# Jonas Chuzzlewit — Martin Chuzzlewit character guide > Jonas Chuzzlewit in Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Mr. Jonas, the amiable Jonas, good Mr. Jonas, the departed Mr. Chuzzlewit **First appearance:** 0004-ii ## Snapshot A grasping, joyless nephew who measures every dinner by the value of the plate and every relative by what they might leave him. ## Who they are Jonas moves through London's flashy circles—Tigg Montague's dinners, Wolf's theatrical gossip, Pip's oaths—with a miser's eye fixed on the silver and a sneer for everything else. He has already humiliated one Pecksniff sister by transferring his suit to the other, and his contempt for his own father is barely concealed. He matters because his greed is the novel's darkest engine, the place where avarice stops being comic and starts being dangerous. ## Relationships ### [Seth Pecksniff](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/characters/seth_pecksniff) _professional_ Jonas becomes Pecksniff's son-in-law through a cold business arrangement, marked by mutual contempt. ### [Tigg Montague](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/characters/tigg_montague) _professional_ Jonas and Tigg are corrupt business partners in a fraudulent insurance scheme, exploiting each other. ### [Chuffey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/characters/chuffey) _psychological_ Chuffey is a broken, elderly clerk who is emotionally and mentally dominated by the cruel Jonas. ### [Mercy Pecksniff](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/characters/mercy_pecksniff) _family_ Jonas marries Mercy (Merry) Pecksniff, but their union is abusive and loveless, driven by his cruelty. ### [Tom Pinch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/characters/tom_pinch) _rivalry_ Jonas views Tom with contempt and hostility, seeing him as a weak obstacle to his schemes. ### [Seth Pecksniff](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/characters/seth_pecksniff) _professional_ Jonas becomes Pecksniff's son-in-law through a cold business arrangement, marked by mutual contempt. ### [Seth Pecksniff](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/characters/seth_pecksniff) _professional_ Jonas becomes Pecksniff's son-in-law through a cold business arrangement, marked by mutual contempt. ### [Chuffey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/characters/chuffey) _psychological_ Chuffey is a broken, elderly clerk who is emotionally and mentally dominated by the cruel Jonas. ### [Tigg Montague](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/characters/tigg_montague) _professional_ Jonas and Tigg are corrupt business partners in a fraudulent insurance scheme, exploiting each other. ### [Tigg Montague](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/characters/tigg_montague) _professional_ Jonas and Tigg are corrupt business partners in a fraudulent insurance scheme, exploiting each other. ### [Mercy Pecksniff](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/characters/mercy_pecksniff) _family_ Jonas marries Mercy (Merry) Pecksniff, but their union is abusive and loveless, driven by his cruelty. ### [Mercy Pecksniff](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/characters/mercy_pecksniff) _family_ Jonas marries Mercy (Merry) Pecksniff, but their union is abusive and loveless, driven by his cruelty. ## In the story ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/chapters/viii) Travels with his father; shows impatience with Anthony and flirts with Mercy Pecksniff. ### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/chapters/xi) Hosts the dinner, voices cynical business precepts ('Do other men, for they would do you'), and treats his father with disrespect, calling him 'ghost'. ### [Chapter XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/chapters/xviii) Shows contempt for his father, examines the will secretly, and is caught by Pecksniff. ### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/chapters/xix) Grief-stricken and guilt-ridden after his father's death, haunted by the corpse's presence; insists on lavish funeral spending to avoid accusations of stinginess. ### [Chapter XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/chapters/xx) Proposes to Mercy, haggles over dowry, and shows hostility when Pecksniff mentions his father. ### [Chapter XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/chapters/xxiv) Jonas pressures Mercy to set a wedding date, showing his impatience and underlying cruelty. ### [An Unexpected Meeting, and a Promising Prospect](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/chapters/xxvi) The newly married man, grumpy and dismissive; he brings his bride home and tells Mrs. Gamp she is no longer needed. ### [Showing that old friends may not only appear with new faces, but in false colours. That people are prone to bite, and that biters may sometimes be bitten.](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/chapters/xxvii) Visits the Anglo-Bengalee office, recognizes Tigg from Pecksniff's parlour, and is tempted by Tigg's offer to join the fraudulent scheme. ### [Mr. Montague at home. And Mr. Jonas Chuzzlewit at home.](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/chapters/xxviii) Visits Montague Tigg's home, driven by greed and a desire for power; attempts to appear sharp but is easily manipulated. ### [Secret Service](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/chapters/xxxviii) Manipulated by Montague into helping recruit Pecksniff; unaware that Nadgett is watching him. ### [Mr. Jonas and his friend, arriving at a pleasant understanding, set forth upon an enterprise](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/chapters/xli) Shows a dark, brooding purpose after being caught attempting flight; becomes unnaturally self-possessed and later boisterous, fascinated by a murder story. ### [Chapter XLII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/chapters/xlii) Travels with Montague, dismissive of danger, curses and mocks Montague's fear. ### [Chapter XLIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/chapters/xliv) Manipulates Pecksniff by hinting at the Anglo-Bengalee scheme, pretending reluctance to stoke Pecksniff's greed. ### [Chapter XLVII: Conclusion of the Enterprise of Mr. Jonas and His Friend](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/chapters/xlvii) The murderer, traveling back to London after killing Montague Tigg, consumed by guilt and fear. ### [XLVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/chapters/xlviii) Implicated by Lewsome as the principal in the suspected murder of his father Anthony. ### [Chapter LI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/chapters/li) Exposed as having plotted to poison his father; shows no remorse, only fear and despair over his own security. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/characters/jonas_chuzzlewit - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_chuzzlewit_se/characters