Contextual Timeline for Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist

Parish Children and Workhouses

The subtitle to Oliver Twist is The Parish Boy's Progress. When the first Poor Law passed in the sixteenth century, it fell onto the Church of England to support all of its poor, including orphans (Allingham). The Settlement Act of 1662 created workhouses where many of the poor were housed in exchange for work ("Poor").

Works Cited

Allingham, Merryn. "The Rise of the Orphanage." Merryn Allingham, https://merrynallingham.com/19th-20th-century/the-rise-of-the-orphanage/. (also image source)

"Poor Laws." Oliver Twist: A Virtual Casebook, http://twist2012.weebly.com/poor-laws-poverty--labor.html#:~:text=In%20….

The Gallows

Englands' legal system was given the name 'Bloody Code' due to a high number of executions that occurred where more than 200 crimes were punishable by death. The main form of capital punishment was hanging with the use of the 'New Drop' gallows - "first used in London's Newgate Prison in 1783" which could accommodate two or three prisoners at a time (Seal). The intention behind these public executions was to enforce order and subdue the public; instead, it had the opposite effect in the crowd saw it as entertainment and "whipped up the crowd's passions" (Seal). Not only is the threat of hanging threatened upon Oliver Twists head repeatedly throughout the novel we witness the execution of Fagin at the end of the novel. Another thing to note, specifically about Newgate Prison, "The bells of St Sepulchre’s church next to Newgate would be rung at midnight on the night before the execution" (Ward). Readers can remember that in Oliver Twist Nancy notes the ringing of the bells when she rushes to see Ms. Maylie which we can now connect to a future execution. 

Seal, L. (2020, November 26). A brief history of capital punishment in Britain. Retrieved February 19, 2021, from https://www.historyextra.com/period/modern/a-brief-history-of-capital-p…

Ward, R. (2020, February). Execution. Retrieved February 19, 2021, from https://www.digitalpanopticon.org/Execution

Bastardy Laws

Imbedded in the Poor Laws of the 18^th century, which dictated how the poor were to be treated, were bastardy laws. These were designed to both punish women for having children out of wedlock, and determine the treatment and life of children born outside of marriage. According to the early laws designed to deal with illegitimate children, it was the unwedded mother-to-be’s responsibility to declare her pregnancy and the father of the child so that he may be held financially responsible. A father’s legal obligation did not guarantee his financial support, however. In the event that the father did not or could not provide for the child’s well-being (which was often the case), and assuming the father didn’t leave town in order to escape his responsibility, he would be arrested and the task of giving financial support would fall on the parish until the father could continue payments. These bastardy laws decreed that a child of illegitimate birth would inherit its mother’s lot in life. This led to many children growing up and working in the workhouses. These laws come into play at the very start of Dickens’ Oliver Twist, when Oliver’s mother dies with “no wedding-ring” (Chapter I),  leaving the parish to assume Oliver is illegitimate and, thus, must go to the workhouse once he is of age.

Works Cited

Adams, Francis E. You've Crack'd my Pipkin Sr: said she so Marry me & Mend it. 1773. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:You%27ve_Crack%27d_my_Pipkin_Sr-_said_she_so_Marry_me_%26_Mend_it_(BM_2010,7081.385).jpg. Accessed 17 Feb 2021.

Dickens, Charles. “Chapter I.” Oliver Twist, Project Gutenberg, 2020. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/730/730-h/730-h.htm. Accessed 17 Feb 2021.

Higginbotham, Peter. Bastardy, http://www.workhouses.org.uk/poorlaws/oldpoorlaw.shtml#Bastardy.  Accessed 17 Feb 2021.

Roberts, Stuart. “Supporting London's Bastard Children.” University of Cambridge, 26 July 2018, www.cam.ac.uk/unmarried_mothers. Accessed 17 Feb 2021.

Bastardy Laws in Oliver Twist

The Poor Law of 1576 formed the basis of English bastardy laws. Its purpose was to punish a bastard child's mother and putative father, and to relieve the parish from the cost of supporting the child.

The poor, unlike the rich, sometimes ended up in prison for having children out of wedlock – with babies ending up in houses of correction alongside their mothers to avoid the parish having to pay for a wet or dry nurse. 

Children born outside of marriage were around twice as likely to die as those born to married parents –a trend that continued until at least the early 20th century.

Unwed women and their children were the casualties of a metropolitan sexual culture and a frequently unsympathetic welfare system. They faced very significant difficulties in their pregnancies, during childbirth and in raising their children, not least in the difficulties many women encountered in terms of gaining financial support from the fathers of their children.

Oliver Twist and his mother are a great example of this. Except his mother did not have to face the consequences after giving birth out of wedlock, Oliver did. Although she probably did have to face the consequences before she gave birth, even though we did not experience her humiliation. 

Work Cited

Supporting London's Bastard Children. 26 July 2018, www.cam.ac.uk/unmarried_mothers.

Bow Street Runners

Prior to the early 18th century, England did not have any sort of professional police force. Criminals were mostly apprehended by private citizens who caught theives or murderers and the like, who were then turned over to parish constables or night watchmen to properly arrest the criminals. But in 1749, Henry Fielding established the "Bow Street Runners" who became responsible for catching and dealing with criminals. They were funded by the magistrates office and were able to bring more professionalism to the job of arresting criminals than private citizens who would often make mistaken or vindictive arrests. Sir John Fielding was able to help the force gain government recognition and financial help, under his leadership they were even able to create a criminal database to help officers in their investigations.

By Dicken's time the Bow Street Runners had become mostly incompetent and ill-equipped to deal with crime in a growing city. In Oliver Twist, Dicken's adds a bit of humorous social commentary about the Bow Street Runners. There is a scene in Oliver Twist where some noise is heard outside the Maylie's house and Brittles happily cries that "It's the runners!" and the doctor, Mr. Losberne, is quite upset by the knowledge, afraid that they will arrest Oliver. Mr. Losberne, Mrs. Maylie, and Rose all come up with a plan to fool the Bow Street Runners, Blathers and Duff, and the Constable and convince them all that Oliver was simply a victim and not the thief that had broken into the Maylie's.

Works Cited

Beattie, J.M. “The First English Detectives: The Bow Street Runners and the Policing of London 1750-1840.” Oxford University Press, 2012, https://journals.openedition.org/chs/1442. Accessed 11 Feb. 2021.

Image Source

Wild, Jonathon the Great. A sketch portrait of Henry Fielding – Novelist and Law Enforcement Magistrate, 1743. Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Henry_Fielding_c_1743_etching_from_Jonathan_Wild_the_Great.jpg. Accessed 11 Feb 2021.

First Industrial Revolution and Oliver's Employment/Exploitation

We all know about the Industrial Revolution: the development of society from a mostly farming one, with goods being produced by individual craftsmen who own their homes and workshops (a system in place by ancient Romans) to one of urbanized factory production.  Technological advancements, such as the use of “new basic materials, chiefly iron and steel…new energy sources such as coal, the steam engine, electricity…[and] the invention of new machines” created the possibility of the production of goods within a factory owned by one or more people, but not by the person performing the labor (Britannica).  The factory system, in addition to causing mass concentration of “workers in cities and towns, because the new factories had to be located near waterpower and transportation (alongside waterways, roads, or railways),” it also created greater stratification of the distribution of wealth that persists today as labor and capital were divided, as those who own capital gain wealth at a disproportionate rate than those employed for a wage (Britannica).  Thus, it wiped away the feudal system of wealth (yet many of the archaic values and attitudes persisted), and created the socially mobile bourgeoisie; it conversely created more poor, and a push for reform, which lead to the Poor Acts of Oliver Twist’s time, occurring at the tail end of the revolution.  Oliver, born a “juvenile offender” (debtor) was nearly employed as a chimney sweep, a dangerous profession that exploited small boys for their labor (and sometimes girls) since they could fit into chimneys, with little regard for their health and safety.  The sweep Mr. Gamfield who has “bruised three or four boys to death already,” begs for Oliver to be apprenticed to him, and the board nearly send Oliver with him (merely planning to dock a hundred pounds from Gamfield’s payment at taking Oliver) (Dickens 21).  His next opportunity is also afforded to him by the Industrial Revolution.  Oliver goes to work for the parish undertaker, whose services are a high cost to the workhouse because so many poor sent there are slowly starved to death.  Next, Oliver is forced to take up company with thieves and pickpockets after his legal options expire.  All three of these “jobs” are a result of the First Industrial Revolution and the reform that arose from it.   

Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist.  Amazon KIndle ed.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Industrial Revolution". Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Dec. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/event/Industrial-Revolution. Accessed 19 February 2021.   

Photo 

Prostitution

The term "prostitution" today does not align with what was considered prostitution in London 19th century; It had a wider range of meaning including "to refer to women who were living with men outside marriage, or women who had had illegitimate children, or women who perhaps had relations with men, but for pleasure rather than money" (Flanders). The character Nancy made me investigate further on investigating prostitution in London due to her description of “free and agreeable . . . manners” alluding that she is a prostitute. However, the loose terminology does not confirm whether she had other clients or it was simply showing disapproval to her living with her long-term partner, Sikes. In chapter 39 of Oliver Twist, we witness the disapproval Miss Maylie's servants show to the arrival of Nancy merely based on her lower-status appearance.

Flanders, J. (2014, May 5). Prostitution. Retrieved February 19, 2021, from https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/prostitution

Furniss, H. (2015, March 5). Rose and Nancy [Digital image]. Retrieved February 19, 2021, from http://www.victorianweb.org/art/illustration/furniss/ot25.html

Coldbath Fields Prison

The Coldbath Fields Prison had a reputation for being extremly severe and cruel. It was often overcrowed and contained men, women, and children without much separation. The turnkeys were encouraged to be cruel and abusive by the magistrates who were in charge. Prisoners had little food or space, the prison was poorly ventilated making it easy for disease to spread. Coldbath prison was known for executing two specifc punishments effectively, the first called the tread-wheel which was a machine designed for prisoners to climb a set of stairs continuously, this punishment was designed to help "reform" prisoners with the idea of work and the prisoners were forced to walk on it for upwards of six hours a day. The second punishment was the silent system, where the prisoners were not allowed to talk or communicate in any way.

