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The Mystery of Edwin Drood
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Edwin Drood: Chapters 18-23
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I misunderstood and didn’t realize Jasper was going to London for opium – although I did find it really weird that a small town like Cloisterham would have an opium den, complete with a Chinaman and a Laskar.
Still, someone may have died under mysterious circumstances the previous Christmas Eve, based on what Durdles heard.
Dickens obviously intended some comic relief with Miss Twinkleton and Mrs. Billickin. I didn’t find it especially effective in this book, and wanted to return to the main plot.
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These notes are mostly based on “The Problem of Edwin Drood” by W. Robertson Nicoll. Sorry if they’re kind of scattered and incoherent (like Jasper’s wanderings, ha ha!).
The book is about halfway done. It is unlikely, based on Dickens’ previous novels, that he would have introduced any new characters of any real significance in the second half. It was to be published in 12 numbers. At the time of Dickens’ death, only 3 had been published. 3 were unpublished, and it seems that what we have of those numbers were not intended to be the finished product (Dickens would have made more revisions).
Dickens confided some parts of the plot to his friend Mr. Forster and to a few of his children. He also left notes and gave a hint to one of his illustrators.
Unfortunately, it looks like Edwin is, in fact, dead. There are a few people who hypothesized that he survived (one theory said he was rescued by Durdles from the quicklime, a bit disfigured by it, and returned as Datchery – but it’s unlikely based on the properties of quicklime), but Forster and Dickens’ children insist that Edwin is dead. Dickens told Mr. Forster that he was writing a book on the murder of a nephew by his uncle, and that the uncle would later find out that his action had been useless for his purpose, and that the body and the killer would be discovered due to a ring that hadn’t been dissolved. Dickens’ daughter in particular insists that Dickens would have told Forster if Dickens had intended Edwin to survive the attempted murder, and would have probably told his (Dickens’) youngest son as well. Some people say Dickens might have wanted to surprise Forster and others, but Dickens’ daughter (and others) says that this would be contrary to his character, and against the nature of his friendship with Forster.
Dickens told one of his illustrators to draw Jasper with a huge black scarf, since he would strangle Edwin Drood with it.
Someone named Dr. Jackson actually thinks that Edwin was first drugged, then partially strangled, then thrown from the tower, then laid in the quicklime!
Nicoll believes Edwin’s body is in the Sapsea monument. He thinks that, on the night Jasper went with Durdles, he may have taken the key, unlocked the monument, and closed it, leaving it unlocked so that he could get back in the night of the murder. He must have hidden quicklime in there at the same time. No wonder he was paranoid about Deputy seeing him. Others say Jasper made wax impressions of the keys (I suppose he could have had keys made in London later. He wouldn’t have attracted so much suspicion there).
One hypothesis about the screams heard by Durdles is that they were a premonition – not about the coming Christmas Eve (because there was no dog and Edwin didn’t make any noise), but about the following one, which would have been the climax of the book.
By the way, some of the passages included in the published version of Edwin Drood had been erased by Dickens, meaning he had decided to publish the book without those passages. This includes most of Crisparkle’s visit to Neville in London, and some of Crisparkle’s and Honeythunder’s conversation.
That chapter at the end that was found with the manuscript, the one with Mr. Sapsea and the eight club, was added by Dickens because he felt the story was moving too fast and wanted to slow things down a bit (and he had a lot of fun with Sapsea’s character). He also expressed concern to his sister-in-law that he had introduced Datchery too soon. Nicoll believes that if Dickens had lived, he would have moved the Datchery chapter a bit later.
In Dickens’ notes, here is what he says about Sapsea: “Mr. Sapsea. Old Tory jackass. Connect Jasper with him. (He will want a solemn donkey by and by)”
Rosa will marry Mr. Tartar and Helena will marry Mr. Crisparkle.
Forster was unsure what Dickens had planned to do with Neville, but thought that Dickens planned for him to die while assisting Mr. Tartar in seizing Jasper. It’s possible that he will be thrown from the cathedral tower (the final fight is expected to be on the cathedral roof, next Christmas Eve).
Jasper has a dark past that should be revealed later in the book.
Grewgious will have Mrs. Bud’s ring back. It will be instrumental in incriminating Jasper. We can already see that there will be several characters involved in bringing Jasper to justice. It seems that Dickens intended Jasper to give a very strange confession in prison (after which, he presumably is hanged or kills himself). One hypothesis has him falling from the tower with Neville, but others say Dickens was clear on him going to prison.
Dickens’ youngest son wrote a play based on the book and on what he’d learned from his father (plus some of his own material, probably). In this play, Durdles is also drugged the night of the murder, as he had been the night Jasper had gone with him. In the play, Grewgious extracts a confession from Jasper, but Jasper then poisons himself.
