The Old Curiosity Shop · Chapter
XLIX explained
Quilp returns home after a three-day absence to find his household believing him drowned.
What happens
Quilp returns home after a three-day absence to find his household believing him drowned. He spies on a gathering that includes his wife, mother-in-law, Sampson Brass, and two watermen, who are drinking his rum and composing a descriptive advertisement for his supposed corpse. Quilp eventually reveals himself, terrifies the party, and clears the room.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Rising action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This excerpt marks the dramatic climax because it captures the emotional and psychological peak of Kit’s despe…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Death and Transcendence
The chapter revolves around the false belief in Quilp's death, with characters mourning and composing an advertisement for his body, while Quilp himself observes from hiding.
- Greed and Exploitation
Brass and the others exploit Quilp's supposed death to drink his rum and enjoy a comfortable gathering, showing their self-interest.
Characters to notice
- Daniel Quilp
Returns home and secretly observes his family and Brass mourning his supposed death, then dramatically reveals himself.
- Sampson Brass
Sits at the table composing a descriptive advertisement for Quilp's body, drinking Quilp's rum and expressing hypocritical grief.
- Mrs. Quilp
Reclines in an easy-chair, feigning sorrow while drinking rum, and faints when Quilp appears.
- Mrs. Jiniwin
Drinks punch and insists on the truthfulness of the description of Quilp's legs, then flees when he reveals himself.
Key passages
“He went his way, whistling from time to time some fragments of a tune; and with a face quite tranquil and composed, jogged pleasantly towards home; entertaining himself as he went with visions of the fears and terrors of Mrs. Quilp, who, having received no intelligence of him for three whole days and two nights, and having had no previous notice of his absence, was doubtless by that time in a state of distraction, and constantly fainting away with anxiety and grief.”
Quilp walks home cheerfully, imagining his wife's distress after his three-day disappearance.
Highlights Quilp's malicious delight in causing fear.
“I can almost fancy that I see his eye glistening down at the very bottom of my liquor. When shall we look upon his like again? Never, never!”
Brass pretends to see Quilp's spirit in his drink while toasting his memory.
Shows Brass's hypocritical sentimentality.
“Aquiline! cried Quilp, thrusting in his head, and striking the feature with his fist. Aquiline, you hag. Do you see it? Do you call this flat? Do you? Eh?”
Quilp suddenly appears and angrily corrects the description of his nose as aquiline, not flat.
Marks the dramatic reveal of Quilp's survival.
