Transcript The Purloined Handkerchief

The Purloined
Handkerchief
John O. Jordan
By
Ian Palmer
Nick Rowe
Ethan Long
The Handkerchief Motif
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In the 1820’s and 1830’s handkerchiefs:
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Determined social status
Common among all people
Were considered to be an article of luxury
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Can be seen as a 19th Century Rolex
The Purloined Letter
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Jordan offers that Dickens was attempting to
parallel the Purloin Letter by Edgar Allen Poe.
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Oliver’s missing father is marked in the novel by
both letters and written documents that were kept
secret by Monks such as:
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The will
The letter
And the unnamed proofs
The Handkerchief Class System
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Lower class
handkerchiefs were:
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Cotton
Worn around the neck
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They were weary of the
gallows.
Used for shielding the
sun and for wiping sweat
Stole handkerchiefs from
the wealthy
Class System (cont.)
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Middle class handkerchiefs
were:
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Cotton
Worn in trouser pockets (we
concluded in modern day they
could be worn around the head
also)
Usually solid colored
Class System (cont. again)
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Upper class handkerchiefs were:
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Silk
Worn in lapel pockets
Patterned
Stitched with the owner’s name
Bumble’s ‘Kercheifs
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Mr. Bumble had one handkerchief in his hat and one in
his pocket.
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He removed the ‘kerchief from his hat to wipe his
brow.
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This can be seen as an attempt to gain a higher social status.
Symbolizes poverty
He removed the other ‘kerchief from his pocket when
having tea.
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Symbolizes wealth
Dickens’ Key Points
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“Clothes are a powerful way of marking social
distinction in a class society…”
“Power itself is often vested in clothing or
social roles rather than the person.”
“Dress codes function not just as a differential
system of classification, but as a means of
social control; whereby institutions like the
workhouse identify and regulate members of
the lower class.”
Handkerchiefs and Hangings
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Neckerchiefs were worn
by thieves and
criminals.
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They served as a form of
protection for a sensitive
area.
They also served as a
reminder of the
“figurative noose” that
was around their necks.
Examples of Criminal Use
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On several instances Sikes attacked people’s throats.
Sikes attempts to drown his dog by tying a handkerchief
around its neck.
The man in the white waistcoat says Oliver was predestined to
be hanged.
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As a result Oliver wants to hang himself with a handkerchief; however
was too poor to afford one.
Fagin is seen with a bare throat.
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Because of his great vulnerability to the present danger.
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He also ties up his “booty” or jewels with a handkerchief.
Other Connections
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The search was marked by woven materials.
A “patchwork coverlet” was put over a dead
woman’s body.
There is an “old blanket” that covers the dead
body of the old lady when Mr. Sowerberry
goes to retrieve the body.
At the Brownlow’s home Oliver sees Miss
Bedwin appear through the curtains.
Other Other Connections
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Dickens describes a “dusky curtain” that hangs over
Brownlow’s memory that prevents him from recognizing
Oliver from the portrait of his mother.
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The portrait itself is painted on canvas.
Sikes throws a rug over Nancy’s body after he murders
her.
Nancy
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Nancy’s handkerchief is white.
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Suggests purity despite the terrible conditions
she lives in
Her handkerchief was given to her by
Rose.
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Signifies the sisterly bond between their
different social classes.
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They were still equal in their devotion to Oliver.
Suggests that it has story value
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It was traded for information about Oliver.
More Nancy
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Nancy’s handkerchief contained religious
significance.
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She holds it in front of her face before Sikes kills
her.
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“She lifts it towards Heaven and breathes on prayer of
mercy to her Maker.”
Oliver
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Jordan suggests that Oliver is a purloin
handkerchief throughout the text, simply
waiting to be claimed.
He is a blank handkerchief however. Others
like Fagin try to inscribe on him.
Fagin starts him by picking the marks out of
handkerchiefs.
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This signifies Oliver’s abandonment of himself
and his heritage.
Bibliography
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Jordan, John O. “The Purloin Handkerchief”
Oliver Twist. Ed. Fred Kaplan. New York:
Norton, 1993. 580-93.