Charles Dickens Born 1812 - died 1870 The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (1836 - 1837) This novel was the 1st of Dickens's works to have an immediate & overwhelming success. It is generally referred to as a somewhat apart from the main bulk of his writings. A recital of the comical adventure of four gentlemen, calling themselves corresponding members of the "Pickwick Club", the story has really no clearly defined plot. It wanders on from incidents purely humorous, mostly dealing with the heroes' naive & clumsy attempts at practical activities or sporting achievement, to episodes distinctly satirical. Of these last famous chapter on the Eatanswill Elections is a most conspicuous example. The opening pages give a clear exposition of the political situation at Eatanswill. CHAPTER XIII Some Account of Eatanswill; of the State of Parties Therein; And of the Election of a Member to Serve in Parliament For That Ancient, Loyal, & Patriotic Borough It appears, then, that the Eatanswill (1) people, like the people of many other small towns, considered themselves of the utmost & most mighty importance, & that every man in Eatanswill, conscious of the weight that attached to his example, felt himself bound to unite, heart & soul, with one of the two great parties that divided the town - the Blues & the Buffs (2). Now the Blues lost no opportunity of opposing the Buffs, & the Buffs lost no opportunity of opposing the Blues; & the consequence was, that whenever the Buffs & Blues met together at public meeting, Town-Hall (3), fair, or market, disputes & high words arose between them. With these dissensions it is almost superfluous to say that everything in Eatanswill was made a party question. If the Buffs proposed to new skylight the market-place, the Blues got up public meetings, & denounced the proceeding; if the Blues proposed the erection of an additional pump in the High Street, the Buffs rose as one man & stood aghast at the enormity. There were Blue shops & Buff shops, Blue inns & Buff inns; - there was a Blue aisle & a Buff aisle, in the very church itself. Of course it was essentially & indispensably necessary that each of these powerful parties should have its chosen organ & representative: and, accordingly, there were two newspapers in the town - the Eatanswill Gazette & the Eatanswill Independent; the former advocating Blue principles, & the latter conducted on grounds decidedly Buff. Fine newspapers they were. Such leading articles, & such spirited attacks! - "Our worthless contemporary, the Gazette" "That disgraceful & dastardly journal, the Independent" - "That vile & slanderous calumniator, the Gazette"; - these, & other spirit-stirring denunciations were strewn plentifully over the columns of each, in every number, & excited feelings of the most intense delight & indignation in the bosoms of the townspeople. Mr. Pickwick, with his usual foresight & sagacity, had chosen a peculiarly desirable moment for his visit to the borough. Never was such a contest known. The Honorable Samuel Slumkey, of Slumkey Hal l (4), was the Blue candidate; and Horatio Fizkin, Esq., of Fizkin Lodge (5), near Eatanswill, had been prevailed upon by his friends to stand forward on the Buff interest. The Gazette warned the electors of Eatanswill that the eyes not only of England, but of the whole civilized world, were upon them; & the Independent imperatively demanded to know, whether the constituency of Eatanswill were the grand fellows they had always taken them for, or base & servile tools, undeserving alike of the name of Englishmen & the blessing of freedom. Never has such a commotion agitated the town before. (After these introductory remarks Dickens passes on to a direct account of the political strife at Eatanswill). (1) The name of the town is allegorical; it stands for "eat & swill", i.e. "eat & drink", & emphasizes the author's contempt for the greed actuating the high-minded inhabitants of the town. (2) the Blues & the Buffs - an obvious allegory of the two leading English parties, the Conservatives (Tories) & the Liberals (Whigs) respectively. Buff & blue had for years been the traditional colours of the Whigs. (3) Town-Hall - building used for official business purposes of a town; also foe public entertainments. (4) Honorable - title given to younger sons of Earls, to members of government, etc.; Hall ("house") is applied to country residences of wealth) landowners. (5) Esq. - short-for Esquire, title formerly attached to names of gentlemen; Lodge Chouse standing in a park") is also applied to country residences. "Well, Sam," said Mr. Pickwick, as his valet appeared at his bed-room door, just as he was concluding his toilet; "all alive to-day, I suppose?" (1) "Reg'lar game (2), Sir," replied Mr. Weller, "our people's a collecting