In Oliver Twist, Tom Chitling is imprisoned in what is implied to be either Coldbath Fields prison or one similar. He shows up at Fagin's after he had gotten out of prison only an hour before after having been there for six weeks. He mentions how he had to wear regulation uniform and that his own personal clothing was fumigated to kill off vermin (pg. 154). Later on in the novel when Chitling is conversing with Fagin about Betsy and Chitling says "I shouldn't have been milled, if it hadn't been for her advice," (pg. 193) with the word "milled" which is in reference to him being sent to prison and forced to work on the treadmill.

Works Cited

“Free Thinking - The Dark History of the Treadmill.” BBC Radio 3, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4w8bVrKRqQDP4fKl0b8XzdW/the-d…. Accessed 10 Feb., 2021.

Development of the middle class

As the Industrial Revolution grew, the changes in class happened economically. The rich got richer specifically the business owners. They dined in the benefits like technology. Factory owners grew to create what is known as the middle class. The middle class created more jobs in their factories but did not pay well and they did not have good working conditions fo rthie workers. And with the influx in status and the flexibility in how the middle class ran their companies, the poor (also known as the working class) situation didnt change, it could even be said that it worsened in different areas. People who become the second class finally had the means to educate their children to maintain or slowly rise to high standards. 

In Oliver Twiss, Charles Dickens shows the poor class and the high class by having Oliver live among each. He lived with Mr. Brownlow and his big house and was cared for. Mr. Brownlow bought him a new suit and had nice art up in his house. Mr. Grimwig believed because Oliver was poor that he would follow the lower class and steal because, “The boy has got a new suit of clothes on his back, a set of valuable books under his arm, and a five-pound note in his pocket” 114). Oliver also lived in a workplace factory as a child until he ran and began to live with Dodger and the boys who would steal to survive.  

References

"Bloomberg - Are You A Robot?". Bloomberg.Com, 2021, https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2017-02-16/industrial-revolu….

"Class Emergence In The Industrial Revolution". Ukessays.Com, 2021, https://www.ukessays.com/essays/history/the-three-main-classes-that-eme….

"Differences Between Wealthy, Middle Class And Poor In The Industrial Revolution". The Classroom | Empowering Students In Their College Journey, 2021, https://www.theclassroom.com/differences-between-wealthy-middle-class-p….

"Differences Between Wealthy, Middle Class And Poor In The Industrial Revolution". Exploros.Com, 2021, https://www.exploros.com/summary/Differences-Between-Wealthy-Middle-Cla….

"Economic Growth And The Early Industrial Revolution [Ushistory.Org]". Ushistory.Org, 2021, https://www.ushistory.org/us/22a.asp.

Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist. Litera Media Group, 2020.

Debtor's Prison

Being unable to pay off your debt was rampant during the 1800s, along with many other forms of crime. Although unlike some other crimes of the time, debt affected more than just the lower class, middle-class working men were often imprisoned for owing money. In response to this, some separate prisons were built specifically to hold debtors, such as the Fleet Prison in London. These prisons would hold the debtors until they paid off their dues or if they managed to settle something with their collectors. Before 1815 the debtors had to even pay their keep at the prisons after a certain amount of years. Since these prisoners could be held indefinitely their family were able to visit whenever they pleased. In 1824, Charles Dickens’ father was imprisoned for a debt he couldn’t pay which forced 12-year-old Charles to work ten-hour shifts at a shoe polish factory. Dickens’ terrible experience in the factory led him to write his first novel, Oliver Twist. One of the main reasons for writing Oliver Twist was to shed light on the child labor laws and workhouses that were popular at the time. Oliver experiences similar mistreatment while in the workhouse system at the beginning of the book such as insufficient food and long hours. 

Works Cited:

Blakemore, Erin. “How Charles Dickens Helped the English Get Fresh Air.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 20 Nov. 2017, www.history.com/news/how-charles-dickens-helped-the-english-get-fresh-a…;

Gooii. Debtors - Victorian Crime and Punishment from E2BN, vcp.e2bn.org/justice/page11365-debtors.html. 

“Victorian Era England Debt Prisons History & Living Conditions.” Victorian Era, victorian-era.org/debt-prisons-of-victorian-era-england.html. 

Image Citation: 

By Thomas Rowlandson, Auguste Charles Pugin, Rudolph Ackermann - link to The Met record, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=94577143

Child Labor

During the Victorian era, throughout the 1800's, child labor was seen as a norm. The children that weren't given the opportunity to get an education were the top picks to work for little pay. Laws were passed over this time period to slightly improve conditions for the children, but it wasn't until way later that child labor was thought of as wrong. Steam was the number one source of energy during the Victorian era and coal mines were needed to provide heat for the steam. Using children was perfect for mining companies because children were smaller and could get into the tight spaces while receiving less pay. There were terrible working conditions which included crowded and unclean factories where there were no safety codes. 

Child labor is directly related to Dickens' novel, Oliver Twist. We read how Oliver and many other children work for most of their day and come home to over crowded houses with not enough food. Oliver was born an orphan after his mother died during childbirth and the absence of his father. He had no chance to do anything other than become an ophan that was forced to work for a living.

Dickens', himself, knows child labor from his own experiences as well. When his father was imprisoned for debt, Charles was sent to work in the factory where he endured poor conditions for about three years. 

Price, Praxton. "Victorian Child Labor and the Conditions They Worked In." Victorian Children, 2 March. 2013, victorianchildren.org/victorian-child-labor/.

Griffin, Emma. "Child Labour" The British Library, 7 May 2014, www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/child-labour#

The Rise of Kidsmen: Thief Trainer's in the Victorian Era

In the 1800s, juvenile crime was becoming an increasing problem in large cities around England, and the most common form was pickpocketing. Kidsmen were criminal bosses who trained young boys and, in some cases, young girls to pickpocket and steal for them. The Kidsmen would then ‘fence’ the stolen merchandise in pubs, and lodging houses called flash houses. One of the first reportings of a criminal boss training young boys was in 1817. Thomas Duggin ran a group of professional pickpocketers in London’s St. Giles slum. The most notable thief trainer and receiver of stolen goods was Isaac “Ikey” Solomon; he was active in the 1810s through 1820s. Ikey Solomon is argued to have been the inspiration behind the character of Fagin. Solomon was arrested multiple times for his crimes and managed to escape three times. In 1829 he was in the penal colony of Tasmania visiting his wife and child when an arrest warrant was sent. It took twelve months for the warrant to arrive and be taken back to court in London. His trial was highly publicized in the newspaper and is believed to be the source for Dicken’s character. Fagin’s trial in chapter 52 has many similarities to Ikey’s, except Ikey was not sentenced to death and instead was transported back to Tasmania. 

Works Cited

James, David. “The Remarkable Story of the Real Fagin from Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist.” 5-Minute History, 7 July 2017, fiveminutehistory.com/the-remarkable-story-of-the-real-fagin-from-charles-dickens-oliver-twist/. 

“Juvenile Crime in the 19th Century.” The British Library, The British Library, 18 Feb. 2014, www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/juvenile-crime-in-the-19th-…;

Image credits: By anonymous print - Lambeth Police Office - http://princeoffences.com/about/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16135250

The Tumultuous Childhood of Charles Dickens

The childhood of Charles Dickens shaped the character of Oliver Twist. Dickens was born in 1812 to a family “pursued by poverty and haunted by debt” (“Charles Dickens”). He was described as a “very queer small boy,” which evokes a similar image to the description of Oliver Twist: “a pale thin child, somewhat diminutive in stature, and decidedly small in circumference” (Dickens 31). In the first portion of his childhood, the Dickens family inhabited a “dingy section of London” reminiscent of the dilapidated neighborhood of Fagin’s gang of criminals ("Charles Dickens"). Young Charles was often sent by his father John to negotiate for loans and credit, tasks which Charles despised but saw to for the sake of his family. Similarly, Oliver Twist is forced to deal in crime for the good of his “found family,” though he only does so after being threatened. Eventually, even Charles’s begging could not save the family, and in 1823, John was jailed for debt at Marshalsea with the rest of his family. Charles, however, was given separate lodgings nearby and only visited during his breaks from a relative’s blacking factory. During his visits, he is said to have “[gained] an unenviable knowledge of the life that went on within the prison,” which most likely informed his descriptions of the workhouse conditions in Oliver Twist (“Charles Dickens”).

            The blacking factory was not much better. Dickens worked among “companions who could but be repulsive,” working class peers who were often cruel to him for his posh accent and manners (“Charles Dickens”). It is here that Dickens meets Bob Fagin, whose name he would one day bestow upon one of the most notorious villains in literary history. Contrary to what one might assume, Bob Fagin was the kindest presence in Charles’s life at the time. He instructed Charles in proper blacking techniques and defended him from the bullies in the factory. Despite his kindness, Charles believed Bob Fagin’s help “[undermined] [his] sense of his true identity” (Muller). Dickens desired to be an educated gentleman, and Fagin’s tutelage only brought him farther away from that goal. He believed he might “easily have been…a little robber or a little vagabond” if he had accepted Fagin’s friendship and grown more accustomed to the life he was forced to lead due to his father’s poor financial judgement (Muller). Luckily for Dickens, in the year 1824, his father was released, and he was enrolled in Wellington House Academy, where he began his educational career. Oliver Twist’s childhood is perhaps what Dickens believes his would have been if he had accepted Bob Fagin as a friend.

