A Reading Group Guide for Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens

1) What is the significance of the Thames River and its tides in the novel? Is there any meaning, beyond the literal, in Dicken's reference to the action taking place between an iron bridge (Southwark Bridge) and a stone bridge (London Bridge)? What is symbolic about the boat being allied to "the bottom of the river rather than the surface, by reason of the slime and ooze with which it was covered"? Are the "spoiling effects of water" (mentioned in Book I, Chapter XIV) symbolic of anything further in the novel?

2) Why the insistence on Twemlow's part to discover who Veneering's oldest friend might be? Is there any meaning in it beyond the humorousness of such an obsession? Does Veneering's friendship turn out to be valuable in any sense? How is this friendship a symbol of a social class? What is Dickens' feeling toward this class? What are your feelings toward it? How does this compare with Dickens' treatment of the poor in his novel? Do you believe that Betty Higden's making a "fury of the Good Samaritan" is a realistic depiction of pride in poverty?

3) In what way does Mr. Podsnap compare and contrast with Mr. Veneering? Mr. Podsnap believes that even providence is under his protection. Is his inflated self-estimate in any way encouraged by his society? How are the Capitalists Veneering and Podsnap related to modern day Capitalists? Do Capitalists today have an inflated sense of their own importance? How does Capitalism influence your society?

4) Old Mr. Harmon respected the Boffins for their hard-work and integrity. In what way do you find the Boffins admirable? Are the Boffins more or less admirable after inheriting the Harmon fortune? Is the whole plotline with Mr. Boffin's obsession with misers believable, or do you find it too great of a stretch on Dickens' part? How do you feel about the relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Boffin?

5) What is your take on the character of Sophronia Akersham Lammle? Is she sympathetic in any way? Do you think she is more a good person or a bad person? Are her actions in any way justifiable? Who do you blame more for the scheming behavior, Sophronia or her husband? How do these characters compare to and contrast with Mr. Fledgeby?

6) In speaking of Mrs. Betty Higden, Dickens says that she is not a logical-reasoning woman. However, he reflects, "hearts may count in Heaven as high as heads." Are you familiar with anyone that you value for their heart alone? How do you weigh the value of these two attributes? Do you believe one is superior to the other? In what ways? Do you think that Betty Higden represents the attributes of the heart well? Which other characters in the novel represent this side of human nature? Do you feel that Mr. Rokesmith's statement, "No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it for anyone else" (Book III, Chapter IX), is a wise saying?

7) How do you feel about Bradley Headstone, and why? Do you believe that he truly cares for Charlie Hexam? For Lizzie Hexam? Compare and contrast Mr. Headstone's actions under the influence of unrequited love with that of Mrs. Peecher. How would things have turned out if Mr. Headstone had married Mrs. Peecher? How is Charlie Hexam like his headmaster? In what ways is he different? What do you predict for Charlie's future?

8) Dickens refers to the gold dust of the Golden Dustman as attracting admirers (Book I, Chapter XVII). Is there any relationship in this novel between the dust of the heaps and the gold dust of the Harmon wealth? What does dust symbolize in this novel? In what way, if any, is the symbolism of the dust related to the grinding of the money-mills (referred to in Book III, Chapter XVI)? If wealth is dust and ashes, then what does Dickens consider to be enduring and worthwhile?

9) At some point, Bella Wilfer begins to notice Mr. Rokesmith's effects on her. She asks herself, "How do I come to mind him when I don't care for him?" (Book II, Chapter VIII). Does this moral influence relate to love in any way? Is love somehow more worthy when it influences someone to be a better person? Is there any relationship between Bella's rectifying her relationship with her family to please Mr. Rokesmith and Lizzie Hexam's being convinced by Eugene Wrayburn to pursue an education in spite of her father's prohibition? How do these two love stories compare and contrast?

10) How do you feel about Jenny Wren, the Doll's Dressmaker? How does her relationship to other characters influence your feelings about her (Jenny's drunken father, Lizzie Hexam, Mr. Riah, Mr. Fledgeby, Eugene Wrayburn, Sloppy)? Does her being crippled make her sympathetic, even admirable? Which parts of her predicament add most to your sympathy and admiration? Is her maturity and sense of responsibility believable in a child character? In what ways have hardships strengthened you and others you know?

