Ralph Nickleby

Newman Noggs

Noggs is Ralph's downtrodden clerk, secretly working against his employer's schemes.

Nicholas Nickleby

Bitter uncle and nephew locked in a conflict over money, family honor, and power.

Wackford Squeers

Ralph collaborates with the cruel schoolmaster Squeers for mutual financial gain.

Sir Mulberry Hawk

Ralph associates with Sir Mulberry Hawk as a wealthy acquaintance and fellow schemer.

Kate Nickleby

Kate is Ralph's niece, whom he exploits and treats coldly for his own purposes.

Sir Mulberry Hawk

Ralph associates with Sir Mulberry Hawk as a wealthy acquaintance and fellow schemer.

Newman Noggs

Noggs is Ralph's downtrodden clerk, secretly working against his employer's schemes.

Wackford Squeers

Ralph collaborates with the cruel schoolmaster Squeers for mutual financial gain.

Nicholas Nickleby

Bitter uncle and nephew locked in a conflict over money, family honor, and power.

Wackford Squeers

Ralph collaborates with the cruel schoolmaster Squeers for mutual financial gain.

Nicholas Nickleby

Bitter uncle and nephew locked in a conflict over money, family honor, and power.

Newman Noggs

Noggs is Ralph's downtrodden clerk, secretly working against his employer's schemes.

Nicholas Nickleby

Introduced as the miserly and unfeeling uncle of Nicholas and Kate, who refuses to help the family after his brother's death.

I

Elder son of Godfrey Nickleby; a usurious and money-obsessed youth who later becomes a wealthy London merchant.

Of Mr. Ralph Nickleby, and his establishments, and his undertakings, and of a great joint stock company of vast national importance.

Introduced as a shrewd, cold-eyed businessman living in Golden Square, engaged in speculative ventures.

Mr. Ralph Nickleby receives sad tidings of his brother, but bears up nobly against the intelligence communicated to him. The reader is informed how he liked Nicholas, who is herein introduced, and how kindly he proposed to make his fortune at once.

Receives news of his brother's death with cold indifference; meets his niece and nephew for the first time; arranges Kate's apprenticeship and Nicholas's position with Squeers.

Chapter IV

Arranges Nicholas's employment with Squeers, warning him not to squander the opportunity.

Nicholas starts for Yorkshire. Of his leave-taking and his fellow-travellers, and what befell them on the road.

Appears at the coach-yard, sarcastically comments on the hackney coach, and coldly observes the farewell.

Chapter X

Arranges Kate's employment, dismisses sentimentality, and escorts her to the dressmaker's.

Newman Noggs inducts Mrs. and Miss Nickleby into their new dwelling in the city

Indirectly present through Newman's errand; his supposed thoughtfulness is ironically contrasted with Newman's actual efforts.

XV

Received the letter from Squeers detailing Nicholas's assault; mentioned as the uncle who must be informed.

Descriptive of a Dinner at Mr. Ralph Nickleby's, and of the manner in which the company entertained themselves, before dinner, at dinner, and after dinner

Arranges the dinner party and introduces Kate to his associates, showing a cold and manipulative demeanor.

Chapter XX

Confronts Mrs. Nickleby and Kate, accusing Nicholas of misconduct and disowning him.

Chapter XXVI

Torn between a faint, reluctant compassion for Kate and his profit-driven schemes, he ultimately discloses her address to Lord Frederick Verisopht.

Miss Nickleby Appeals to Her Uncle for Protection

Coldly refuses to help Kate, prioritizing his business ties with Sir Mulberry Hawk and Lord Frederick Verisopht.

Of Ralph Nickleby and Newman Noggs, and some wise precautions, the success or failure of which will appear in the sequel.

Ralph is distracted by thoughts of Kate and experiences a fleeting moment of humanizing reflection, but quickly returns to his cold, calculating self.

XXXII

His villainy is revealed through the overheard conversation.

In which Mr. Ralph Nickleby is relieved, by a very expeditious process, from all commerce with his relations.

Receives Nicholas's letter of renunciation; reads it twice, falls into a dark muse, and then turns furiously on Newman.

XXXIV

Ralph's hatred for Nicholas grows as he recalls past comparisons and schemes for revenge.

Smike becomes known to Mrs. Nickleby and Kate. Nicholas also meets with new acquaintances. Brighter days seem to dawn upon the family.

Contrasted with the happy Nicklebys; he is alone and miserable.

XXXVIII

Visits Sir Mulberry, stoking his hatred for Nicholas, and is astonished by Lord Frederick's unexpected moral stand.

Mr. Ralph Nickleby cuts an old acquaintance. It would also appear from the contents hereof, that a joke, even between husband and wife, may be sometimes carried too far.

Ralph is confronted by Brooker, an old acquaintance, and refuses his blackmail attempts. He later learns of Sir Mulberry Hawk's departure and is frustrated by Nicholas's apparent good fortune.

XLV

Threatens Nicholas with protracted legal warfare and vows to break his spirit.

Throws some light upon Nicholas's Love; but whether for good or evil the reader must determine

Visits the Cheerybles to complain about Nicholas but is rebuffed.

Mr. Ralph Nickleby has some confidential intercourse with another old friend. They concert between them a project, which promises well for both.

Conspires with Arthur Gride to arrange a marriage between Gride and Madeline Bray, using Bray's debts and Gride's hidden knowledge as leverage.

Chapter LI

Orchestrates the marriage plot between Arthur Gride and Madeline Bray, as revealed in his letter.

LIII

Mentioned as the co-conspirator in the plot to marry Madeline to Gride.

The Crisis of the Project and Its Result

Manipulates Gride and Bray, taunts Gride about jealousy, and orchestrates the marriage.

LVI

Furious and calculating, Ralph hatches a scheme to retrieve a stolen deed and thwart Nicholas's marriage to Madeline Bray.

How Ralph Nickleby's auxiliary went about his work, and how he prospered with it.

Mentioned in Squeers's soliloquy as a sly, cunning 'file' who tracked down Peg Sliderskew and cleared the ground for Squeers to work.

LIX

Shows signs of mental and physical strain, sleeplessness, and paranoia; confronts Charles Cheeryble and is later accused by Newman Noggs.

LX

Visits Squeers in prison, attempts to manipulate him into silence, and learns of the document that threatens his schemes.

Ralph Makes One Last Appointment—and Keeps It

Ralph is consumed by remorse and madness after discovering Smike is his son and that he has died in Nicholas's care. He returns home, contemplates suicide, and locks himself in the attic.