Works Cited

“Charles Dickens.” The Journal of Education, vol. 75, no. 2, 1912, www-jstor-org.liblink.uncw.edu/stable/42819392?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=charles+dickens+oliver+twist&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dcharles%2Bdickens%2Boliver%2Btwist&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_solr_cloud%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A950afdfb0756e7f279582451e0370c35&seq=2#metadata_info_tab_contents. Accessed 9 Feb. 2021.

Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist. New York, Barnes & Noble Classics, 2003.

Green, Charles. “Charles Dickens.” Wikimedia Commons, 1912, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_Dickens.png. Accessed 10 Feb. 2021.

Muller, Jill. Introduction. Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens, Barnes & Noble Classics, 2003, pp. xiii-xxix.

The Metropolitan Police Act

In 1829, a new law was made: the Metropolitan Police Act of 1829. There were several reasons why this act was created. “Early 19th century London, with a population of nearly a million and a half people, was policed by 450 constables and 4,500 night watchmen. Their effectiveness was weakened because they belonged to different organisations, all jealous of their own powers” (“Crime and Punishment”). Sir Robert Peel, the Home Secretary in charge of the act, “secured a select committee to enquire into the state of the police and the increase of crime in the metropolis. Its report (July 1828) for the first time officially recommended a radical reform and extension of the police. The main recommendations were the creation of a central police office under two magistrates freed from all other duties…” (Bloy). This change in the setup of the police force could have had an impact upon Oliver. For example, after robbing the Maylie’s house, Sikes and his associate end up abandoning Oliver after he was shot, all to avoid getting caught by the police. We see in the novel how people around Oliver are affected by the police, or rather, the threat of them.

Works Cited:

Bloy, Majorie. “The Peel Web.” The Metropolitan Police Act, 1829, 4 Mar. 2016, www.historyhome.co.uk/peel/laworder/metact.htm. Accessed 14 February 2021.

“Crime and Punishment.” The National Archives, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/candp/prevention/g08/g08cs2.htm#:…. Accessed 14 February 2021.

Image Citation:

“Metropolitan Police Act 1829”. 1829. Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Metropolitan_Police_Act_1829_(UKPGA_Geo4-10-44).pdf. Accessed 14 February 2021.

The Temperance and Teetotalism Movements

Two early movements of the nineteenth-century within Victorian England were the temperance movement and the teetotal movement. Both of these movements were focused on alcohol consumption. The teetotal movement revolved around totally abstaining from alcohol use, and the temperance movement revolved around using alcohol in moderation. According to Susan Zieger with Standford University, who wrote the article “Temperance, Teetotalism, and Addiction in the Nineteenth Century” that is published on The Victorian Web, “the temperance movement was led by middle-class social reformers and philanthropists who wanted to manage an unruly working class.” Furthermore, Zierger claims that these same people aimed at persuading the working-class to spend their money on “middle-class comforts” such as furniture and watches. Furthermore, according to Rebecca Smith, “the Victorians also valued the idea of self-help, claiming that an individual grow through personal effort.” It is for this reason that those who did not make a choice to improve their education and low class within society were seen as failures (Smith). Smith claims that temperance was a way for these men to prove they were not lazy and that they cared about their social status. Smith notes that the temperance movement, which began in the 1830s, had several stages, and connects the rise of the temperance movement with the need for alert workers to run an industrial society.

On the flip side, the teetotal movement was started in response to the temperance movement. The leaders of the teetotal movement, which Zieger claims was most popular in the 1830s and 1840s, were actually working-class men. Smith claims many working-class men “… were insulted by the temperance movement and believed that its leaders were hypocritical because they implied that the problem of drunkenness lay only in the working-class.”

The first part of the temperance movement focused on controlling drunkenness rather than abolishing the sale of alcohol (Smith). It was thought that selling beer instead of hard liquor (gin) would allow for social drinking without intoxication (Smith). However, in 1832, the teetotalers were formed and wanted an alcohol-free society (Smith). The teetotaler movement made a social problem for the middle-class who had started the temperance movement since, according to Smith, they liked to drink wine when dining at someone’s home. Smith claims that as the teetotal group was a group of working-class men advocating for working class advancement, more working-class men wanted to join. Smith claims that one of the reasons that the teetotal movement did not continue is that working-class men did not have the skill in business to manage funds and organize the movement.

 Works Cited

Smith, Rebecca. “The Temperance Movement and Class Struggle in Victorian England.” http://people.loyno.edu/~history/journal/1992-3/smith-r.htm

Zieger, Susan. “Temerpance, Teetotalism, and Addiction in the Nineteenth Century.” The Victorian Web. 2002. http://www.victorianweb.org/science/addiction/temperance.ht 

The Mirror of Parliament and The Morning Chronicle

In 1829, after he learned shorthand, Dickens established himself as a reporter for the law courts, Parliament, and various other London newspapers, and in 1831, he joins the staff of the Mirror of Parliament. He would transcribe speeches by members of Parliament on topics such as factory conditions, penal reform, education reform, and Poor Law Commission. It is in 1834 that Dickens becomes a journalist for the Morning Chronicle, a job that now required him to frequently travel and attend political meetings. It is with this background that, I believe, laid the groundwork for what would be his political statements on the subjects of child labor and workhouses while writing Oliver Twist between 1837-1839. I think it’s also important to note that when the Poor Law Amendment Act (1834) was put in place, it ended relief given to the poor and forced those who needed assistance to enter workhouses, which is when the abhorrent conditions could more fully be seen, further giving Dickens fodder for Oliver’s background in the novel.

Work Cited:

Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist, Barnes & Noble Books, 2004.

Image source:

“Morning Chronicle 1825.” Https://Www.arthur-Conan-Doyle.com, www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php?title=File:Morning-chronicle-1825….

The Corpse Crisis in the City of London and the Birth of Garden Cemeteries

During the time period that Oliver Twist was written and the setting of the book itself, there were many major problems that plagued England during the time period including but not limited to poverty, child labor, sickness, and death. The funeral business was rather busy as we have seen in the book Oliver Twist (in the first half of it alone) and as young Oliver Twist apprenticed for Mr. Sowerberry, the undertaker. There is no doubt that there was a filth problem in London during the 19^th century, so author Lee Jackson chose to investigate, write, and publish his findings in his 2014 book titled “Dirty Old London: The Victorian Fight Against Filth”. Just as Charles Dickens decided to bring to light the conditions of child labor and how poverty leads to crime, Jackson too wanted to draw attention to another problem that affected everyone in London throughout the 1800s. There were several sanitary problems in London, one major one being associated with the human corpse.

In the 1830s, bodies were piling up at an immense rate given London’s conditions. Cremation was a new and a foreign custom many were not acquainted with and chose not to understand (Jackson). Every typical burial place was running out of room to bury the bodies even while stacking them on top of each other as mentioned in Chapter 5 of Oliver Twist: “It was no very difficult task, for the grave was so full, that the uppermost coffin was within a few feet of the surface” (Dickens p. 46) Grave diggers resulted to some gruesome tactics when it came to removing bodies in order to make room for new ones. Some bodies dug up were dumped at the Liverpool docks. Yet there was still not enough room in small church yards and burial grounds. The stench of the rotting bodies would be a topic of discussion for years to come as many debate whether or not it is linked to the spread of diseases like cholera, the creation of new illnesses, and if it can affect the health and well-being of the grave diggers handling the bodies and everyday citizens.

Some citizens decided to take matters into their own hands. Starting in the 1830s, garden cemeteries became the new places to bury deceased for all that could afford it. As Jackson states in his article, “For the middle- and upper-classes, one answer was to remove their dead to commercial “garden cemeteries”, spacious parks built in the semi-rural suburbs, such as Kensal Green (opened in 1832) and Highgate (1839). Such places, however, were well beyond the means of the urban poor” (Jackson). The divide between the rich and poor continued even into death through the treatment of corpses, burials, and burial locations. By the 1860s, these garden cemeteries would surround the metropolis on all sides, both commercial and parochial. Many of the old, disused private burial grounds would also eventually become garden cemeteries, of a sort (Jackson). Despite the passing of time and vandalism to garden cemeteries like Highgate Cemetery, Victorian garden cemeteries have survived even to this day.

Works Cited

Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist. Amazon Classics, 2017.

Godwin, Martin. Garden Cemeteries. Kensel Green, London.

Jackson, Lee. “Death in the City: the Grisly Secrets of Dealing with Victorian London's Dead.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 22 Jan. 2015, www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/jan/22/death-city-grisly-secrets-victor….

Jacob's Island

• As we have seen in pictures from the 1830s and beyond and heard it has described by Charles Dickens in the book Oliver Twist, it is no surprise that the living conditions of the poor did not compare to those of wealth. However, out of all the slums in London, one place in particular sticks out in history and did so to Charles Dickens as well; That place is known as Jacob’s Island. “The area was notoriously squalid and was described as “the very capital of cholera” by the Morning Chronicle in 1849” (Dance). Though Dickens is better known for bringing to light and creating depictions of grim workhouses, child labor and London’s criminal underbelly in his novel Oliver Twist, all throughout the book, especially in Chapter 50, he reveals the living conditions in homes and cities like Bermondsey as well. In fact, Dickens would occasionally go on patrol with the Thames police and it was on his patrol that he was taken to the island one day. Absolutely appalled and utterly horrified at the sight of it, Dickens was inspired to concoct the ending of Oliver Twist and the demise of the villain Mr. Bill Sykes:

“Crazy wooden galleries common to the backs of half a dozen houses, with holes from which to look upon the slime beneath; windows, broken and patched, with poles thrust out, on which to dry the linen that is never there; rooms so small, so filthy, so confined, that the air would seem to be so tainted even for the dirt and squalor which they shelter; wooden chambers thrusting themselves out above the mud and threatening to fall into it – as some have done; dirt-besmeared walls and decaying foundations, every repulsive lineament of poverty, every loathsome indication of filth, rot, and garbage: all these ornament the banks of Jacob’s Island” (Dickens 487-488).