11) Considering the prominence of the word Friend in the title, and that Dickens dedicated his book to a friend "as a memorial of friendship," what part do you think friendship plays in the novel? What part does friendship play in the relationship between Charlie Hexam and Bradley Headstone? Mr. Headstone and Rogue Ridderhood? What about the friendship between Mr. Wegg and Mr. Venus? Mr. Venus and Mr. Boffin? What do you think of the friendship between Mortimer Lightwood and Eugene Wrayburn? Would you consider the relationship between the Boffins and Bella Wilfer a friendship? Do the lovers in this novel begin with friendship? How does friendship influence their relationships? Are there other important friendships depicted in the novel? In what way do all of these friendships contribute to our understanding of the characters? What influence have friendships had in your own life?

12) Do you think that Eugene Wrayburn was in any way influenced by his concern for Lizzie's probable reception by society? If so, was he in any way justified in his concern, was any of his concern for Lizzie's best interest? How would a poor reception affect Lizzie herself? Are the "feelings of gratitude, of respect, of admiration, and affection" that Twemlow attributes to Eugene in relationship to Lizzie (Book IV, "Chapter the Last") an adequate description of love? In what way is Eugene Wrayburn the "greater gentleman" for his marriage to Lizzie?

Eugene Wrayburn of Our Mutual Friend—A Favorite Character

Even on the first reading of Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens, I had already learned to appreciate Eugene Wrayburn. Dickens gives him so many moments of witty dialogue and of compassion for the under-privileged I could not help but admire him. His best friend, Mortimer Lightwood, shows such adulation toward Eugene, it seemed natural to enter into the mode of looking up to him, if only out of sympathy with the gentle Mortimer. When Lizzie Hexam falls in love with Eugene, and deep tragedy follows, my feelings deepened into love. By the second reading, I was deeply smitten. Eugene Wrayburn is in many ways a combination of Jane Austen's Elizabeth Bennett and Baroness Emmuska Orczy's Scarlet Pimpernel, Sir Percy Blakeney.

At first blush it may seem odd to compare a male character to Elizabeth Bennett, the heroine of Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth is a dependent character, because of her gender and her status in a society that subjugated women. Yet, Eugene is also in a subjective state due to his dependence on his father's wealth. As a fourth son, he has no property of his own to uphold himself in the status to which he was born. But, as a son, he is required to live up to that status in spite of the near impossibility of the task. Like Elizabeth, in order to achieve that objective, he is expected to marry for wealth and, again like Elizabeth, he refuses to marry without love.

There is a great deal to be said for his resemblance to Elizabeth in social status, but the way in which Eugene resembles Elizabeth the most is in his character traits. Elizabeth Bennett charms us with her ready wit. Even when she is humiliated by Mr. Darcy, she does not sit and brood, but almost immediately turns her disgrace into a humorous anecdote for her friend's amusement. Eugene also finds himself in humiliated circumstances, with a father who tries to arrange his life. As he explains his circumstances to his friend, he makes light of it, joking with him about not wanting to meet the lady in question. Eugene insists that, in spite of this near tyranny, his father amuses him. "Touching the lady?" asks his friend. "There [my respected father] ceases to be amusing," answers Eugene, "because my intentions are opposed to touching the lady." Both prefer to maintain a playful manner rather than to brood about their misfortunes.

Another way in which Eugene resembles Elizabeth is in his keen observation of human nature. When Charlie Hexam shows his true colors by deprecating his sister, Eugene grabs the boy by the chin to study his countenance, as if he is interested in seeing if his ingratitude was apparent in his face. More telling still is Eugene's behavior toward Charlie's school teacher, Bradley Headstone. When Mr. Headstone's passion gets the better of him, Eugene perks up. As Dickens has it, "Eugene Wrayburn looked on at him, as if he found him beginning to be rather an entertaining study."

