Mr. Haredale bestows his Niece's Hand from instalment 40 (13 November 1841) in Master Humphrey's Clock (Part 83), and published by Bradbury and Evans in volume form in 1849. 3 ¼ x 4 ⅛ inches (8.3 cm high by 11.0 cm wide), vignetted; composite woodblock engraving dropped into text: seventy-third illustration in the series for Dickens's Barnaby Rudge, Chapter the Seventy-ninth, 400. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]
Context of the Illustration: Haredale acknowledges his niece's choice
"In goods and fortune you are now nearly equal. I have been her faithful steward, and to that remnant of a richer property which my brother left her, I desire to add, in token of my love, a poor pittance, scarcely worth the mention, for which I have no longer any need. I am glad you go abroad. Let our ill-fated house remain the ruin it is. When you return, after a few thriving years, you will command a better, and a more fortunate one. We are friends?"
Edward took his extended hand, and grasped it heartily. [Chapter the Seventy-ninth, 399-400]
Commentary
The betrothal scene in which a somewhat aged Geoffrey Haredale presides is above-stairs in The Golden Key. Logically, it cannot occur at either the badly damaged Maypole or in the smouldering ruins of The Warren, nearby, and by default coors at the tradesman's living-quarters in the city. Thus, Dickens and Phiz bring closure to the second romantic plot.
When Haredale indicates that he must shortly leave the country, Dickens may be signalling his intention to have Haredale confront and kill Sir John Chester in a duel at Chigwell. Phiz has convincingly pictured the "best parlour" on the second floor of The Golden Key as an appropriate setting for the ratification of the engagement between Emma Haredale and Edward Chester. A portrait painting (perhaps of Mrs. Varden or the locksmith's own mother) in an ornate frame dominates the wall (right), as if previous generations are endorsing the engagement; the portrait becomes a metonymy for the Haredales, particularly Emma's murdered father (who may be suggested by the shadowy figure in the oval frame above the table, although the candle as part of the frame indicates that this is a mirror rather than a portrait) and her mother. The ornate 18th c. furnishings that crowd the figures suggest Varden's commercial success and his wife's emulating the domestic interiors of the English gentry in the 18th c. The Louis Quatorze rococo clock indicates that the time is just after five o'clock, although Dickens merely specifies that Varden has closed up shop for the night. Phiz has rendered the girl's uncle considerably more careworn than in previous appearances.
Related Material including Other Illustrated Editions of Barnaby Rudge
- Dickens's Barnaby Rudge (homepage)
- Cattermole and Phiz: The First illustrators: A Team Effort by "The Clock Works" (1841)
- Cattermole's seventeen illustrations (13 Feb.-27 Nov. 1841)
- Felix Octavius Carr Darley's six illustrations (1865 and 1888)
- Sol Eytinge, Jr.'s ten Diamond Edition illustrations (1867)
- Fred Barnard's 46 illustrations for the Household Edition (1874)
- A. H. Buckland's six illustrations for the Collins' Clear-Type Edition (1900)
- Harry Furniss's 28 illustrations for The Charles Dickens Library Edition (1910)
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham. [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned the image and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Bibliography
Dickens, Charles. Barnaby Rudge. Illustrated by Hablot K. Browne ('Phiz') and George Cattermole. London: Chapman and Hall, 1841; rpt., Bradbury & Evans, 1849.
Hammerton, J. A. "Ch. XIV. Barnaby Rudge." The Dickens Picture-Book. The Charles Dickens Library Edition, illustrated by Harry Furniss. London: Educational Book Co., 1910. 213-55.
Vann, J. Don. "Charles Dickens. Barnaby Rudge in Master Humphrey's Clock, 13 February-27 November 1841." New York: MLA, 1985. 65-66.
Created 29 March 2019
Last modified 17 December 2020