 Though the picture itself (included above) does not reveal the true horror of the living conditions encompassed on Jacob’s island, Charles Dickens does a rather good job at doing so through his grand detail and figurative language.

Work Cited

Dance, Caecilia. “Filth, Disease and Dickens: Jacob's Island, a London Slum.” A Historical Miscellany, 24 Oct. 2019, www.danceshistoricalmiscellany.com/filth-disease-dickens-jacobs-island-….

Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist. Amazon Classics, 2017.

Jacob's Island. Bermondsey, London, 1840.

The 1832 Royal Commission

In response to the “Captain Swing” riots—a failed attempt by agricultural workers to protect their jobs—the royal government commissioned an inquiry into what are now known as the Old Poor Laws. Among those who executed the inquiry was assistant commissioner Edwin Chadwick, who was secretary to the commission and helped to compile the information. Chadwick, an editor by trade, was for a deterrent workhouse and a stricter distribution of aid to the poor.   

The data collected in the commission’s inquiry was vastly skewed due to the fact that they only visited or sent out surveys to a third of the parish workhouses in the surrounding area. Additionally, only 10% of the parishes responded to the surveys (which contained confusing and sometimes unintelligible questions).

According to victorianweb.org’s Dr. Bloy, the result was a heavily biased report filled with the following moral judgments:

- paupers claimed relief regardless of their merits

- large families received the most relief, therefore improvident marriages were encouraged and this led to larger families

- women were able to claim relief for their illegitimate children, so the system encouraged immorality

- labourers had no incentive to work hard and be thrifty, when worthless idlers got more relief than could be earned by honest hard work

- employers kept wages deliberately low

- paupers had no respect for an employer when they knew that their wages would be supplemented by the parish

- men were discouraged from providing for their families and aged parents because they could 'be put on the rates'

(The 1832 Royal Commission of Inquiry)

This report is what brought on the New Poor Laws that affect the world of Oliver Twist, where the common belief is that the poor deserve their struggles because they are intentionally draining the system. It is difficult to pinpoint specific instances of when this mentality affects Oliver in the story because it is a running theme throughout the work. However, this way of thinking is easily spotted in the instances in which is combatted, such as when Rose defends Oliver by asserting that his thievery is no fault of his own, but a product of his circumstance, which she believes deserves pity and charity rather than punishment (Chapter XXX).

Works Cited:

Bloy, Marjie. Edwin Chadwick, 2020, www.victorianweb.org/history/chad1.html. Accessed 18 Feb 2021.

Bloy, Marjorie. “The Peel Web.” The 1832 Commission of Enquiry into the Operation of the Poor Laws, 2016, www.historyhome.co.uk/peel/poorlaw/plcommis.htm. Accessed 18 Feb 2021.

Bloy, Marjie. The 1832 Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Operation of the Poor Laws, 2002, www.victorianweb.org/history/poorlaw/royalcom.html. Accessed 18 Feb 2021.

Dickens, Charles. “Chapter XXX.” Oliver Twist, Project Gutenberg, 2020. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/730/730-h/730-h.htm. Accessed 18 Feb 2021.

Higginbotham, Peter. The Old Poor Law, www.workhouses.org.uk/poorlaws/oldpoorlaw.shtml#Farming. Accessed 18 Feb 2021.

Photograph of Sir Edwin Chadwick. Circa 1860. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sir_Edwin_Chadwick2.jpg. Accessed 18 Feb 2021.

“Poor Law.” UK Parliament, 2021, www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/livinglearn…)%20collecting%20information. Accessed 18 Feb 2021.

Reform Act of 1832

 Preliminary information

I found myself asking how so many people could live in blatant filth literally streets next to people who lived in relative prosperity (the thieves, Mr. Brownlow, and the Maylie family). While I am in no way saying that those with money should give handouts to the poor or that those who have done well for themselves did not earn or deserve it, I do see a blatant wealth gap in the novel, and this wealth gap was also present in the nonfiction life of people at the time. While it would be easy to say that the reason that poor people lived as they did was that they were immoral, lazy, and/or criminals, I think that there is more to the case than a simple character flaw. Ultimately, humans are mere animals, glorified, yes, but animals nonetheless. If we think of society as we would think of a savannah, I think it is clearer to understand that humans will do what it takes to survive. It is no different than a lion or, my favorite, a leopard on the hunt or going to the watering hole. Animals understand that they share the watering hole, so they go there to drink, but they also understand that they will be hunted by those same animals they share the watering hole with. While these animals have no social construct of laws to protect them, we humans have invented the law as a way to keep our savannah (society) working for our survival, but who is included in this “our?” Has the law itself turned into a predator-prey situation? Has it always been that way? Is equality a grand ideal or utopia and not a concrete, palpable reality? Can the ideal be implemented into reality? With these questions in mind, I looked into the Reform Acts that allowed more people the “right” to vote. Remember, rights are a social construct. We create rights and deny them through the construction of our society.

 Reform Act of 1832

The Victorian Era obviously saw incredible growth economically, but the cities also grew in population size. Parliament, an invention that structured this society, was not even close to equally representing everyone. I do not mean that the representation of beliefs alone was unequal. I mean, based on geography or where (location) one literally lived was indicative of if one was to be represented in Parliament or not. The Great Reform Act of 1832, according to Glen Everett, an Associate Professor of English at the University of Tennessee at Martin, “…did way with ‘rotten’ and ‘pocket’ boroughs like Old Sarum, which with only seven voters (all controlled by the local squire) was still sending two members to Parliament.” Furthermore, Everett claims that in addition to reallotting Parliamentary representation it also “…gave the power of voting to those lower in the social and economic scale, for the act extended the right to vote to any man owning a household worth €10, adding 217,000 voters to an electorate of 435,000. Approximately one man in five now had the right to vote.” While this Act did allow more people to participate in legislation promotion, it did not include working class men. So, our Fagin, Sikes, and Bates, would not have been eligible to vote in Victorian England for more than thirty years. Mr. Brownlow may have been able to. Nancy, Rose, and Mrs. Maylie would not be able to vote for almost one-hundred years.

 Connecting to the Text

From this understanding of the complete lack in any say in the structure of society (even though voting is a relatively small say), I can somewhat empathize with the thieves and, even, the prostitute. Why would they want to contribute their labor to a society that, structurally speaking, does not acknowledge them nor allow them to even have a drink from the watering hole? For Oliver, being born into a workhouse does involve chance, but the workhouse was a product of these social reforms. Oliver was born into a society in which he was already of little value regardless of his character. Without legal representation, a person with a hardened heart, such as Sikes or Mr. Bumble, has no reason to value another person in the dog-eat-dog world of survival this work of fiction reflects.

Emotional Sidenote 

Last comment, although this is a work of fiction, these characters are likely not uncommon. Dickens gave a voice to many people through these fictional characters, and I think that is something in itself.

Everett, Glen. “The Reform Acts.” The Victorian Web. May 2018. http://www.victorianweb.org/history/hist2.html

1833 Factory Act

Factories grew with no rules in regards to how to run the factory as the Industrial Revolution grew itself. The Factory Act was created to try to improve child conditions in the working factories. But this rule did not project adult male workers. “The basis of the act was as follows:

• No child workers under nine years of age
• Employers muct have an age certificate for their child workers
• Children of 9-13 years to work no more than nine hours a day
• Children of 13-18 years to work no more than 12 hours a day
• Children are not to work at night
• Two hours schooling each day for children
• Four factory inspectors appointed to enforce the law” (The National Archives).

This did not stop abuse that happend to the children. The way they kept the act from being avoided as much as possible, was by having a four man factory inspection. Although they could only do so much this was the start of government control in factories. The work and the amount of time spent in the factories were wearing on the bodies of the workers, esspecially the young. There are proofs of reports from an inspector, who had been told from one of the worker boys that he had worked from 6 Am Friday to 4 Pm Saturday with an hour break at midnight and meal hours. Factory owners protested teh act believing that it would decrease their business and ultimately cause their products to cost more. 

In Charles Dickens Oliver Twist  was brought up in a factory and had to deal with teh conditions. He was put away in isolation for asking for more food and hated ever since. When Oliver asked for more foodthe gentleman in the white waistcoat predicted that Oliver would be hung. The attendance did whatever they could to get rid of him even if it was by trying to give him to a man whose previous woring boy had died. 

Work Cited

2021, https://www.dol.gov/general/aboutdol/history/mono-regsafepart02. Accessed 13 Feb 2021.

"Factory Acts". En.Wikipedia.Org, 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factory_Acts.

The 1833 Factory Act. 2021, https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/liv….

"1833 Factory Act - Source 1 - The National Archives". The National Archives, 2021, https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/1833-factory-ac….

"1833 Factory Act - The National Archives". The National Archives, 2021, https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/1833-factory-ac….

"1833 Factory Act | History Of World Civilization II". Courses.Lumenlearning.Com, 2021, https://courses.lumenlearning.com/atd-tcc-worldciv2/chapter/1833-factor….

Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist. Litera Media Group, 2020.