As to the eponymous character in the Scarlet Pimpernel, Eugene takes on the most appealing characteristics of this character as well. The Baroness' main character plays a double role, as Lord Blakeney the foppish fool and as the Scarlet Pimpernel a swashbuckling hero. At first look, there would appear to be little resemblance between Eugene and Lord Blakeney, because Eugene is neither fool nor hero. The similarity is more subtle. Like Lord Blakeney, Eugene often affects an outward appearance that conceals his true character.

When Lord Blakeney acts the fool, we can tell it is mere pretense from the clever way he speaks. While outwardly Eugene appears gloomy, his lighthearted wit shows his true nature. Lord Blakeney conceals his identity in order to keep himself and his compatriots safe. Eugene uses his affectation more to reveal than to conceal, for through his affected gloom he shows his disdain for the trappings of high society. Yet, both characters only become truly admirable when their hidden nature shines through. Lord Blakeney shows that underneath his affected foppishness he is a hero who rescues the doomed aristocrats in revolution-torn France. Eugene Wrayburn shows that in spite of his lethargic, gloomy and bored exterior he can be both active and passionate in his concern for both Lizzie Hexam and her friend Jenny Wren.

There is something so very British about being outwardly able to blend in with any society, but inwardly to burn with a passion for social justice. These are the marks of a true British gentleman. Eugene, in spite of his gloomy front, blends seamlessly into the Verneering's dinner party group, which he qualifies for by his lofty birth. He seems even more at home in the industrious Jenny Wren's parlor-workshop. He does not even stand out uncomfortably in the lowly hovel of the Hexam family. His confidence makes him at home in the first extreme as his courtesy makes him at home in the last. At the Verneering's party, he feels that justice has been abused by the waste of resources in mere glittery show. At the Hexam's house, he feels that a sensitive soul is languishing for want of those resources, and so he works to right that injustice.

Those who would take Eugene Wrayburn as he merely appears to be, or even oft times by his words alone, would misread him disastrously. Lizzie catches a glimpse of Eugene's earnest conviction, behind the façade "usually so light and careless." It is this part of him that she falls in love with. But the true test of Eugene's character is in how his best friend perceives him. Eugene affects gloom, but Mortimer sees him as primarily playful, never able to take anything seriously. He affects a languishing demeanor, but Mortimer notices that he is vigorous enough to outpace the stalking Mr. Headstone night after night. Eugene affects boredom, but he becomes consumed with introspection so intense that his friend becomes concerned to know what is troubling him so deeply.

It is that matter that is trouble Eugene so deeply that most enables us to sympathize with him. He knows that he is falling in love with Lizzie Hexam, but he cannot decide if she is in love with him. Nor can he decide whether loving her is in her best interests. As becomes apparent in the final chapters, the vast majority of society would not accept Lizzie's rise in social status through marriage to an aristocrat. Most of them will make her feel unwelcome, and unworthy. It was serious business in those days to marry outside of one's class.

As a consequence, Eugene tries to repress his love, while still working to do as much good as he can for Lizzie. To marry such extremes of class difference could mean to give up society at both ends of the scale, and to be left friendless throughout life. Eugene hesitates to inflict this upon Lizzie, until he sees how passionately she loves him. When he sees that it is as painful for her to deny herself as it is for him to deny himself this love, he is completely torn. On the one hand, if he marries her she will become a social outcast, and on the other hand she will be denied her love. He can only decide to leave her because it is her decision to separate, and he respects her wishes. The intimate cluster of friends, who finally join the two in the end, are sufficient to ensure that this loving pair will not be friendless, though the rest of society disdains their union.

In short, Eugene Wrayburn is one of the most delightful, endearing and sympathetic characters of all time. His character alone makes Our Mutual Friend a book worth reading, but there are many more worthwhile characters in this novel and many fascinating themes to explore as well. Eugene is just my favorite reason to read and reread this classic.

Do you have a favorite Dickens character from this, or his other masterpieces?
 

