"We sometimes venture to consider her rather a fine figure, sir. Speaking as an artist, I may perhaps be permitted to suggest, that its outline is graceful and correct." — Fred Barnard's fourteenth illustration for "Martin Chuzzlewit" (1872) by Charles Dickens

"We sometimes venture to consider her rather a fine figure, sir. Speaking as an artist, I may perhaps be permitted to suggest, that its outline is graceful and correct." Fourteenth illustration by Fred Barnard for Dickens's Martin Chuzzlewit (Chapter X), page 81. [Mr. Pecksniff unctuously extols the beauty of his younger daughter, Mercy, as he introduces Old Martin to his daughters.] 11.2 cm x 14.3 cm, or 4 ¼ high by 5 ⅜ inches, framed. Engraving by the Dalziels. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]

Passage Illustrated: The Pecksniff Sisters Curry Favour with Old Martin

The sisters flew to wait upon him.

"Poor girls!" said Mr. Pecksniff. "You will excuse their agitation, my dear sir. They are made up of feeling. A bad commodity to go through the world with, Mr. Chuzzlewit! My youngest daughter is almost as much of a woman as my eldest, is she not, sir?"

"Which is the youngest?" asked the old man.

"Mercy, by five years," said Mr. Pecksniff. "We sometimes venture to consider her rather a fine figure, sir. Speaking as an artist, I may perhaps be permitted to suggest that its outline is graceful and correct. I am naturally," said Mr. Pecksniff, drying his hands upon his handkerchief, and looking anxiously in his cousin’s face at almost every word, "proud, if I may use the expression, to have a daughter who is constructed on the best models."

"She seems to have a lively disposition," observed Martin.

"Dear me!" said Mr Pecksniff. "That is quite remarkable. You have defined her character, my dear sir, as correctly as if you had known her from her birth. She has a lively disposition. I assure you, my dear sir, that in our unpretending home her gaiety is delightful."

"No doubt," returned the old man. [Chapter X, "Containing Strange Matter; On Which Many Events in this History May, for their Good or Evil Influence, Chiefly Depend," pp. 85-86]

Commentary: Pecksniff Presents His Daughters as Possible Heiresses

Old Martin looks critically at the younger and singularly more attractive Pecksniff daughter, Mercy (Merry), who demurely presents the old miser, seated in Pecksniff's easy-chair, with a morsel of of a "homely cake" (85). Pecksniff's styling the proffered refreshment in this manner implies that his dutiful daughters have baked it. His intention here is plain: to present his Volpone-like cousin with two likely candidates to inherit his estate. Barnard presents Old Martin as critical rather than appreciative to suggest that he is not for a moment deceived as to Pecksniff's motivation. And the Pecksniff daughters here are, as Dickens suggests and Phiz had depicted, physical contrasts: the elder, Charity (Cherry) is not merely plain, but decidedly ugly.

Relevant Illustrations, 1843-1867: Widower Pecksniff and His Adolescent Daughters

Left: Hablot Knight Browne's Truth prevails, and Virtue is triumphant (April 1843). Centre: Sol Eytinge, Jr.'s Mr. Pecksniff and his Daughters (1867). Right: Harry Furniss's The Pecksniffs posing to receive Martin (1910). [Click on the images to enlarge them.]

Other Programs of Illustration, 1843-1923

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

Bentley, Nicolas, Michael Slater, and Nina Burgis. The Dickens Index. New York and Oxford: Oxford U. P., 1990.

Dickens, Charles. The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit. Illustrated by Phiz (Hablot Knight Browne). London: Chapman and Hall, 1844.

_____. Martin Chuzzlewit. Works of Charles Dickens. Household Edition. 55 vols. Illustrated by F. O. C. Darley and John Gilbert. New York: Sheldon and Co., 1863. Vol. 2 of 4.

_____. The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit. Illustrated by Sol Eytinge, Junior. The Diamond Edition. Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1867.

_____. Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit. Illustrated by Fred Barnard. Household Edition. 22 vols. London: Chapman and Hall, 1872. Vol. 2.

_____. Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit. Illustrated Sterling Edition. Illustrated by Hablot K. Browne and Frederick Barnard. Boston: Dana Estes, n. d. [1890s]

_____. Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit. Illustrated by Harry Furniss. The Charles Dickens Library Edition. 18 vols. London: Educational Book, 1910. Vol. 7.

_____. Scenes and Characters from Dickens by Fred Barnard, Phiz, Charles Green, and Others. London: Chapman and Hall, 1908.

Kyd [Clayton J. Clarke]. Characters from Dickens. Nottingham: John Player & Sons, 1910.

Matz, B. W., and Kate Perugini; illustrated by Harold Copping. Character Sketches from Dickens. London: Raphael Tuck, 1924.

Steig, Michael. "From Caricature to Progress: Master Humphrey's Clock and Martin Chuzzlewit." Ch. 3, Dickens and Phiz. Bloomington & London: Indiana U.P., 1978. Pp. 51-85. [See e-text in Victorian Web.]

Steig, Michael. "Martin Chuzzlewit's Progress by Dickens and Phiz. Dickens Studies Annual 2 (1972): 119-149.

Last modified 19 July 2016

Last updated 18 November 2024