First Education Grant

In 1833, the first education grant was given by Parliament to two voluntary groups promoting schooling for children. One group, the National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor, was founded in 1811, and the goal of this group, according to“Elementary education in the 19^th century" published on UK Parliament, was to “…develop schooling in the growing industrial towns.” In 1814, the British and Foreign School Society was founded, and this group “… catered for the children of nonconformist parents” ("Elementary"). Furthermore, according“Elementary education in the 19^th century" these groups came to be out of the same aspirations of those who supported Sunday schools, which were held at church or a chapel and was the only form of education that children had access to and were backed, charitably, by the middle classes as these Sunday schools gave children born into poor families the ability to read. By 1857, less than thirty years later,“Elementary education in the 19^th century", “…the grant was well over €500,000, and a government department was set up to oversee expenditure. Unfortunately, as more government regulation occurred, less people were able to be supported.“Elementary education in the 19^th century", “…an increase in the state grant was paid, but it was allocated to schools partly on the basis of examination results conducted by school inspector” in 1861, and, furthermore, “… [this] also meant that rural and industrial areas which had no schools usually remained without them” ("Elementary").

Works Cited

“Elementary education in the 19^th century.” UK Parliament. https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/liv…

Slave Emancipation Act/ Slavery Abolition Act

In chapter 29 (prefaced as one that "Introduces Some Respectable Characters with Whom the Reader Is Already Acquainted..."), Dickens gathers Sikes, Fagin, the Artful, and Bates together as Nancy faints.  After they revive her, they reveal that they've been away procuring some food, including wine, rabbit pie, and sugar. The Artful remarks that the sugar is "a pound and a half of...that the n****** didn’t work at all at" (Dickens 372).  The men are commenting on the brutal sugar cane industry, propelled by enslaved Africans, through English colonization in the Caribbean.

One of the most brutal jobs of the industry was "holeing" or that of "digging holes to plant sugarcane" (Radburn).  It was largely performed by enslaved members of "jobbing gangs" (Radburn).  These workers ("jobbers")  were contracted out by the typically middle class men who owned them (they did not own the plantations) to keep plantation slaves alive and healthy longer, and "although scholars know of the existence of jobbing gangs, they have neither fully explored their role in plantation management nor examined the lives of the tens of thousands of people who were enslaved within them" (Radburn).  

Though the Slavery Abolition Act freed "800,000 enslaved Africans," it was mostly a response to growing complaints that England, who had a monoploy on the industry, was now no match for "larger plantation economies such as those of Cuba and Brazil" who were able to prodcue much more than what was produced in the Caribbean (Henry).  It was a political maneuver to make sugar more accessible and cheaper in the new globalizing world economy, not an act to help slaves who were brutalized and murdered by the backbreaking labor of the industry.  And though slaveholders were compensated for their lost slaves, those newly freed recived no compensation or assistance (Henry).      

Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist. Amazon Classics. Kindle Edition.

Henry, Natasha L.. "Slavery Abolition Act". Encyclopedia Britannica, 25 Jul. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Slavery-Abolition-Act. Accessed 19 February 2021.

The Chimney Sweepers Act

In 1834, British Parliament passed The Chimney Sweepers Act. In the Victorian times, a chimney sweep was someone who would quite literally clean chimneys. Orphan boys as young as the age of 6 were being sued for this type of dangerous labor. They would wipe soot away from the walls of the chimney, and follow this action by disposing of the soot. This was certainly not an uncomplicated or safe job at the time, to say the least. Chimney sweepers were in high demands as well, due to the fact that much of the architecture in the Victorian era had chimneys. Chimney sweeping posed a risk for death in more ways than one, some chimneys were very narrow, causing sweepers to become stuck and die. Not to mention, there were even chimneys that held “changes in direction.” A chimney sweeper could also possibly be suffocated inside due to breathing in copious amounts of soot. Not only were these threats that posed themselves on the job, there was the threat of developing “Chimney Sweep’s Cancer or Cancer Scroti” later in life. The Chimney Sweepers Act outlawed the appreticing of children below the age of 10, further going on to state “that an apprentice must express himself in front of a magistrate that he was willing and desirous.”  Young boys were needed and in high demand as they were perfect for fitting into the chimneys and being taught to climb and clean them. 

In Dickens' novel, Oliver Twist, we are introduced to a chimney sweep by the name of Mr. Gamfield in Chapter 3. Oliver is fortunately saved from the threat of almost becoming an apprentice for him, who had “bruised three or four boys to death already”. (pg.18) This Act gives us a further and more specific understanding and realization of what many of the young orphans endured long ago. Although Oliver was spared and ended up taking a different route in his fictional story line, we are able to have a glimpse into a possible life experience that many other real people suffered from. 

Works Cited

“Children and Chimneys.” UK Parliament, www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/livinglearning/19thcentury/overview/childrenchimneys/.

“Chimney Sweep.” Wikiwand, www.wikiwand.com/en/Chimney_sweep.

“LinkFang.” Chimney Sweepers Act 1834 - En.LinkFang.org, en.linkfang.org/wiki/Chimney_Sweepers_Act_1834.

Child Labor in Oliver Twist

Child labor has been present in human society for a very tong time and has been displayed in various literary works including Oliver Twist. Child labor seems to be a main theme in Oliver Twist because Charles Dickens wrote the book as a response to the poor amendment law of 1834; which allowed cruelty to be ensued on children that were born into the lower class. British orphans around the age of seven were sent off to jobs all across the country to work up to 13 hours a day, only to be used as free labor. These kids didn’t have any other choice because their “payment” came in the form of food and housing. 

Oliver being powerless and he is always dependent on others, which shows Dickens' interest in the powerlessness of children in this era. For example, when Oliver does everything he can to survive but only manages as a result of Mr. Brownlow and his kindness. Oliver was only transported out of the hostile environment he was born into and taken to the comforts of the middle class; not because of his actions, but because he found people that were willing to help him get away from his prison that was child labor. 

However, this a fictional story and the reality is that this was not usually the case for children of that time. During the time of the industrial revolution, 40% of Britain’s population were kids and the first wave of factory labor consisted of orphans.

Work Cited

English Essay on the Theme of Child Labour in Oliver Twist. 27 Oct. 2016, www.mimersbrunn.se/article?id=59915.

Poor Law of 1834

The Poor Law of 1834 had a profound impact on the plot of Oliver Twist for a plethora of reasons. This law required those who were insufficent at being able to provide for themselves to be entered into a workhouse where they would have to work daily for food and housing ("1834 Poor Law"). Although, this law was designed in order to help aid the community, it was considered to be more for the image of the country. This was the case because the government was not really looking for a solution to end homelessness but really just a solution to remove beggars from the street. Additionally, this law was designed to help break the cycle of homelessness but in return it actually trapped many in this lifestyle ("1834 Poor Law"). 

A great example of these Poor Laws in action is Oliver Twist; his mother was a resident of one of these workhouses when he was born in the 1830's. Shortly after his birth Oliver's mother died and he was sent to an orphanage until the age of nine. Upon his coming of age he returns to the workhouse system again to be trapped in what seems to be an endless cycle of pitiful poverty. Oliver is eventually casted out from the workhouse by others within it, but this goes to show that these workhouses created by the Poor Law of 1834 had a far worse impact on society than they were intened for.

Works Cited

“1834 Poor Law.” The National Archives, The National Archives, 4 August 2020, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/1834-poor-law/#:~:text=…. Accessed 3 February 2021.

*note: image is from the same source

Dickens meets his future wife

This is an important event to happen to Dickens because no one knows what kind of influence Catherine may have or may not of had on Dickens. In the article I have listed, it states in order how Charles and Catherines marriage went. One would assume that they were happy for the longest time in the beginning years. They happily had 10 kids together, where they never stopped loving one another. As well as having kids together, they were also traveling everywhere together. They ventured off to Scotland, as well as America together making the memories of their lifetime. On the outside, they had their lives together as far as the public eye could see. But in reality, they were growing apart. In 1858, Charles and Catherine were legally separated after Catherine mistakenly received a gift from Charles that was meant to go to Ellen, who would soon be his new girlfriend until he passes away. All of this goes to say that this is important because without having Dickens go through what he went through in life, he might have never produced the novels he did in the way he wrote them. Everything could have been different. You become who you surround yourself with and I think that this shows a little bit in Dickens writings. You can tell which novels he wrote when he was with Catherine versus the ones he wrote when he was with Ellen and I think that speaks a lot for itself.

Works Cited

Charles Dickens Info.....https://www.charlesdickensinfo.com/life/marriage/

Dickens' writing of Oliver Twist

Charles Dickens was 25 years old when he started his novel, Oliver Twist. A publisher, Richard Bentley, hired Dickens to edit a new magazine called Bentley's Miscellany. From Febuary 1837, Oliver Twist  began to appear in the monthly releases. Dickens' began to write Oliver Twist after the Poor Law of 1834 was announced. His response to the law is seen through his writing of Oliver Twist which also stemmed from his personal experiences as a child where he was split from his familt and put to work after his father was sent to jail for debt. His novel Oliver Twist was offically published in 1850 which was 13 years after it was first seen in Bentley's Miscellany magazine. 

We are able to see the connection that Dickens' makes with his own life story and his novel. Dickens was sent to work in a blacking factory at the age of 12 where he experienced the tough working conditions and taunting from other boys. In a website called, "Charles Dicjens Info" it explains how Charles was taunted by some boys, but there was one employee, Bob Fagin, who defended Dickens and taught him how to wrap and tie the bottles for his job. We see Fagin in the novel who teaches Oliver how to pickpocket and this could be an easy connection to how Bob Fagin taught Dickens how to work while Dickens was in a dark time of his life. 

works cited:

 "Oliver Twist" Charles Dickens Info, 7 Nov. 2020, www.charlesdickensinfo.com/novels/oliver-twist/.

"Charles Dicken's Oliver Twist: The British Library." British Library, 15 Dec. 2017, www.britishlibrary.cn/en/works/oliver-twist/.

"Oliver Twist" Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. www.britannica.com/topic/Oliver-Twist-novel-by-Dickens

Pretend Event for Oliver Twist Chronology

Pretend pretend!

Baby Farms

"...[T]he parish authorities magnanimously and humanely resolved that Oliver should be 'farmed'..." (Dickens 25).

