Privy to meagre introspection on his part, we often have no idea why he's acting as he does, except that he's outraged. He is a young man of an impetuous temper and of little or no experience and I saw no reason why such a hero should be lifted out of nature.īut still, for a titular character Nicholas has remarkably little self-awareness. If Nicholas be not always found to be blameless or agreeable, he is not always intended to appear so. In a preface to the book edition, he writes: We accept his benevolent status mainly because other characters attribute absolute virtues to him.ĭickens appears to have purposely set up this contradiction. He meets a beautiful woman and she falls in love with him before words are spoken.Īt times he is given to less than noble behaviour, blinded by his own desires, treating others cavalierly and ordering them about. He joins a theatrical troupe and is an immediate sensation on stage. He sees people ill treated and he saves them. Successful in all his endeavours without having to overcome any interior qualms, as far as we can tell. Readers may root for him but never lose their hearts to him as they did so willingly to Oliver. Despite all the attention paid to his behaviour, Nicholas himself remains largely a cipher. There's not enough time between his 'adventures' for revealing his inner life. He's continually enraged by the injustices he faces in English society of his time.įollowing his exploits, most of the novel is serious narration of intrigues and confrontations, interspersed with Dickens's trademark humorous breaks to lighten the weight.īut having the main character carrying the burden of the evolving plot has a down side. Nicholas Nickleby is the righteous young man who sets about to right the wrongs that afflict his family and those who come under his care. It may be significant that while the previous novel's long title was The Adventures of., this one is The Life and Adventures of.Īs others have pointed out, this is the first Dickens novel with an actual hero. But this time a greater effort is made to mix the elements together as integral parts of the biography of the main character. It's usually classified as his third novel, coming hard on the heels of the sketchy Pickwick Papers and the diversely stitched together Oliver Twist.Īs in Oliver Twist, the narrative of Nicholas Nickleby presents a panoply of tragic, satiric, suspenseful and melodramatic elements featuring eccentric characters-again in episodic fashion suited to serial publication.

Nicholas Nickleby is Charles Dickens still trying to work out how to sustain a novel. CRITIQUE | THE TEXT The hero without qualities

Nicholas nickleby twist