down at the Town Arms (3), & they're a hollering (4) themselves hoarse already." "Ah," said Mr. Pickwick, "do they seem devoted to their party, Sam?" "Never see such dewotion in my life, Sir." "Energetic, eh?" said Mr. Pickwick. "Uncommon," replied Sam; "I never see men eat & drink so much afore (5). I wonder they ain't afeer'd o 'bustin (6)." "That's the mistaken kindness of the gentry here," said Mr. Pickwick. "Wery likely," replied Sam, briefly. "Fine, fresh, hearty fellows they seem," said Mr. Pickwick, glancing from the window. "Wery fresh," replied Sam; "me & the two waiters at the Peacock, has been a pumpin' over the independent voters as supped there last night." "Pumping over independent voters!" exclaimed Mr. Pickwick. "Yes," said his attendant, "every man slept vere he fell down; we dragged 'em out, one by one, this mornin' & put 'em under the pump, & they're in reg'lar fine order, now. Shillin' a head the committee paid for that 'ere job." "Can such things be!" exclaimed the astonished Mr. Pickwick. "Lord bless your heart, Sir," said Sam, "why where was you half baptized (7)? - that's nothin', that ain't (8)." "Nothing?" said Mr. Pickwick. "Nothin' at all, Sir," replied his attendant. "The night afore the last day o' the last election here, the opposite party the barmaid at the Town Arms, to hocus the brandy & water of fourteen unpolled electors, as was a stoppin' in the house." "What do you mean by "hocussing brandy & water?" inquired Mr. Pickwick. "Puttin' laud'num in it," replied Sam. "Blessed if she didn't send 'em all to sleep till twelve hours arter (9) the election was over." ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. The stable-yard exhibited unequivocal symptoms of the glory & strength of the Eatanswill Blues. There was a regular army of blue flags, some with one handle, & some with two, exhibiting appropriate devices, in golden characters four feet high, & stout in proportion. There was a grand band of trumpets, bassoons & drums, marshalled four abreast, & earning their money, if ever men did, especially the drum beaters, who were very muscular. There were bodies of constables with blue staves (10), twenty committee-men with blue scarfs, & a mob of voters with blue cockades (11). There were electors on horseback, & electors afoot. There was an open carriage & four, for the honorable Samuel Slumkey; and there were four carriages & pair, for his friends & supporters: and the flags were rustling, and the band was playing, and the constables were swearing, and the twenty committee-men were squabbling, and the mob were shouting, and the horses were backing, and the post-boys perspiring; and everybody, and everything, then & there assembled, was for the special use, behoof, honour, & renown of the honourable Samuel Slumkey, of Slumkey Hall, one of the candidates for the representation of the Borough of Eatanswill, in the Commons House of Parliament of the United Kingdom. Loud & long were the cheers, & mighty was the rustling of one of the blue flags, with "Liberty of the Press" inscribed thereon, when the sandy head of Mr. Pott ( 12) was discerned in one of the windows, by the mob beneath; and tremendous was the enthusiasm when the honourable Samuel Slumkey himself, in top boots, & a blue neckerchief, advanced & seized the hand of the said Pott, & melodramatically testified by gestures to the crowd, his ineffaceable obligations to the Eatanswill Gazette. "Is everything ready?" said the honourable Samuel Slumkey to Mr. Perker (13) "Everything, my dear Sir," was the little man's reply. "Nothing has been omitted. I hope?" said the honourable Samuel Slumkey. "Nothing has been left undone, my dear Sir - nothing whatever. There are twenty washed men at the street door for you to shake hands with; and six children in arms that you're to pat on the head, and inquire the age of; be particular about the children, my dear Sir, - it has always a great effect, that sort of thing." "I'll take care," said the honourable Samuel Slumkey. "And perhaps my dear Sir -" said the cautious little man, "perhaps if you could - I don't mean to say it's indispensable but if you could manage to kiss one of'em, it would produce a very great impression on the crowd." "Wouldn't it have as good an effect if the proposer or seconder (14) did that?" said the honourable Samuel Slumkey. "Why, I'm afraid it wouldn't," replied the agent; "if it were done by yourself, my dear Sir, I think it would make you very popular." "Very well," said the honourable Samuel Slurnkey, with a resigned air, "then it must be done. That's all." "Arrange the procession," cried the twenty committee-men. (1) All alive to-day, 1 suppose - here: I suppose everybody is thrilled & excited. (2) Reg'lar (regular) game - here: everybody is eager (low coll.). (3) Town Arms - the name of an Eatanswill inn. (4) A hollering - shouting. (5) Afore - before (6) They ain't afeer'd o" bustin - they are not afraid of bursting. (7) Where was you half baptized - where were you born (si.) (8) That's nothin'. that ain't - that is a mere trifle. (9) Arter - after. (10) Staves (arch, plural of stuff) - here: sticks used as signs of office. (11) Cockade- a ribbon worn in a hat as badge of office, party, etc. (12) Mr. Pott-the Editor of She Eatanswill Gazette. (13) Mr. Perker- (he agent acting for Mr. Slumkey. In the closing paragraph Dickens intimates that it was he who settled the contest by presenting "brief but satisfactory arguments" (meaning money) to a body of particularly noble, intelligent & patriotic men who withheld their vote until the very last moment., (14) Proposer, seconder - official supporters of a candidate in elections. Amidst the cheers of the assembled throng the band, & the constables, & the committee-men, & the voters, & the horse-men, & the carriages, took their places - each of the two-horse vehicles being closely packed with as many gentlemen as could manage to stand upright in it; and that assigned to Mr. Perker, containing Mr. Pickwick, Mr. Tupman, Mr. Snodgrass, & about half a dozen of the committee beside. There was a moment of awful suspense as the procession waited for the honourable Samuel Slumkey to step into his carriage. Suddenly the crowd set up a great cheering. "He has come out," said little Mr. Perker, greatly excited; the more so as their position did not enable to see what was going forward. Another cheer, much louder. "He has shaken hands with the men," cried the little agent. Another cheer, far more vehement. "He has parted the babies on the head," said Mr. Perker, trembling with anxiety. A roar of applause that rent the air. "He has kissed one of'em!" exclaimed the delighted little man. A second roar. "He has kissed another," gasped the excited manager. A third roar. "He's kissed 'em all!" screamed the enthusiastic little gentleman. And hailed by the deafening shouts of the multitude, the procession moved on. How or by what means it became mixed up with the other procession, & how it was ever extricated from the confusion consequent thereupon, is more than we can undertake to describe, inasmuch as Mr. Pickwick's hat was knocked over his eyes, nose, & mouth, by one poke of a Buff flagstaff, very early in the proceedings. He describes himself as being surrounded on every side, when he could catch a glimpse of the scene, by angry & ferocious countenances, by a vast cloud of dust, & by a dense crowd of combatants. He represents himself as being forced from the carriage by some unseen power, & being personally engaged in a pugilistic encounter; but with whom, or how, or why, he is wholly unable to state. He then felt himself forced up some wooden steps, by the persons from behind: and on removing his hat, found himself surrounded by his friends, in the very front of the left hand side of the hustings. The right was reserved for the Buff party, & the centre for the Mayor & his officers; one of whom - the fat crier of Eatanswill - was ringing an enormous bell,-by way of commanding silence, while Mr. Horatio Fizkin, & the honourable Samuel Slumkey, with their hands upon their hearts, were bowing with the utmost affability to the troubled sea of heads that inundated the open space in front; & from whence arose a storm of groans, & shouts, & yells, & hootings, that would have done honour to an earthquake. (Charles Dickens, The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Cluh, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow, 1949, pp. 188-189, 197-203) COMMENTS The leading feature of the Eatanswill chapter is clearly the glaring contrast between the tremendous uproar, the pomp & grandeur of the election campaign on the one hand - and the extreme pettiness, the gross selfishness of the motives underlying the actions of all persons concerned, on the other hand. To impress this contrast upon the reader Dickens makes wide use of ironic phrase: he talks at length of the "mighty importance" of the Eatanswillians, of "'the two great parties" that divided the town - only to disclose the enormous vanity & futility of these pretensions. The greatness of the two parties is mercilessly exposed by the fact that both of them protested against the most trivial practical improvements on no other ground than that those improvements were suggested by the rival party. This is rendered in the contrast between the prosaic insignificance of the objects of discussion (the pump & the skylight!) & the emphatic language of public life, such as "denounced the proceedings", "rose as one man & stood aghast at the enormity" The latter combination is especially ridiculous, for so strong a feeling, as "standing