At the beginning of his life, Oliver is sent to a nineteenth-century "baby farm." Due to the social stigma against babies out of wedlock, Victorian women often had to give their babies away to these baby farms. If anything happened to these babies, the mothers would often hide this from the police out of shame, leading to a huge number of infant murders ("'Baby'"). The farms and social conditions enabled women like Amelia Dyer, who is said to have murdered hundreds of infants (Lee).

Works Cited

"'Baby Farming': A Tragedy of Victorian Times." Capital Punishment U.K., http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/babyfarm.html.

Lee, Sarah. "Amelia Dyer: The Victorian Nurse Who Strangled Babies." BBC, 3 June 2017, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-berkshire-39330793.

Wells Asylum. "Amelia Dyer." Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amelia_dyer1893.jpg.

Charles Dickens First Oliver Twist Installment in Bentley's Miscellany

Oliver Twist was a serialization in the monthly magazine Bentley’s Miscellany. In fact, Charles Dickens served as the magazine’s editor for some time. In his tenure, Dickens’ Oliver Twist reached close to 100,000 people over the course of its two year run. Dickens’ time at Bentley’s Miscellany was preceded by his success with the Pickwick Papers. It was in his days writing the Pickwick Papers that he was heralded “the most popular author of the day” (“Charles Dickens, 269). Magazines of the Victorian Age are symbolic of humanity’s growing literacy rates and of Western industrialization—paper and printing costs decreased to the point where the middle class could engage with them. Similarly, Bentley’s Miscellany reach with the burgeoning middle class informed a generation of people about society’s ill-treatment of the poor. Bentley’s Miscellany for the Victorian Age can be thought of as YouTube for today—both are the hub of entertainment for a broad population. 

Source: “Charles Dickens.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopedædia Britannica, 1994, pp. 269-270. 

Victorian Workhouse

The Workhouses written in Oliver Twist played a HUGE part of Charles Dickens. These workhouses were more than just fictional pieces in a novel. They were real and played a vital role when it came to Dickens writing about his opinion and view on poverty and political contexts. 

What is a workhouse?

A workhouse was a place where people went if they couldn't financially support themselves. One would think that this was a place where you worked and earned your way through, but that was far from the truth. Little boys and girls grew up in these homes almost like an orphanage, except rather than being treated with some sort or respect and dignity, these people were scared and fearful and bullied. Dickens, when he was 12 years old, was sent to a Workhouse where he thought he would never accomplish his dreams. When he asked for more food, he was punished by being beaten and bruised and shoved in the darks for days on end. 

The New Law

Because of these workhouses, The New Poor Law of 1834 was created. This law, initially intended to help the elderly and the poor and refuges, it was instead used as a way to get the homeless off of the streets. The workhouses received no funding fnancially whatsoever. Of course no one liked these workhouses or their ways or what they came with. People did everything in their power to stay away from being sucked into them, but no one is perfect so that didn't always work. 

An example of just how bad society saw those who were placed in the workhouses were, a line from the novel Oliver Twist says "But now that he was enveloped in the old calico robes which had grown yellow in the same service, he was badged and ticketed, and fell into his place at once--a parish child--the orphan of a workhouse--the humble, half-starved drudge--to be cuffed and buffeted through the world--despised by all, and pitied by none." (Dickens, 6). This line shows the audience that society thought very little of those who suffered in the workhouses. Back then, if you weren't rich, then you weren't important. 

I think the fact that Dickens was once in this position of not being known or cared for shows a lot about his character. He proved everyone wrong. He had a vision at a young age and he knew what he wanted his life to be and he made that happen, despite his circumstances. 

Works Cited:

Discovering Literature...https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/oliver-twist-and-th…

Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist

Silk Handkerchiefs and the Clothing Trade

Handkerchiefs have a long history as a social symbol and a (usually romantic) communication device. Silk handkerchiefs were the favored type of the Victorian elite, and they were considered an “important fashion accessory for well-to-do persons of both sexes” (Jordan 3). Their purpose was not practical, but symbolic: as an “article of luxury,” their appearance in a person’s attire suggested wealth and power (Jordan 3). The high demand for silk handkerchiefs among the affluent members of English society meant they were especially valuable to criminals like Fagin. Fortunately for thieves, they were also easy to steal: men usually carried them in their pockets, so a skilled pickpocket would be able to snatch one with ease. After stealing the handkerchiefs, criminals would pull out the embroidery, which was usually the owner’s initials or a family sigil, so that the article would not be identifiable (Jordan 3). In chapter nine of Oliver Twist, we witness an exchange between Fagin, Oliver, the Artful Dodger, and Charley Bates after the two young thieves return from the streets with four stolen handkerchiefs. Fagin tells Charley that he “[hasn’t] marked them well…so the marks will be picked out with a needle, and we’ll teach Oliver how to do it” (Dickens 92).

After this task is done, the handkerchiefs are advertised and repurchased, often by the same people they were stolen from. The clothing trade, an unlicensed market for mostly stolen articles, was very popular among the working-class at the time; in fact, it was the main way working-class people obtained clothing (Toplis). Articles such as these silk handkerchiefs sold quickly through the clothing trade, which diminished the chances of the stolen article being discovered and the thief prosecuted. There is no question now why Fagin’s gang focused mostly on stealing pocket handkerchiefs: the market for the item was lucrative, and the chance of being caught with the stolen handkerchief was low thanks to the clothing trade (Toplis).

Handkerchiefs play another important role in the story of Oliver Twist. By this time, handkerchiefs had also become popular among the lower class, though for more functional reasons; they were used to wipe perspiration from a sweaty workingman’s brow or dab food off of the corner of one’s mouth. We see the boy thieves wearing handkerchiefs around their necks, and “at least half of the twenty-four [illustrations] in the book contain or suggest the presence of a handkerchief” (Jordan 2). However, these handkerchiefs were made of cotton, not silk—cheap cotton imported from America. Slave labor across the sea allowed this “luxury” to be brought to England’s lower class (Jordan 4). The type of handkerchief (silk, cotton) and its function (fashion accessory, sweat towel) in the novel reveal a character’s station in society. With a bit of research, the presence of cotton handkerchiefs also shows how slavery is always at least in the background of Victorian novels; though there are no slaves in Oliver Twist, the boys benefit from their cotton-picking through their ability to own handkerchiefs.

Works Cited

Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist. New York, Barnes & Noble Classics, 2003.

“Handkerchief.” Wikimedia Commons, 10095, 7 May 1972, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Handkerchief_(AM_10095).jpg. Accessed 10 Feb. 2021.

Jordan, John O. “The Purloined Handkerchief.” Dickens Studies Annual, vol. 18, 1989, www-jstor-org.liblink.uncw.edu/stable/44371627?seq=2#metadata_info_tab_contents. Accessed 4 Feb 2021.

Toplis, Alison. “The Illicit Trade in Clothing, Worcestershire and Herefordshire,1800-1850.” Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, vol. 2, no. 3, 2010, search-proquest-com.liblink.uncw.edu/docview/740190370?pq-origsite=summon. Accessed 4 Feb 2021.

Appointment of Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria took control of Britain and Ireland in June of 1837; she became heir to the throne after her father, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, died shortly after her birth ("Who was Queen Victoria?"). The Queen took control of the country when it was overcoming a large downfall after the Napoleonic Wars that left the taxes high and the country in ruins, yet she was able to dig them out of the grave. She married Prince Albert, Saxe-Coburg, to whom she had nine kids, which strongly influenced the principles that were founded underneath her rule (“Who was Queen Victoria?”). Many regarded that she attempted to set an example for her kids under her rule consequently setting a good basis of values for her country. Unfortunately, one of the downfalls to her rule though was the transition in views on crime within the country.  The laws on major crime were tighter but this left the rules on small crime such as theft to be a little more lacking in the sense of punishment (Picard).

Shortly before Queen Victoria came to gain power of the throne, the country established the power of a metropolitan police force, the first ever in the country (Picard). Under the rule of Queen Victoria, this police force had wide powers and a clear effect on diverting serious crime from the street, but there was still a great looming issue.  Although, there was finally a force to help deter crime from the streets they were undoubtedly short-staffed leaving many to the life of crime to make a living, just like Oliver Twist (Picard). This new police force was focusing more on stopping large scheme crimes like murder and such, leaving the window open for small operations such as the one Oliver found himself in. In a lot of ways, the appointment of Queen Victoria helped the life of Oliver, due to leaving many groups exposed and making the operation just a little bit easier. 

Works Cited

“Who Was Queen Victoria? What Was Her Role in the British Empire?” Britain Magazine | The Official Magazine of Visit Britain | Best of British History, Royal Family,Travel and Culture, Britain Magazine, 5 September 2017, www.britain-magazine.com/features/royals/queen-victoria-role-british-em…. Accessed 6 February 2021.

Picard, Liza. “Victorian Prisons and Punishments.” The British Library, The British Library, 14 October 2009, www.bl.uk/victorian-britain/articles/victorian-prisons-and-punishments. Accessed 6 February 2021.

“Victoria (r. 1837-1901).” The Royal Family, www.royal.uk/queen-victoria. Accessed 6 February 2021.

Note: The last source is for the image posted, I was unable to find the publishing date and the author of the article after doing heavy research.

1837 Registration Act

The year of 1837 marked the beginning of reform within the process of registration of birth, death, and marriage. Prior to this, the Factory Act of 1833 meant to reduce the hours of working, young children was rendered more or less useless, as the lack of official records made it difficult to definitely pinpoint the age of people. Much of record-keeping fell on the Anglican church and had more to do with baptism, marriages, and burials. In one article examining this act, it is hypothesized that, “the religious rite of baptism was inextricably linked with the legal function of registration,” (Turvey). Essentially, baptism was viewed as a birth record, yet there were also pamphlets by clergy who stressed the difference between the two, thus leading to the beginning of this reform. The reform itself set up a registration of birth, death, and marriage at the General Register Office. Registrars were responsible for providing two certificates of birth, one kept at the office and one given to the person and were paid for producing them. Some of the responsibility, however, still fell on parish unions to help in the recording of these events. A quote by Thomas Lister in the article by Peter Turvey speaks to the success of the act, stating, “The register of births is less complete; but this is owing to the want of a clause in the Act to render the information of births imperative,” (Lister), which insinuates that the act needed furth reform (which it received through the 1900s).

