Curious About The Old Curiosity Shop

 

She sat down at the window where she had spent so many evenings - darker far than this - and every thought of hope or cheerfulness that had occurred to her in that place came vividly upon her mind, and blotted out all its dull and mournful associations in an instant. (The Old Curiosity Shop, pg. 102)

If you have read any Charles Dickens you know that he wrote about the time in which he lived, creating characters that portray the aspects of life that were frequent in England in the 19th century. You can see the grit and grim on the paths of London. It is not always the friendly place we envision now. There were dark corners where child labour was the norm and poverty was extreme. I can see how Dickens would have been criticized for sentimentality in this novel, but even so, it has been worth the time reading it.  

We meet little Nell, who is mostly referred to as "the child" throughout the novel, when she is living in the old curiosity shop with her grandfather. She is a happy child, sweet and innocently facing challenges of the darkness and corruption during the industrial revolution in England. Her grandfather is poor and we find that he spends his evenings out at the gambling tables, leaving Nell at home alone, as he squanders away their last coins with that ill-fated hope of winning big next time. Instead he loses it all, and eventually becomes largely indebted to the evil-spirited Quilp (referred to as the dwarf), who finds immense pleasure in torturing everyone around him. When grandfather cannot pay their debts, Quilp takes over the shop and brave Nell sees the evil that he is, and proposes to her grandfather that they take their chances out in the world, getting away from London.

Can you suppose there's any harm in looking as cheerful and being as cheerful as our poor circumstances will permit? (pg. 173)

So, they walk into the countryside, meeting other travelers and gypsies, making acquaintances, and dodging some dangerous situations. They are sometimes met with kindness, sometimes absurdity, and always Nell tries to look toward hope. When her grandfather falters again, getting into the greedy slippery slope of gambling away all their money and being tempted to steal money to continue that urge, Nell again takes charge and forces them to walk away, deeper into the country, deeper into the heart of the black smokes of the industrial revolution.

The characters are quirky, offering some comic relief, especially with the lawyers Mr. Brass and his sister Sally Brass. Richard's observations and the comments he makes about them made me chuckle. While Quilp makes me cringe every time he shows up on the page with his evil grin and dark motives, I love the descriptions of nature in its raw and beautiful form, as Dickens personifies it, offering comfort to Nell as they journey, and contrasting it to the grim and darkness of certain places. 

The moon rose in all her gentle glory...

The noble sun rose up, driving the mists in phantom shapes before it...

Overarching the story is this sense that there is a Divine one overlooking the good, but it doesn't stop her from suffering. It just offers her comfort and glimpses of the light and joy because she chooses to see it before her, even in the more dire of circumstances. 

The same spirit which has supported her on the previous night, upheld and sustained her now. Her grandfather lay sleeping safely at her side, and the crime to which his madness urged him, was not committed. That was her comfort. (pg. 329)

Eventually they are met with kindness and a place of rest and solitude at an ancient church, where Nell and her grandfather are given a duty and house to stay in; a purpose for her life that Nell had been seeking all along and could not find. She is completely fascinated by the church, in equal measure, the church and the graveyard.

Upon these tenements, the attention of the child became exclusively riveted. She knew not why. The church, the ruin, the antiquated graves, had equal claims at least upon a stranger's thoughts, but from the moment when her eyes first rested on these two dwellings, she could turn to nothing else. (pg.354)

Sometimes in this big, strange world full of darkness, if we are able to let ourselves be riveted by the good, the life-filling, the acknowledged grace that sets itself before us, our decisions will be easy because they are obvious as we view the contrasting options the world sets up. Not letting ourselves get mixed up in the middle ground of grey maybes and slanted morals leads to a simpler life. Reading these kinds of stories highlights that way of living, by choice, and acceptance of the grace we are given, the goodness we can look to dwell in, to whatever end.

Everything in our lives, whether of good or evil, affects us most by contrast. (pg. 401)