by Rachel McGinnis
Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens second novel, is one of the quintessential stories of 19th century London. Published in 1838, the book follows the journey of child protagonist, Oliver Twist, through the crime-ridden, mean streets of London. These hardened alleyways are defined by a "looking out for number one" mentality among the average citizens and a comical attempt of "philosophical" board members to alleviate the suffering of the poor. These efforts to provide for the underprivileged, such as offering paupers exactly the things they don't need, are typically portrayed as ridiculous and outrageous by Dickens' sarcastic, back-handed narrator. This character often facetiously proclaims that the concepts of the board are "brilliant" and the members, "great men." In doing so, Dickens cleverly provides himself with an opportunity to draw attention to the state of affairs in London while simultaneously deflecting criticism by maintaining that the novel is simply a figment of his imagination.
The book, which is largely a social novel that unfavorably critiques 19th century public policy in London, takes a psychological turn when Dickens joins in the debate of nature vs. nurture and questions if people are born "bad" or they simply become bad as a result of their environment. This dispute was extremely prevalent given the commonality of economically unstable individuals unfortunately driven to lead lives of crimes to survive. Using Nancy and Rose Maylie, two characters that initially appear to have little in common, Dickens makes the debate come alive for readers, providing names, faces, and histories, thereby making the intangible dispute tangible.
Rose Maylie, the model of an ideal 19th century female, is a compassionate, loving young woman who quickly forms an intense attachment to Oliver regardless of his relatively dishonorable past. This forgiving nature is potentially the result of Rose's own history, which also contains blemishes. The daughter of a respectable retired naval officer, Rose is the sister of Agnes Fleming, the deceased mother of Oliver Twist. Largely due to Agnes becoming pregnant with Oliver, Rose is described as having bad blood and, as a result, was "sure to go wrong at one time or other." Nevertheless, despite bad blood, Rose is adopted by Mrs. Maylie after the deaths of her father and sister leave her orphaned, and she exceeds class-driven expectations by becoming an exceptionally good young woman. By all 19th century accounts, Rose was anticipated to become a vile, loathsome human being. Nevertheless, Dickens portrayed her exceeding the shortcomings of nature. In doing so, she became an anomaly for 19th century London, defying the popular belief that those born bad, stayed bad, regardless of their environment.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Nancy, a girl born into coincidently similar circumstances to those of Rose, defies the restraints of her substandard environment. Originally adopted at the young age of six by Fagin, Nancy has been employed as a pick-pocket, a prostitute, and eventually becomes the lover of Bill Sikes. An instrumental element in Oliver's re-capture by Fagin, Nancy could not be more unlike the refined, chaste Rose Maylie, yet the only significant difference between the two young women was who adopted them. Later in the novel, however, regardless of earlier evil deeds, Nancy experiences a change of heart, a plot point that surely astounded 19th century readers. At that time, popularly held beliefs toward the poor would indicate that all financially challenged individuals lack decency and a sense of morality. Nevertheless, by portraying Nancy as such, Dickens created an unlikely hero to Oliver on the young boy's quest to escape the criminal life Fagin foisted upon him. Nancy eventually loses her life at the hands of Bill Sikes because of this unexpected transformation, and she is the only character that is neither all good nor all bad, but a combination of both. Although Nancy might have proven to be a more complex protagonist given her meaningful, intense struggle with good and evil, Dickens was unable to center the novel on her because of the inevitable backlash that 19th century readers would have elicited. This anticipated outcry was evidenced by the fact that, regardless of the positive transformation of Nancy, the novel and Dickens were widely criticized for portraying thieves and prostitutes.
The book provides the reader with an opportunity to appreciate an earlier, more raw time and place while simultaneously making us grateful that public policy has evolved considerably over the past century. By allowing Oliver to repeatedly experience a wide variety of highs and lows, Dickens cleverly highlights societal difficulties while giving us the happy ending we want, concluding the novel with Oliver's eventual triumph over the incredible trials he faced. Nevertheless, perhaps some of the guiltiest pleasures of the novel are the sheer literary brilliance that Dickens evinces through his carefully drawn characters, delightfully sardonic narrator, and his negotiation of the precariously fine line between a scandalous novel that stirred reactions and a socially unacceptable story that created outrage.
