Middlemarch · Character

John Raffles

A stale-smelling, jocose blackmailer who drifts into Middlemarch carrying a secret from Bulstrode's past and a brandy-flask in his pocket.

supporting

Also known as Mr. Raffles, Raffles, this Raffles, John Raffles

First appearance: xxxv

As a supporting figure in Middlemarch, John Raffles is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

A swaggering, florid rogue who visits Rigg to extort money and brandy.

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Raffles is a barroom Adonis gone to seed, a man who signs himself W.A.G. and calls his old schoolmaster Ba-Lamb, and who has spent decades cadging money from anyone he can corner. His stepson Josh Rigg drives him off with threats of dogs and whips, but Raffles only laughs and pulls out his flask, showing the shameless persistence that makes him dangerous. His arrival in Middlemarch sets a slow fuse under the banker Bulstrode's respectable life, turning the town's moral landscape into a trap.

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See John Raffles in xxxv

Character Web

40 connections

A slice of how John Raffles sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Other

Character groups

Middlemarch social and professional network
Local gossips and matrons
Minor townspeople, relatives, and servants
Legal and familial authority figures

+35 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

In this scene, the emotional and psychological peak occurs when Dorothea, having just endured the humiliation…

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Relationships

Dorothea Brooke
social · negative
Dorothea encounters Raffles briefly as a disreputable stranger whose revelations about… How this plays out →
Dorothea Brooke
social · negative
Dorothea encounters Raffles briefly as a disreputable stranger whose revelations about… How this plays out →
Dorothea Brooke
social · negative
Dorothea encounters Raffles briefly as a disreputable stranger whose revelations about… How this plays out →

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See John Raffles in xxxv

In the story

John Raffles appears across 7 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

XLI
A swaggering, florid rogue who visits Rigg to extort money and brandy. He carries a letter from Nicholas Bulstrode, which he uses to wedge his flask.
LIII
Blackmails Bulstrode, demands money, recalls the name 'Ladislaw' and writes it down.
LX
Introduced as a stranger accompanying Mr. Bambridge; described with large whiskers and a swagger, staring at Will Ladislaw.
LXVIII
Reappears at The Shrubs on Christmas Eve, proving unmanageable and tormenting Bulstrode with his drunken, cunning behavior.
Chapter LXIX
Lies ill at Stone Court; Lydgate diagnoses alcoholic poisoning and prescribes treatment.
Chapter LXX
Raffles is gravely ill, raving and sinking, under Bulstrode's care; his death is imminent.
LXXIX
Raffles is mentioned as having spoken to Will, and is central to the public disclosures.

Chapter companion notes

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See John Raffles in xxxv

See John Raffles in XLI