit ( 1855-57)

** Note that this is a correction to the topic published on Part 1 of this blog series, Martin Chuzzelwit