Nicholas Nickleby

by

Charles Dickens

Nicholas Nickleby: Chapter 49 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Nicholas’s feelings for Madeline continue to grow as he begins to see her regularly in his role as the faux art dealer. Smike seems to be ill and wasting away. Nicholas takes him to see a physician, who can’t identify an underlying cause for the illness. Smike also has a habit of retreating to his room when Frank comes to the house. One day, Mrs. Nickleby talks to Kate about Frank. She says that he’s a very attentive young man. Kate thinks that her mother is discussing the affection Frank feels for Kate and becomes embarrassed. Ultimately, though, Kate realizes that Mrs. Nickleby is oblivious to Frank’s apparent feelings toward Kate, and Kate relaxes.
The novel suggests that Smike retreating to his room when Frank is around may be related to the feelings that Smike appears to have for Kate. Mrs. Nickleby again displays her characteristic lack of awareness in social settings. That lack of awareness again suggests that Mrs. Nickleby is an unreliable narrator in many respects, and her assessments of various situations should most likely not be taken at face value.
Themes
Family and Loyalty Theme Icon
One night, Tim and Frank visit the Nicklebys’ house at the same time that Miss La Creevy visits. Nicholas is at work, and Smike retreats to his room. The group spends a pleasant evening together, and Tim flirts with Miss La Creevy. At one point, the festivities are interrupted when they hear the muffled voice of a man singing as if he’s under five or six feather mattresses. Then, a pair of legs appears at the chimney. They investigate, and Mrs. Nickleby remarks that it’s their neighbor who is in love with her.
Mrs. Nickleby reacts to the neighbor appearing in their chimney as if it’s the most natural thing in the world and says matter-of-factly that the neighbor is in love with her. The scene is mostly intended to be humorous and comical, but it again shows Mrs. Nickleby’s tendency to misinterpret events and to imagine herself as the center of every story and scene.
Themes
Family and Loyalty Theme Icon
They pull the neighbor out of the chimney. He announces that he needs a bottle of wine and a corkscrew, though no one moves to comply with his request. Mrs. Nickleby tells the neighbor that her answer remains firm—she’s not going to reciprocate his advances. The neighbor doesn’t pay her much attention. When the neighbor sees Miss La Creevy, though, he repeatedly kisses his hand. Looking at her, he says that finally, his beautiful bride has come. Miss La Creevy is scared and hides behind Tim. Mrs. Nickleby says the neighbor must be confusing Miss La Creevy for her. The neighbor curses Mrs. Nickleby.
Mrs. Nickleby’s obliviousness and lack of awareness reach their highest points in this passage, as she shows that her pre-established opinions about the situation—including the idea that the neighbor is in love with her—are immovable and impervious to reason or fact. For the most part, Mrs. Nickleby’s obliviousness does not tie into the main conflict of the novel between Ralph and Nicholas, but that obliviousness makes it clear that Mrs. Nickleby probably wouldn’t be the most reliable person for Nicholas to turn to when facing difficulties. 
Themes
Family and Loyalty Theme Icon
Kate tells Tim and Frank to bring the neighbor next door. Frank is concerned about whether they’ll be able to do that until he thinks of the solution of having Miss La Creevy walk slightly ahead and beckon the man to follow her. The plan works perfectly. Mrs. Nickleby tells Kate that she’s afraid her rejection of the neighbor caused him to lose his mind. Kate is incredulous but tells her mother that what she says must be true. When the neighbor has been brought back home, the group has a pleasant rest of the evening. When Nicholas comes home, he checks on Smike and asks him why he descends into his melancholic moods. Smike says that one day he will tell Nicholas why.
Kate appeases Mrs. Nickleby, even though she thinks that what Mrs. Nickleby is saying is ridiculous. That shows the tendency of both Nicholas and Kate to support and remain loyal to their mother, even when she seems to be in a different reality than they are, further highlighting how important family is for both Kate and Nicholas. At this point, it’s unclear exactly what Smike’s illness is, though Nicholas points out that Smike descends into melancholic moods, which suggests that Smike’s illness may be related to depression.
Themes
Family and Loyalty Theme Icon
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