This can be applied to Oliver Twist in the way in which the novel surrounds the concept of Oliver being an orphan through the discovery of Monks being his brother, Agnes being his mother, and Brownlow piecing together the story through his personal relation. The idea that the locket is proof of birth suggests a lack of record keeping, in which case much of the lack of knowledge of the inheritance may have been avoided.

Works Cited

Bloy, Marjie. “Victorian Legislation: a Timeline.” The Victorian Web, July 2014, www.victorianweb.org/history/legistl.html. 

Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist. Knopf, 1992.

Turvey, Peter. “The History behind Your Birth Certificate.” Probate Genealogists & Probate Researchers Anglia Research Services Limited Established 1979, 2021, www.angliaresearch.co.uk/articles/the-history-behind-your-birth-certifi…. 

“Vital Registration and Marriage in England and Wales.” International Institute for Vital Registration and Statistics, Oct. 1979, unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/crvs/documents/IIVRS_papers/IIVRS_paper4.pdf. 

 (image sourced from "The History Behind your Birth Certificate" article by Peter Turvey) It is a depiction of the Somerset Registration Office.

Conditions in Victorian Workhouses

Throughout Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens' utter disgust for workhouses and the state they left children in can be seen, especially in the way Oliver spends his early years mistreated and living in horrible conditions. The most well-known example of this mistreatment in the text comes at the end of the second chapter when he and the other children are starving and he is pushed to request a second helping of dinner. For this apparently outrageous action, Oliver is trapped and isolated in a "dark and solitary room," caned in the freezing yard of the workhouse, and "socially flogged as a public warning and example" in the middle of the dining hall (Dickens 36-37). 

As Dickens conveyed in his novel, Victorian workhouses were more like prisons than shelters or rehabilitation centers for the poor as they were perhaps originally intended to be. Workhouse "inmates" were forced to wear uniforms, separated from their families, forbidden from speaking to each other, regularly exposed to a wide variety of communicable diseases and generally unhygienic conditions, had little access to education, were barely fed enough to survive, and forced into dangerous jobs that stole long hours which often resulted in gruesome injuries or death (Scull, Brain). Some of these jobs including having inmates man long rows of factory machines, cook, clean, or engage in heavier manual labor like crushing bone or picking oakum (Brain). The Victorian poor also had little hope of escaping these situations due to the way society looked upon them. Victorians viewed the poor as "‘idlers’ or lazy people" and believed that, by entrapping them in a workhouse with conditions barely fit for human inhabitance, they could discourage poor people from "choosing" to be impoverished and thereby solve a major societal problem (Scull). Obviously, this was not an effective technique, but it very clearly demonstrates the importance of wealth and status in Victorian society and how easily a system can trap its inhabitants inside itself. A system that our very own Oliver Twist was born into. 

Works Cited

Brain, Jessica. "The Victorian Workhouse." Historic UK, https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Victorian-Workhouse. Accessed 16th Feb. 2021. 

Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist. 1961. Signet Classics, 2005.

Scull, J. C. "The Workhouses: How the Poor Were Virtually Imprisoned in Victorian Era England." Medium, 9th Oct. 2020, https://medium.com/exploring-history/the-workhouses-how-the-poor-were-virtually-imprisoned-in-victorian-era-england-f25c9f608403.

Image Citation

Phiz. Poor People Having Dinner in a Workhouse. 1840. Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Poor_people_having_dinner_in_a_workhouse,_1840_Wellcome_L0006801.jpg. Accessed 16th Feb. 2021. 

Poverty

 The reality and themes of poverty during the events in Oliver Twist as well as what Charles Dickens’ saw in his own life played a critical role in the development of the novel. It is heavily evident that poverty is an ongoing theme in the novel, as Oliver is born into a life of poverty and struggle. This would ultimately lead to the famous lines of, “Please, sir, I want some more” (Dickens, 39) with Oliver wanting more gruel in the hall with all the other malnourished children. There are numerous factors that run in tandem with poverty in London during the Victorian Era and the trials people went through because of poverty. Housing was particularly hard to come by due to shortages in available housing, and this would only get worse as the population of London grew. A lot of large houses would become flats, and there wasn’t much upkeep on these properties. There was also a severe lack of sanitation for the people who lived in these exceptionally poor parts of London. There would be “tidal ditches” (where drains and sewers would empty) running through the streets, and this was the only water people on the street had to drink. As we see in the novel, there was always an overcrowding of individuals into small, tight spaces, which only made the lack of sanitation worse. Another sad fact that correlates with Oliver Twist are the homeless children on the streets of London. These were usually made up of children who were turned away from homes or who ran away from “ill treatment.” Charles Dickens likely saw this reality on a regular enough basis that it stuck with him as he went on to work as a journalist and a writer, with his particular interest in laws and things of that nature.

Works Cited:

“Hidden Lives Revealed: A Virtual Archive - Children in Care 1881-1981.” Hidden Lives Revealed. A Virtual Archive - Children in Care 1881-1981, www.hiddenlives.org.uk/articles/poverty.html.

Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist, Barnes & Noble Books, 2004.

Image source:

“Poverty.” Wikimedia Commons, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: Poverty_in_London,_18th_century_Wellcome_L0001078.jpg.

The People's Charter

After the Reform Act of 1832, the men of England’s working-class wanted more. A group known as the London Working Men’s Association introduced the People’s Charter in 1838, which illustrated to the London government the demands they wanted met (“The People's Charter, 1838”). Their orders consisted of the following: “one man, one vote; equal electoral districts; payment of members of parliament; elections by secret ballot; removal of property qualifications for MPs; and parliaments elected every year” (“History : British History Timeline”). The charter was rejected by Parliament. Many worried about violence in the city, “Support for Chartism peaked at times of economic depression and hunger. There was rioting in Stockport, due to unemployment and near-starvation, and Manchester, where workers protested against wage cuts, wanting ‘a fair day's pay for a fair day's labour’” (The National Archives Learning Curve: Power, Politics and Protest: The Chartists”). During the period of Oliver Twist, many were faced with the similar bleak reality that Oliver himself experienced. So, like Oliver, they let it be known that they wanted more. The People’s Charter served as a way for the men of the working class to begin and try and gain rights for themselves without having to own property. Unfortunately, women and others like Nancy and Rose would not be able to have rights like those of men for at least a hundred years. Despite their circumstances, some may have clawed their way out of poverty. If the charter had succeeded, the government could have been more balanced and helpful to the poor. However, the charter’s supporters gradually died off until 1848, when its ideas began to be absorbed by other reformers.

Works Cited:

“History : British History Timeline.” BBC, BBC, 2014, www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/timeline/victorianbritain_timeline_noflas…. Accessed 13 February 2021.

“The National Archives Learning Curve: Power, Politics and Protest: The Chartists.” The National Archives, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/politics/g7/. Accessed 13 February 2021.

“The People's Charter, 1838.” The People's Charter, 1838 , Social History Portal, 1 Jan. 1970, socialhistoryportal.org/museum/6804. Accessed 13 February 2021.

Image Citation:

Lock, Alexander, and Margaret Makepeace. “The People's Charter.” Untold Lives Blog, British Library, May 2015, blogs.bl.uk/untoldlives/2015/05/the-peoples-charter.html. 

Funeral Mutes

"'There's an expression of melancholy in his face, my dear,' resumed Mr. Sowerberry, "which is very interesting. He would make a delightful mute, my love'" (Dickens 57). 

In this passage and in the lines that follow, Mr. Sowerberry proposes to his wife that they make Oliver Twist work for them as a funeral mute for children's funerals. While Twist may be one of the most famous examples of mutes in literature, child mutes were actually less common with the job usually being taken by adult men. Popular in the 1700s and declining towards the end of the 1800s, the mute profession entailed "stand[ing] vigil outside the door of the deceased, then accompany[ing] the coffin, wearing dark clothes, looking solemn and usually carrying a long stick (called a wand) covered in black crape" (Byrne). They typically operated on an irregular job-by-job basis, but still stood out as part of an funeral industry that increased in extravagance the further it moved into the Victorian era. Dickens himself actually held great distaste for mutes and the elaborate funerals they symbolized which led him to use them as vehicles in many of his works (e.g. Martin Chuzzlewit) to mock the industry and the barriers it presented to the lower classes (Admin). Dickens' critique of them contributed to their decline in popularity as did the perpetually shifting Victorian ideas about funeral proceedings, status, and representations of wealth in death. By the 1890s into the early 1900s, mutes as a funeral staple were a thing of the past (Byrne).

Works Cited

Admin. "The History of the Victorian Mute." Austin's, 18th Jan. 2016, https://www.austins.co.uk/blog/index.php/the-history-of-the-victorian-mute/.

Byrne, Eugene. "Q&A: What are the Origins of the 'Mutes' that Attended Victorian Funerals?" HistoryExtra, 26th April 2012, https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/qa-what-are-the-origins-of-the-mutes-that-attended-victorian-funerals/. 

Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist. 1961. Signet Classics, 2005. 

Image Citation

Meadows, Joseph Kenny. Heads of the People, or, Portraits of the English. Henry G. Bohn, 1864. Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/headsofpeopleorp02mead/page/n7/mode/2up. 