aghast" can hardly be collective & premeditated. The two "great" parties, between whose adherents a bloody battle was fought day & night, differed only in the choice of their representative colours. The identity also manifests itself in the close syntactical identity of the phrases descriptive of their lifelong struggle: "now the Blues lost no opportunity of opposing the Blues"; "There were Blue shops & Buff shops, Blue inns & Buff inns", etc. At the same time, when Dickens tells us that the rival Buff & Blue newspapers were wonderfully ingenious in the discovery of offensive epithets to pelt each other with ("disgraceful, dastardly against "vile & slanderous"), it is no less clear that the variety of the wording is only a way to emphasize the similarity of meaning - or rather the total absence of real meaning: high-sounded phrases run riot to make up for the lack of ideas. A device greatly favoured by Dickens is parody of official political rhetorics in general, of parliamentary & journalistic rhetorics in particular: "The Gazette warned the electors of Eatanswill that the eyes not only of England, but of the whole civilized world, were upon them" etc. Stock-phrases of flaming political oratory as "the eyes of England", "the blessings of freedom", "base & servile tools" are particularly absurd when rendered in the essentially unemotional form of indirect speech & introduced in a business-like was by "warned", "demanded to know". The display of the contrast between outward dignity & the total absence of inner dignity being one of Dickens's ruling stylistic principles. It is consistently enforced throughout the whole of the description of the electoral proceedings. After an ironical general pronouncement on "the glory & strength of Eatanswill Blues" the author passes on to innumerable concrete touches illustrative of the real nature of that false glory: it is with the most solemn mock-gravity that Dickens mentions the "army of blue flags, some with one handle, & some with two" as if the number of handles were a particularly important feature of the Blue glory, - the grand band of trumpets, bassoons & drums, the constables, the carriages, the crowds of electors, on foot & on horseback. Thus the "glory" is reduced to a confused heap of men & things than which nothing can be less glorious. The lack of all real glory is the more obvious for the contrasting use of the poetic anaphoristic construction: "There was a regular army of blue flags... There was a grand band of trumpets... There were bodies of constables... There were lectors on horseback, & electors afoot", etc. The series of sentences with an identical beginning traditionally belongs to the grand descriptive style that is deliberately out of place in this ironic description of a mean political squabble. The monotony of the anaphoristic repetition is broken up by a number of verbal constructions bringing the whole show into sudden & vibrating motion: "... and the flags were rustling & the band was playing, & the constables were swearing", etc. After a variety of definitely prosy & undignified details ("the constables were swearing,... and the mob were shouting,... and the post-boys perspiring...") Dickens makes a swift & decidedly comical transition to the grand style again, explaining that all these things were "for the special use, behoof, honour, & renown, of the Honourable Samuel Slumkey, of Slumkey Hall ..." The latter almost synonymous group of nouns forms a gradually ascending scale from the prosaic & moderate use to the resounding renown. The synonymical pairs use & behoof, honour & renown, here joined in one sentence, are characteristic of the official language of law & Parliament. They are comically misplaced appearing, as they do, in connection with the undignified hustle described by Dickens. The ridiculous name of Slumkey (1) is the more ridiculous alongside "Hall" (Slumkey Hall) & the title of Honourable invariably bestowed by the author upon the candidate "for the representation of the Borough of Eatanswill, in the Commons House of Parliament of the United Kingdom". This last grand phrase in apposition to the pettiness of a Slumkey is very important in pointing out the connection between the election riot of Eatanswill & the sphere of higher politics. The length of the period with its pil ing up of rich & savoury details & its mock-heroic climax is certainly meant for comical effect partly dependent on parody of the grand style of 18 t h century classical tradition & of the conventions of the high-flown newspaper style Dickens's own times. The exuberance of material description contained within one period has the advantage of concentration & intensification so characteristic of Dickens's style in general, of his exposure of the false splendour of political warfare