[Victorian Web Home —> Visual Arts —> Illustration —> The Cricket on the Hearth—> Charles Dickens —> Next]

Passage Illustrated: The Carrier fails to apprend a rival under his Roof

But, what was that young figure of a man, which the same Fairy Cricket set so near Her stool, and which remained there, singly and alone? Why did it linger still, so near her, with its arm upon the chimney-piece, ever repeating "Married! and not to me!"

Oh Dot! Oh failing Dot! There is no place for it in all your husband’s visions; why has its shadow fallen on his hearth! ["Chirp the First," Pears Centenary Edition, 51]

Commentary

Rossi’s caption foreshadows John's discovery in the next chapter that the elderly stranger's was, in fact, a handsome youth on intimate terms with John's wife: "What was that young figure of a man . . . with its arm upon the chimney-piece, ever repeating 'Married! and not to me!'" based on a passage on the facing page (51). To enhance the suspense Rossi gives the illustration the tantalizing title The Apparition that the Carrier did not see (11). Although these quoted words imply that John sees the ghostly figure of his rival, they do not definitively assert it as Rossi does. Thus, the illustrator contributes to the impression that the reader has derived several pages earlier that the enigmatic figure means something special to Dot ("Mary"). Based on the previous illustration (Mrs. Peerybingle Receives a Shock [45]) and this present illustration concluding "Chirp the First," the reader likely now suspects that Dot had fainted from the surprise revelation connected with that the old Stranger, whom Dickens is about to reveal is in fact a handsome youth from her past. Through this variation on the fireside scene Rossi lays the groundwork for the putative adultery plot in "Chirp the Second."

Rossi suggests both that the figure emanates from the smoke of John's pipe and that the pensive Dot is unaware of the ghostly figure with the long white hair. Rossi does not imply that the vision disturbs John. Therefore, the illustration suggests that, despite the shadowy presence, John does not yet apprehend the danger that this youth poses to his marriage. Like Richard Doyle and John Leech in the 1845 edition, Rossi places the shadowy hearth behind the smoker in his great arm-chair to foreshadow the grim mood that subsequently overwhelms him.

Relevant illustrations from the 1845 and Later Editions

Left: Stanfield's harmonious rendition of the Peerybingles' hearthside ease at the close of "Chirp the First, John and Dot (1845), without any hint of John's having a romantic rival. Centre: Doyle's stylish realisation of John's agonizing of the disguised stranger being a rival for Dot's affections, Chirp the Third (1845). Right: Furniss's suggestion as to a rupture in the Perrybingles' domestic harmony, The Shadow on the Hearth (1910).

Barnard's study of Dot and the handsome youth in the toymakers' workroom, unaware of their being observed by John and Tackleton, in Suffering him to clasp her round the waist, as they moved slowly down the dim wooden gallery (1878).

Illustrations for the Other Volumes of the Pears' Centenary Christmas Books of Charles Dickens (1912)

Each contains about thirty illustrations from original drawings by Charles Green, R. I. — Clement Shorter [1912]

• A Christmas Carol (28 plates) Vol. I (1892)
• The Chimes (31 plates) Vol. II (1894)
• The Battle of Life (28 plates) Vol. IV (1893)
• The Haunted Man (31 plates) Vol. V (1895)

Bibliography

Dickens, Charles. The Cricket on the Hearth. A Fairy Tale of Home. Illustrated by John Leech, Daniel Maclise, Richard Doyle, Clarkson Stanfield, and Edwin Landseer. Engraved by George Dalziel, Edward Dalziel, T. Williams, J. Thompson, R. Graves, and Joseph Swain. London: Bradbury and Evans, 1846 [December 1845].

_____. The Cricket on the Hearth. Illustrated by L. Rossi. London: A & F Pears, 1912.

---

Victorian
Web

Visual
Arts

Illus-
tration

Cricket on
the Hearth

Next

Created 12 April 2001

Last modified 23 May 2020