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Mr. Pinch and the New Pupil on a Social Occasion
Phiz
March 1843
Steel-engraving
13 cm high by 10 cm wide, vignetted
Fourth regular monthly illustration for Charles Dickens's Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, facing page 70 (1844 edition) in the fourth chapter.
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Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.
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Martin Chuzzlewit beheld these roystering preparations with infinite contempt, and stirring the fire into a blaze (to the great destruction of Mr Pecksniff’s coals), sat moodily down before it, in the most comfortable chair he could find. That he might the better squeeze himself into the small corner that was left for him, Mr Pinch took up his position on Miss Mercy Pecksniff’s stool, and setting his glass down upon the hearthrug and putting his plate upon his knees, began to enjoy himself.
If Diogenes coming to life again could have rolled himself, tub and all, into Mr Pecksniff’s parlour and could have seen Tom Pinch as he sat on Mercy Pecksniff’s stool with his plate and glass before him he could not have faced it out, though in his surliest mood, but must have smiled good-temperedly. The perfect and entire satisfaction of Tom; his surpassing appreciation of the husky sandwiches, which crumbled in his mouth like saw-dust; the unspeakable relish with which he swallowed the thin wine by drops, and smacked his lips, as though it were so rich and generous that to lose an atom of its fruity flavour were a sin; the look with which he paused sometimes, with his glass in his hand, proposing silent toasts to himself; and the anxious shade that came upon his contented face when, after wandering round the room, exulting in its uninvaded snugness, his glance encountered the dull brow of his companion; no cynic in the world, though in his hatred of its men a very griffin, could have withstood these things in Thomas Pinch.
Some men would have slapped him on the back, and pledged him in a bumper of the currant wine, though it had been the sharpest vinegar — aye, and liked its flavour too; some would have seized him by his honest hand, and thanked him for the lesson that his simple nature taught them. Some would have laughed with, and others would have laughed at him; of which last class was Martin Chuzzlewit, who, unable to restrain himself, at last laughed loud and long.
"That’s right," said Tom, nodding approvingly. "Cheer up! That’s capital!" [Chapter VI, "Comprises, among other important matters, Pecksniffian and architectural, an exact relation of the progress made by Mr. Pinch in the confidence and friendship of the New Pupil," pp. 69-70 in the 1844 edition; descriptive headline in both the 1868 and 1897 editions: "The New Pupil Confides"]
This illustration intensifies the inherent comedy of the text. For instance, not one but two likenesses of Seth Pecksniff, readily identified by his long face and spiky hair, mildly glance down at the apprentices. Whereas bald-pated, plain-featured Tom appreciatively studies the contents of his small glass, his tall, lean, handsome companion with a Byronic hairstyle seems to staring at something in the flames — perhaps his own uncertain future. In place of conventional art on the walls (landscapes and family portraits) Pecksniff has placed four architectural designs, each bearing his name. The angry young man has already consumed his small glass of wine, and does not respond to his amiable companion, who has occupied the footstool because his pensive friend has taken the only chair in front of the flaming coals.
Young Martin broods over the supposed injustice of his having been relegated to a remote Wilshire village, although his circumstances would seem to be comfortable enough as he sits before a good fire with a glass of wine and an affable companion. As Michael Steig notes, the young man's wounded egotism has resulted in his dark mood in a room filled by the silent presence of the "master" in the objects surrounding him:
The room is dominated by Mr. Pecksniff through effigies of himself on three sides: the "Portrait ... by Spiller" and "Bust by Spoker" (not referred to in the text until the next part, ch. 5, p. 61), and the drawings of three architectural designs bearing Pecksniff's name: a large heroic monument and two smaller buildings, one of which is mirrored in the form of the poor box (so labeled) on the chimneypiece. In its latter form, this building (which is probably intended for a workhouse) takes on the appearance of a glowering face. [Chapter 3, p. 64 (text of chapter)]
Phiz represents this parlour with its many embedded references to the village architect, as in Meekness of Mr. Pecksniff and His Charming Daughters (January 1843), as a sort of Pecksniffian museum, which offers mute testimonials to the self-congratulatory egotist. The bust, a likeness of the self-satisfied architect, looks directly down at the pensive student. In contrast, the face in the portrait (unobscured in the January illustration) mildly regards young Martin from the mantlepiece, peeping over the framed design for a village pump that is one of Pecksniff's specialties. Although Steig has not noted this difference, the brilliantly lit fireplace in the initial view of the room now discharges billowing smoke, which comments visually upon young Chuzzlewit's smouldering gaze. Phiz effectively demonstrates the differences in temperaments of Pecksniff's apprentices by their poses and facial expressions, which render them binary opposites — Tom Pinch the eternal optimist, cheerful and outgoing; young Martin, in contrast, a thorough malcontent who broods over real and imaged wrongs.
Allingham, Philip V. "Phiz's Illustrations, Part One." [Ch. 2-7] The Dickens Magazine: Martin Chuzzlewit. 5.1 (Feb., 2008): 12-15.
Dickens, Charles. The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit. Illustrated by Phiz (Hablot Knight Browne). London: Chapman and Hall, 1844.
_____. The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit. Edited by Andrew Lang. Illustrated by Phiz (Hablot Knight Browne). The Gadshill Edition: 34 volumes. London: Chapman and Hall; New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1897. 2 vols.
_____. The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit. Edited by Margaret Cardwell. Illustrated by Phiz (Hablot Knight Browne). The Clarendon Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1982.
Steig, Michael. Dickens and Phiz. Bloomington and London: Indiana U. P., 1978.
_____. "Martin Chuzzlewit's Progress by Dickens and Phiz." Dickens Studies Annual 2 (1972): 119-149.
Vann, J. Don. "Martin Chuzzlewit, twenty parts in nineteen monthly installments, January 1843 — July 1844." New York: Modern Language Association, 1985. Pp. 66-67.
Last modified 10 March 2019