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Nicholas's Vengeance on Squeers
Harry Furniss
1910
14.4 x 9.5 cm, framed
Dickens's Nicholas Nickleby, The Charles Dickens Library Edition, frontispiece facing IV, the engraved title-page.
[Click on the image to enlarge them.]
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.
The boys — with the exception of Master Squeers, who, coming to his father’s assistance, harassed the enemy in the rear — moved not, hand or foot; but Mrs. Squeers, with many shrieks for aid, hung on to the tail of her partner’s coat, and endeavoured to drag him from his infuriated adversary; while Miss Squeers, who had been peeping through the keyhole in expectation of a very different scene, darted in at the very beginning of the attack, and after launching a shower of inkstands at the usher’s head, beat Nicholas to her heart’s content; animating herself, at every blow, with the recollection of his having refused her proffered love, and thus imparting additional strength to an arm which (as she took after her mother in this respect) was, at no time, one of the weakest.
Nicholas, in the full torrent of his violence, felt the blows no more than if they had been dealt with feathers; but, becoming tired of the noise and uproar, and feeling that his arm grew weak besides, he threw all his remaining strength into half-a-dozen finishing cuts, and flung Squeers from him with all the force he could muster. [Chapter XIII, "Nicholas varies the Monotony of Dothebys Hall by a most vigorous and remarkable proceeding, which leads to Consequences of some Importance," 156-158]
Whereas Fred Barnard's version of this scene shows Nicholas fully in control of his emotions as he comes to Smike's rescue, Furniss in the frontispiece highlights Nicholas's kinetic energy and indignation, probably deriving inspiration from the original Phiz serial illustration of the violent confrontation that climaxes the first movement of the novel. Discharged unceremoniously from his post as usher after the assault on the headmaster, the protagonist, now accompanied by Smike as his picaresque companion, will join the acting company of Vincent Crummles.
Whereas the previous illustrators have featured Smike prominently in this scene, Furniss has him dashing (lower left) to get out of the way. Long and gangly, Smike stands, stupified, to the right in the Phiz illustration, and appears as a humanized sack of rags grasped by Squeers in the Barnard illustration. Relishing the comic possibilities within the violent moment, Furniss shows Young Wackford tugging with all his might on Nicholas's tailcoat, and the Squeers women attempting to come to the bully's assistance. The overall effect of the pen-and-ink drawing is of furious energy released, both in the figure of the indignant avenger, in Miss and Mrs. Squeers, and in the Dotheboys Academy students, whose intent faces suggest that they are watching Nicholas's assault with rap attention, although they (unlike their counterparts in Phiz's steel-engraving) do not take the main action as an opportunity for a general insurrection. Squeers's wife is a cruel harridan in the text, but a figure of comic ineptitude here. Fanny Squeers, the vain and ugly daughter, is seizing the chance to be avenged upon the upstart usher for rejecting her romantic overtures.
Left: The Household Edition by Fred Barnard that deals with the same melodramatic incident, the composite woodblock engraving "Wretch," rejoined Nicholas, fiercely, "touch him at your peril! I will not stand by, and see it done. My blood is up, and I have the strength of ten such men as you." (1875). Right: The original July 1838 Phiz steel-engraving to which Furniss is apparently referring, Nicholas Astonishes Mr. Squeers and Family.
Bentley, Nicolas, Michael Slater, and Nina Burgis. The Dickens Index. Oxford and New York: Oxford U. , 1988.
Davis, Paul. Charles Dickens A to Z: The Essential Reference to His Life and Work. New York: Facts On File, 1998.
Dickens, Charles. The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. Illustrated by Harry Furniss. The Charles Dickens Library Edition. 18 vols. London: Educational Book Company, 1910. Vol. 4.
Created 30 November 2019
Last modified 6 February 2020