in particular. Mr. Pickwick's inability to conceive the causes & reasons of the bitter contest raging all raging him is one of Dickens's ways of conveying to the reader that his hero's Quixotic naivete is really far superior to the cleverness & sharpness of popular politicians, being the demonstration of a higher, though purely instinctive, understanding of the honour & dignity befitting man. These "Pickwickian" characteristics shine forth in the dialogue of master & servant. Sam Weller explains to his simple-minded employer a few of the rather shady mysterious of the Buff & Blue electioneering technique. Mr. Pickwick's political enthusiasm, his honest delight in voters, in his eyes all "fine, fresh, hearty fellows", is considerably damped by Sam's laconic comment: "Wery fresh... me & the two waiters at the Peacock, has been a pumpin' over the independent voters as supped there last night." The epithet "fresh" metaphorically used by Mr. Pickwick assumes in Sam's lips a literal & decidedly different meaning disclosing the methods of the Eatanswill politicians. Playing the role of the sensitive & practical Sancho Panca to Mr. Pickwick's Don Quixote, he attaches a different meaning to many of the words spoken by his master. If that gentleman praises the voters for their energy, implying their devotion to their party, his servant brings h i m down to earth with a crash by insinuating that their energy is all expended in eating & drinking. (1) Slumkey has connotations with slum (very runny when combined with Hall) & with flunkey, its literal & figurative meanings of "servant" & "servile fellow" both being inconsistent with the general notion of a public-minded man. Sam Weller, whose appearance on the pages of the Pickwick Papers made the book world-famous, is remarkable for his witty & highly spiced speech delivered with a wonderful power of idiom & cockney volubility. The peculiarities of the cockney pronunciation & grammar (such as dropping of h's, substituting w for v & vice versa, omitting sundry consonants & vowels as in gen'l'm'n, using ain't for isn't & 'ee for you, etc.) serve to set off Sam's quick though untrained understanding & his shrewdly observant mind that refuses to conform either to standard thought or speech. "Can such things be!" exclaims the astonished Mr. Pickwick (on hearing about the machinations of the Committee of Blues with the "independent" voters). A fine irony is conveyed in Sam's use of the official term of "independent voters" when applied to men whose "independence" has to be restored by throwing cold water upon them, "shillin' a head", as Sam Weller succinctly expresses it. To Mr. Pickwick's exclamation of surprise Sam responds: "Lord bless your heart, Sir... why where was you "half baptized? - that's nothin', that ain't." Thus Dickens conveys the contrast between the childish idealism of Mr. Pickwick's outlook & his valet's sound knowledge of life & things. Sam Weller's anecdotes are brilliant examples of grotesque exaggeration - no less so than Mr. Perker's suggestion that the honourable Slumkey should shake hands with twenty voters specially washed for the purpose. & pat the heads of or still better kiss at least six children in arms. Those hyperbolic details go together to shape a realistic presentation of corruption & fraud as the mainstays of the entire political system. Caricature & grotesque are the great weapons of Dickens's peculiar realism. When compared to that of 18th century literature it is less rationalized, richer in detail & more emotional in tone & colouring. QUESTIONS AND TASKS 1. What political institutions are satirized in the above selections? 2. How does Dickens draw the reader's attention to the gulf between the people's representatives & the people themselves? 3. Comment upon the personality of Samuel Slumkey. How does Dickens express his appreciation of the candidate's activities? Why does he repeat the word "Honourable" so many times? 4. By what stylistic means is Slumkey's hypocrisy exposed? 5. Dwell upon the incident of the "baby-kissing" as an example of Dickens's grotesque realism. 6. Explain the reasons of Mr. Piekwick's bewilderment & distress at the ferocity of the crowd. In what way is Dickens's indignation at this imfeashirig^of*public passions made clear? 7. Speak about the syntax of the periods describing the hustle. 8. Analyse the syntactical structure of the final period on page 3. What causes prevail - subordinate or independent ones? 9. Note the role of inversion in Dickens's narrative (e. g. In the period beginning with "Loud & long were the cheers" etc.). 10. Comment upon elements of cockney introduced into Sam Weller's speech characterization. 11. Pick out obsolete words & expressions; explain their stylistic purpose. 12. Point out words & phrases used ironically.