Great Books of the Western World List

1. The Syntopicon: An Index to the Great Ideas
   Angel to Love
   
2. The Syntopicon (continued)
   Man to World
   
3. Homer
   Iliad
   Odyssey
   
4. Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes
   Aeschylus. Plays
   Sophocles. Plays
   Euripides. Plays
   Aristophanes. Plays
   
5. Herodotus, Thucydides
   Herodotus. History
   Thucydides. The History of the Peloponnesian War
   
6. Plato
   
   Dialogues
   Seventh Letter
   
7. Aristotle (I)
   
   Works
   
8. Aristotle (II)
   
   Works (continued)
   
9. Hippocrates, Galen
   
   Hippocrates. Hippocratic Writings
   Galen. On the Natural Faculties
   
10. Euclid, Archimedes, Nicomachus
    
    Euclid. Elements
    Archimedes. Works (including The Method)
    Nicomachus. Introduction to Arithmetic
    
11. Lucretius, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Plotinus
    
    Lucretius The Way Things Are
    Epictetus. Discourses
    Marcus Aurelius. The Meditations
    Plotinus. The Six Enneads
    
12. Virgil
    
    Eclogues
    Georgics
    Aeneid
    
13. Plutarch
    
    Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans
    
14. Tacitus
    
    Annals
    Histories
    
15. Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler
    
    Ptolemy. Almagest
    Copernicus. On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres
    Kepler. Epitome of Copernican Astronomy
    Kepler. The Harmonies of the World
    
16. Augustine
    
    The Confessions
    The City of God
    On Christian Doctrine
    
17. Thomas Aquinas (I)
    
    Summa Theologica
    
18. Thomas Aquinas (II)
    
    Summa Theologica (continued)
    
19. Dante, Chaucer
    
    Dante. Divine Comedy
    Chaucer. Troilus and Criseyde
    Chaucer. Canterbury Tales
    
20. Calvin
    
    Institutes of the Christian Religion
    
21. Machiavelli, Hobbes
    
    Machiavelli. The Prince
    Hobbes. Leviathan, or, Matter, Form and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiastical and Civil
    
22. Rabelais
    
    Gargantua and Pantagruel
    
23. Erasmus, Montaigne
    
    Erasmus. Praise of Folly
    Montaigne. Essays
    
24. Shakespeare (I)
    
    The Plays and Sonnets
    
25. Shakespeare (II)
    
    The Plays and Sonnets (continued)
    
26. Gilbert, Galileo, Harvey
    
    Gilbert. On the Loadstone and Magnetic Bodies
    Galileo. Concerning the Two New Sciences
    Harvey. On the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals
    Harvey. On the Circulation of the Blood
    Harvey. On the Generation of Animals
    
27. Cervantes
    
    The History of Don Quixote de la Mancha
    
28. Bacon, Descartes, Spinoza
    
    Bacon. Advancement of Learning
    Bacon. Novum Organum
    Bacon. New Atlantis
    Descartes. Rules for the Direction of the Mind
    Descartes. Discourse on the Method
    Descartes. Meditations on First Philosophy
    Descartes. Objections Against the Meditations and Replies
    Descartes. The Geometry
    Spinoza. Ethics
    
29. Milton
    
    English minor poems
    Paradise Lost
    Samson Agonistes
    Areopagitica
    
30. Pascal
    
    The Provincial Letters
    Pensees
    Scientific Treatises
    
31. Moliere, Racine
    
    Moliere. The School for Wives
    Moliere. The Critique of the School for Wives
    Moliere. Tartuffe
    Moliere. Don Juan
    Moliere. The Miser
    Moliere. The Would-Be Gentleman
    Moliere. The Would-Be Invalid
    Racine. Berenice
    
32. Newton, Huygens
    
    Newton. Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy
    Newton. Optics
    Huygens. Treatise on Light
    
33. Locke, Berkeley
    
    Locke. A Letter Concerning Toleration
    Locke. Concerning Civil Government, Second Essay
    Locke. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
    Berkeley. The Principles of Human Knowledge
    Hume. An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
    
34. Swift, Voltaire, Diderot
    
    Swift. Gulliver's Travels
    Voltaire. Candide
    Diderot. Rameau's Nephew
    
35. Montesquieu, Rousseau
    
    Montesquieu. The Spirit of Laws
    Rousseau. On the Origin of Inequality
    Rousseau. On Political Economy
    Rousseau. The Social Contract
    
36. Smith
    
    An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
    
37. Gibbon (I)
    
    History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
    
38. Gibbon (II)
    
    History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (continued)
    
39. Kant
    
    The Critique of Pure Reason
    The Critique of Practical Reason, and Other Ethical Treatises
    The Critique of Judgment
    
40. American State Papers, The Federalist, Mill
    
    Declaration of Independence
    Articles of Confederation
    The Constitution
    Hamilton, Madison, Jay. The Federalist
    Mill. On Liberty
    Mill. Representative Government
    Mill. Utilitarianism
    
41. Boswell
    
    Life of Samuel Johnson, LL. D.
    
