The Old Curiosity Shop · Chapter
Chapter XVII explained
Nell awakens in a strange room and explores a quiet churchyard, reading gravestones and meeting an old woman who has tended her husband's grave for fifty-five years.
What happens
Nell awakens in a strange room and explores a quiet churchyard, reading gravestones and meeting an old woman who has tended her husband's grave for fifty-five years. She and her grandfather then join the showmen Codlin and Short for breakfast and agree to travel with them to the races.
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 Exposition.
- 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
Nell's contemplation of the graves and her conversation with the old widow highlight themes of mortality, memory, and the passage of time.
- Innocence vs. Corruption
Nell's innocent curiosity about the churchyard contrasts with Codlin's cynical, miserly behavior.
Characters to notice
- Nell Trent
Awakens in a strange room, explores the churchyard, meets an old widow, and agrees to travel with Codlin and Short to the races.
- Tommy Codlin
Grudgingly allows Nell and her grandfather to travel with them; packs saved candle-ends and eats greedily.
- Short
Invites Nell and her grandfather to join them; is popular with loungers for his association with Punch.
- Mr. Trent
Awakens after Nell; eagerly agrees to travel with the showmen.
Key passages
“Death doesn't change us more than life, my dear.”
The old woman tells Nell that the changes brought by living are as profound as those brought by dying.
Reflects the theme of death and transcendence, showing how grief transforms over a lifetime.
“I pluck the daisies as they grow, and take them home... I like no flowers so well as these, and haven't for five-and-fifty year.”
The widow explains her enduring attachment to the daisies from her husband's grave, a ritual maintained for over half a century.
Illustrates the long-term, peaceful remembrance of a loved one.