Publication of Oliver Twist

Probably not Charles Dickens' most famous work(what with the existence of A Christmas Carol) but it's certainly still up there.  Much of the narrative draws parralels from Charles Dickens' own life/childhood as a member of the English working class during the time technically just preceeding the Victorian era though it seems Oliver's story takes place mid-nineteenth century rather than early in it like Dickens' own childhood and young adult life(though in fairness, it isn't as if the twenty six he was at publication is approaching middle age at all).  Like a number of his other works, Oliver Twist discusses class and the plight of the poor in a way that seems more directed at the upperclass who could more easily pay for things like newspapers and were far more likely to be literate due to more educational avenues being open to them.  While parts had been written before, and the story ran in serial parts, 1838 marks the first time in was published as a proper volume.

“Oliver Twist.” The British Library, The British Library, 15 Jan. 2014, www.bl.uk/works/oliver-twist#.

“Charles Dickens.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 4 Mar. 2020, www.biography.com/writer/charles-dickens.

The Matrimonial Causes Act

The Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857 and Marriage in Victorian England

The Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857 mandated “the transferal of divorce proceedings from Parliament to a special court” (UK Parliament).  Before the implementation of this act a couple had to go through a Private Court of Parliament to obtain a divorce, and re-marriage could only be sanctioned after having had a proper, documented divorce. As a result, between 1700 and 1857 there were only about 314 divorces, typically initiated by husbands and exclusively done by the wealthy (UK Parliament). Even though the Matrimonial Causes Act made divorce easier and more accessible through a special court of Parliament, it maintained clear patriarchal tendencies. “Divorce was granted by Parliament only for adulty” however, “wives could only initiate a divorce Bill if the adultery was compounded by life-threatening cruelty.” (UK Parliament). In other words, women were chained to their husbands, no matter how mentally abusive or how unfaithful they were, unless their husband beat them to the brink of death. This corresponds with the disturbingly prevalent sexism in England during the whole of the nineteenth century. Ever since the coverture, a doctrine apart of the extremely old, original English Common Law, a woman lost her identity through marriage. Wife and husband were seen as “one person in the law and that person was represented by the husband” (Wood).

This correlates directly to Oliver Twist, exemplified by the relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Bumble and the exposure of Mrs. Bumbles criminal activity. When Mr. Browlow and Mr. Grimwig basically force, through the testimony of multiple witnesses, Mrs. Bumble to confess having consorted with Monks and selling him the locket and ring originally belonging to Oliver’s mother, Mr Bumble attempts direct all the guilt towards Mrs. Bumble and thus render himself innocent. However, Mr. Browlow points out that Mr. Bumble is “’more guilty of the two in the eye of the law, for the law supposes that [his] wife is under [his] direction.’” (Dickens, 436). This fact mirrors the sexism of English society I discussed earlier; Mrs. Bumble has no identity of her own and thus her guilt is manifested through her husband, who is her identity. Legally, she is not recognized as her own person and con not even claim ownership of her own decisions. Furthermore, the Matrimonial Causes Act also explains why the very unhappy couple did not get a divorce. Even though there was some domestic abuse brought on by Mrs. Bumble and an excessive amount of quarrelling between the two, adultery is never mentioned in the novel. Therefore, they never had any real grounds for divorce even if they had access to the Matrimonial Causes Act, which was created just a couple decades years after the publishing of Oliver Twist.

Works Cited

Dickens. Charles. Oliver Twist. Penguin Classics. 2002. Print.

UK Parliament. “Obtaining a divorce.” 2021.  Accessed 17 Feb. 2021 Obtaining a divorce - UK Parliament

Wood, Margaret. “Marriage and Divorce 19^th Century Style.” Library of Congress. Feb. 2018. Accessed 17 Feb. 2021. Marriage and Divorce 19th Century Style | In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress (loc.gov)

Image Citation

Victorian Era. Victorian Era England & Life of Victorians. Accessed 17 Feb. 2021. Victorian Era life in England. Victorians society, Literature & daily life (victorian-era.org)

The Garotting Panic

In 1862, the action of “garotting” became sensational throughout England. Garotting is an act of mugging involving strangling victims with a rope while they rob them. This was primarily introduced to England with the mugging of Hugh Pilkington in 1862, which initiated the panic as newspapers sensationalized it. A “moral debate” was sparked over whether garotting is “British or un-British,” (Bibby). Miriam Bibby states in an article, “If press reports were to be believed, the British preferred to be robbed if the robbery was preceded by a cocked pistol and a “Stand and deliver!” rendered in a fashionable accent, rather than a choke and a grunt,” (Bibby). Dickens even joined the argument and wrote an essay about the streets of London being as unsafe as the mountains of Abruzzo, and other newspapers contributed the sentiment that garotting was a foreign influence (Bibby). Miriam Bibby also describes how children glamorized it and were known to imitate the act, which is probably the result of hyperbolic, sensationalized press.

In 1863, the Garotters Act was passed, which reintroduced corporeal punishment for violent robbery. Moreover, the Garotting Panic led to criticism towards penal reformers. The English became terrified that crime was overtaking their streets, so the idea of a rehabilitating approach was upbraided. Additionally, the police force was criticized, leading to the dismissal of some of the police force of the Metropolitan force in the later half of the decade (Bibby).

There are many ties to Oliver Twist that extend beyond Dickens’ involvement in the debate. For starters, it is described that, “Garotting gangs generally worked in groups of three, consisting of a “front-stall”, a “back-stall”, and the garotter himself, described as the “nasty-man”. The back-stall was primarily a look-out, and women were known to play this part,” (Bibby). This feels reminiscent of the criminal activity of Fagin’s gang; perhaps their kind of pickpocketing could have been the gateway to garotting. Additionally, after reading this article, criticism towards police seems to become a common sentiment among the British. This could perhaps apply to the search for Sikes and the mob during Sikes’ death. Though the crime is different, and murder seems to be regarded as the highest crime, the culmination of his execution is centered around the townspeople. Overall, though occurring decades after the publication of Oliver Twist, many of the ideas – pickpocketing, police criticism, foreign relations, children involved in crime, and the criminal class – seem relevant to Dickens’ themes in the novel.

Works Cited

Bobby, Miriam. “The 19th Century Garotting Panic.” Historic UK, www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Garotting-Panic/. 

“Criminality.” Deviance, Disorder and the Self : Criminality, www7.bbk.ac.uk/deviance/criminality/english/crimes/39-7-0%20garrotters.htm. 

Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist. Knopf, 1992.

“Victorian-Cartoons-Punch-1856.12.27.251.Tif.” Victorian Cartoons from Punch, punch.photoshelter.com/image/I0000DY_PKCMwnxQ. 

(image sourced from Punch Magazine and found in Miriam Bibby article) – The image is a political cartoon about an overcoat that can prevent garotting.

The Contagious Diseases Act

The Contagious Diseases Act was first introduced by Parliament to the people of the United Kingdom in the year 1864, but many reasons surrounding this act stretch to a time period long before this. In London, many young women occupied hospitals due to sexually transmitted diseases, ultimately as a result of prostitution. The Contagious Diseases Act was extended in the years 1866 as well as 1869, and finally the act was abrogated in the year 1886. The main purpose of the acts were to safeguard the British armed forces from the extensive threat of venereal diseases. The government did not want to permit any threat to the ability and quality of their armed forces. Under the regulations of these acts, police officers were allowed to legally arrest women who they suspected of being prostitutes. After being arrested for suspicion, these women were held for further examination with medical testing to determine if they were infected with any type of venereal disease. If a woman was found to be infected, they would be kept and confined to a locked hospital until cured or recovered.

 These acts speak for themselves revealing the deep rooted and unjust issues and treatment that existed. They are an acute example of Victorian morality during the era and time period surrounding Dickens novel, Oliver Twist. In his novel, Dickens offers a view of the harsh reality that a child was forced into. Much like the fictional life of the impoverished Oliver that we experience, we can see an extremely similar situation for that of prostitutes at the time. Both of the two were forced into lives of utterly cruel work and unfair treatment. In the words of Dickens, just like Oliver Twist, these poor women were “the humble, half-starved drudge-to be cuffed and buffeted through the world-despised by all, and pitied by none”. (pg.4)

Works Cited

Atwell, Alyssa. “The British Contagious Diseases Acts (1864, 1866, and 1869).” Towards Emancipation?, hist259.web.unc.edu/contagious-diseases-acts-1864-1866-and-1869/.

Luddy, Maria. “Women and the Contagious Diseases Acts 1864-1886.” History Ireland, 18th-19th Century Social Perspectives, 18th–19th - Century History, Features, Issue 1 (Spring 1993), Volume 1, 18 Mar. 2013, www.historyireland.com/18th-19th-century-history/women-and-the-contagio….

The Contagious Diseases Act, 10 Jan. 2009, www.victorianweb.org/gender/contagious.html.

The Second Reform Bill

The Second Reform Bill built on the Reform Bill of 1832 in that it continued the progressive push for democratization of the existing British government. The Reform Bill of 1867 expanded "voting privileges from the upper levels of property holders to less wealthy and broader segments of the population" (Reform Bill, 994). The Victorian age is noteworthy for being a period of great social transition (as demonstrated in the aforementioned Reform Bills) in which people outside of aristocracy began to have a say in the government. This was brought on by a burgeoning, literate, and fiscally dependent middle class. This new middle class of people used their newfound knowledge to critique, and subsequently, to improve their living conditions. For example, Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist asked readers to consider the living conditions of the urban poor (a story featured in a magazine that was read and produced by members of the middle class). 

Source: "Reform Bill.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, 1994, pg. 994. Trailll, Henry Duff. Social England - A Record of the Progress of the People in Religion, Laws, Learning, Arts, Industry, Commerce, Science, Literature and Manners, From the Earliest Times to the Present Day. 1901. University of California Libraries.