Who is Datchery? Some people who think that Edwin Drood was rescued think that Datchery is Edwin. Nicoll points out several problems with this theory (among others, that “being Datchery” would take a lot of intelligence, of which we haven’t seen present with Edwin, and that if he was alive, he was too kindhearted to allow everyone to think for so long that Neville had murdered him). Others say it might be Bazzard. Nicoll insists that Datchery is Helena Landless, for several reasons that he details. (By the way, whoever Datchery is, he/she is working closely with Grewgious to keep an eye on Jasper, and has help from Grewgious) Whoever Datchery is clearly has his/her heart in the case. His wig is huge, possibly to hide a woman’s long hair. Helena had dressed as a boy several times in her childhood and was the leader whenever she and Neville ran away. There are a few passages in the book that could be taken to be prophetic, of her having a decisive part to play in incriminating Jasper. Several passages indicate that Datchery keeps his/her hands hidden (they would have been difficult to disguise). Dickens had recently expressed appreciation for plays and books in which women have successfully imitated men. Helena had a low voice, and she had only met Jasper once (so he might not remember it well if she disguised it a bit).
Who was Princess Puffer, and why does she hate Jasper? One hypothesis is that she was Jasper’s mother (Nicoll points out that it’s very odd for a man of Jasper’s age to be already addicted to opium). Another is that Jasper wronged a child of hers. Another (very much a speculation) is that Jasper seduced a young woman who was kind to the opium lady, and who then committed suicide after Jasper neglected her for Rosa. Another is that, despite her addiction, she’s still a good-hearted lady and was alarmed by the things Jasper said when under the influence. She wanted to follow Jasper and save Ned. Later, upon finding out that Jasper had done the deed, she wanted to avenge Ned.
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I read an article that, even in Hollywood today, there are very few movies where white women are with black men, and it’s shown as normal. When that type of relationship happens, it’s the subject of the movie (as in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner), not shown as something normal. (Some of the exceptions are Pulp Fiction and There’s Something about Mary)
Sorry, that was kind of a tangent and maybe I'm overthinking things.
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Same here. Whenever someone asks (it's usually a classroom activity for us) which historical figure you'd like to have lunch with, I always say Charles Dickens, so I can ask him how Edwin Drood was supposed to end!
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Yes, thank you. All very interesting. I quite enjoyed the half of the novel which we do have. I can well Imagine that the final version would have been marvelous.
Lori, thanks for all that wonderful information! I'm going to have to look for the Nicoll book now. Your post has me curious to read more.
Lori wrote: "Lynnm wrote: "When I go to meet my Maker, the first thing I'm going to do is track down Mr. Dickens and ask, what did happen to Edwin Drood?!"Same here. Whenever someone asks (it's usually a clas..."
Every now and again, I think about going on for a Ph.D. in literature. If I do, I want to focus on Dickens. He's my favorite. I like Austen as well, but Dickens to me is the best even ahead of Jane. He understands human nature more than any other writer I know.
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No problem; I think I got a bit carried away ;-) It was a wonderful book and I wish it could have been finished. It may have been one of Dickens' best.
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I didn't think Neville and Helena were people "of color". I thought they were English but had "gipsy" looks. Dickens seems to buy ingot the stereotype of good people having fair complexions vs. bad people being dark in some way. If they were really part Indian or African, I don't think Helena could have even come to the school.
I will also miss Dickens, it's been a wonderful ride.
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Oh, ok. I had assumed they had a bit of Sri Lankan blood. Miss Schwarz is at a school in Vanity Fair. Maybe it was a different kind of school?
I had a similar impression, Lori. That there was possibly a Sri Lankan mother, similar to one of the Alan Armadales. I don't know about the school refusing admittance. I feel like there are other examples of people of color attending English schools during this time period but I'd have to do a little research.
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I'm guessing their father had been a white man of the British Raj, so they should have been accepted to schools even if they weren't fully white.
I also assumed that they were of mixed heritages.But as others have said, I'm not sure that Helene would be accepted into a school at that time if she was of a mixed heritage. So I was a bit confused.
I'll have to do some research into it.
Lori wrote: "Dickens obviously intended some comic relief with Miss Twinkleton and Mrs. Billickin. I didn’t find it especially effective in this book, and wanted to return to the main plot."Lori, I loved the interaction (or lack thereof) between Miss Twinkleton and Mrs. Billickin! Knowing the story would be ending soon, I thought how pleased I was that Dickens got this bit in. Billickin made me laugh, and Miss Twinkleton handled her beautifully. :-)
I didn't read the post about possible endings, nor did I read the court transcript that ended my hard copy of the book. Not being one for fan fiction or speculation of "experts", I decided to let Dickens stand on his own. But I imagine he's getting no rest in heaven!
Dickens did seem to hint at a relationship between Rosa and Mr. Tartar, and I approve. :-) Rosa did, indeed, mature some when she made the wise decision to break off her engagement.
Re: the race of the Landlesses, I assumed they were English but had lived abroad for so long that they were quite tan (at a time when a "healthy glow" wasn't appreciated :-) ) and perhaps acted "less English" because of their upbringing in Ceylon. As someone else mentioned, I doubt they would have been accepted into this group otherwise.
I don't think Edwin is dead, but I've no idea what happened to him. Obviously the opium woman was a witness to something, but what? What of all the climbing around in the tombs, the lime, and the key? But knowing Dickens, Jasper will come to some sticky end, and Edwin and Helena will somehow be reunited. If Rosa and Tartar end up together, what becomes of Neville, I wonder?