42. Lavoisier, Faraday
    
    Lavoisier. Elements of Chemistry
    Faraday. Experimental Researches in Electricity
    
43. Hegel, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche
    
    Hegel. The Philosophy of Right
    Hegel. The Philosophy of History
    Kierkegaard. Fear and Trembling
    Nietzsche. Beyond Good and Evil
    
44. Tocqueville
    
    Democracy in America
    
45. Goethe, Balzac
    
    Goethe. Faust: Parts One and Two
    Balzac. Cousin Bette
    
46. Austen, Eliot
    
    Austen. Emma
    Eliot. Middlemarch
    
47. Dickens
    
    Little Dorrit
    
48. Melville, Twain
    
    Melville. Moby Dick, or, The Whale
    Twain. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
    
49. Darwin
    
    The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection
    The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex
    
50. Marx, Engels
    
    Marx (edited by Engels). Capital
    Marx and Engels. Manifesto of the Communist Party
    
51. Tolstoy
    
    War and Peace
    
52. Dostoyevsky, Ibsen
    
    Dostoyevsky. The Brothers Karamazov
    Ibsen. A Doll's House
    Ibsen. The Wild Duck
    Ibsen. Hedda Gabler
    Ibsen. The Master Builder
    
53. James
    
    The Principles of Psychology
    
54. Freud
    
    The Major Works of Sigmund Freud
    
55. 20th Century Philosophy and Religion
    
    James. Pragmatism
    Bergson. An Introduction to Metaphysics
    Dewey. Experience and Education
    Whitehead. Science and the Modern World
    Russell. The Problems of Philosophy
    Heidegger. What is Metaphysics?
    Wittgenstein. Philosophical Investigations
    Barth. The Word of God and the Word of Man
    
56. 20th Century Natural Science
    
    Poincare. Science and Hypothesis
    Planck. Scientific Autobiography and Other Papers
    Whitehead. An Introduction to Mathematics
    Einstein. Relativity: The Special and the General Theory
    Eddington. The Expanding Universe
    Bohr. Atomic Theory and the Description of Nature (selections)
    Bohr. Discussion with Einstein on Epistemological Problemns in Atomic Physics
    Hardy. A Mathematician's Apology
    Heisenberg. Physics and Philosophy
    Schrodinger. What is Life?
    Dobzhansky. Genetics and the Origin of Species
    Waddington. The Nature of Life
    
57. 20th Century Social Science (I)
    
    Veblen. The Theory of the Leisure Class
    Tawney. The Acquisitive Society
    Keynes. The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money
    
58. 20th Century Social Science (II)
    
    Frazer. The Golden Bough (selections)
    Weber. Essays in Sociology (selections)
    Huizinga. The Waning of the Middle Ages
    Levi-Strauss. Structural Anthropology (selections)
    
59. 20th Century Imaginative Literature (I)
    
    James. The Beast in the Jungle
    Shaw. Saint Joan
    Conrad. Heart of Darkness
    Chekhov. Uncle Vanya
    Pirandello. Six Characters in Search of an Author
    Proust. Remembrance of Things Past. "Swann in Love"
    Cather. A Lost Lady
    Mann. Death in Venice
    Joyce. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
    
60. 20th Century Imaginative Literature (II)
    
    Woolf. To the Lighthouse
    Kafka. Metamorphosis
    Lawrence. The Prussian Officer
    Eliot. The Waste Land
    O'Neill. Mourning Becomes Electra
    Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby
    Faulkner. A Rose for Emily
    Brecht. Mother Courage and Her Children
    Hemingway. The Short Happy Life of Macomber
    Orwell. Animal Farm
    Beckett. Waiting for Godot