I love the Angular Mr. Grewgious more than ever ("Tick that off!").
I was a bit befuddled by the rooftop garden scene in which Rosa kept popping in and out relaying messages between the gentlemen and Helena. Even Dickens seemed a bit muddled by it, which makes me wonder why he bothered. Why not just have Helena come in and meet with the group as a whole? Kind of silly.
My Project Gutenberg edition of Drood had an appendix that transcribed notes found in Dickens hand about Mr. Sapsea (forgive me if this was covered in Lori's post that I skipped!). The notes were a bit of a story in which Sapsea goes to a meeting of a club to which he belongs, and ends up being ousted by the group. None of the other characters in this vignette had been mentioned in Drood up to this point and, though I just skimmed over the content, it didn't seem to mention anything to do with the plot of our story. Where - or if - it would eventually fit in, I don't know. Sapsea was the only common link, and he seemed to be a very minor character in the existing Drood. Not sure what to do with it.
PS I was listening to the audio book of "Call The Midwife" and the author mentions that Jane Austen never tried to write a scene in which men were speaking privately, not in the company of women. She theorizes that Austen did this - or did not do it, more accurately - because she'd never been witness to a private conversation between two men alone and, therefore, didn't know how they spoke to each other. I never took notice of this as I read Austen, so can't vouch for its validity, but I did remember that passage as I read the scene between Helena and Rosa in the rooftop garden. Dickens has always had women calling each other cloyingly affectionate names like "my pet", "my pretty one", and "my darling" (I know times have changed, but I've NEVER referred to even my best friends in these intimate terms), and he says things like, "...surveying her friend's beauty...".
Interactions like this one just don't ring true to me. So I got to thinking that Dickens, perhaps, should have taken a page from Austen's book (so to speak) and avoided scenes in which his idealized heroines have private conversations. Interestingly, though, the private interactions between his peripheral female characters, e.g. Miss Twinkleton and Mrs. Billickin or Betsy Prigg and Sara Gamp, seem much more realistic!
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I love that tidbit about Austen. Very interesting, my pet. What a terrific conversation this has been, my pretties! ;-)
Mary Lou wrote: "PS I was listening to the audio book of "Call The Midwife" and the author mentions that Jane Austen never tried to write a scene in which men were speaking privately, not in the company of women. S..."Very interesting.
And I agree about the names the female characters call each other. It really made me cringe a bit. :-)
I have finally finished the book and am sorry for not participating any more. As you all mentioned the book ended for me also a little abrupt. I would have loved to read the intended ending.
As Jasper describes in his opium state that he had done a deed over and over again, I assume that he refers to the murder of Edwin. Finally the dream became reality and he did the deed. However, I was wondering about the title and was expecting a huge background story with revelations of relationships e.g. Mr Tartar who could have been connected in a way to the Landlesses and some mystery about Edwin's past or ancestors. Well, we will never know I guess.
Also I wondered about the use for the introduction of several new characters in these last chapters. They must have been intended for something.
What an unfinished business... :-)
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I was just thinking that is like to reread this one at some point while playing detective, looking for all the clues as to how Dickens might have proceeded. This time I got too caught up in the actual story to sleuth it out.
Renee wrote: "I was just thinking that is like to reread this one at some point while playing detective, looking for all the clues as to how Dickens might have proceeded. This time I got too caught up in the act..."I've thought that, also, Renee. But I still have so many books on my ever-growing to-read list that I wonder if I'll ever get back to it. It's frustrating that we'll never truly know.
And as we feared, no real resolution.
Although, it is pointing very strongly towards Jasper at this point:
One, his threats against Rosabud. Their conversation at the sundial was ominous. Although - and Rosabud points this out later when she is recalling their conversation - he does say, "I MIGHT HAVE swept even him from your side when you favoured him." "Might have" could truly mean that he considered it or it could just be him covering for himself.
Two, the scenes with the woman who provides him with the opium. She is listening to what he says under the influence, and then following him back from Cloisterham, it was both revealing and amusing that she stands behind the pillar, shaking her fist at Jasper. Did he say something under the influence of opium that would condemn him regarding Edwin?
I also felt that Rosabud changes as a character, from a rather silly girl to a more mature woman (which started when she breaks it off with Edwin). She has the courage to run from Jasper, she does the right thing by going to Mr. Grewgious and telling him the entire story, and then goes along with their plan. Also, working it out with Helene not to tell Neville what is happening because they fear his reaction. And I liked that she and Mr. Tartar (isn't he great!!!!) clearly are attracted to one another.
Speaking of Mr. Tartar, his apartment is wonderful...just like a ship.
Lastly, we have the appearance of Datchery. At first, I had no idea where Dickens was taking the character, but it does seem as if it has something to do with Jasper. If I remember correctly - and now I can't find the line - there was one line that said that Datchery didn't like Jasper.
So sad and frustrating that we don't have the ending. When I go to meet my Maker, the first thing I'm going to do is track down Mr. Dickens and ask, what did happen to Edwin Drood?!