Little Dorrit - Part 2: Riches

Chapter 1 - Fellow Travelers -- 28 Oct 2007

Book two begins in much the same way as book one. A group of travelers have taken a journey and are stopping for the evening at a convent at the top of a mountain. There appear to be three distinct groups of people, two traveling from France to Italy, and the other party going in the opposite direction. The route would appear to be popular during the more mild months of the year. However, winter is almost upon the convent and very few people travel there during the harsh winter season.

Describing how the view of the convent changes as seen from the valley floor in the morning, to being at the walls as the sun sets:

Shining metal spires and church-roofs, distant and rarely seen, had sparkled in the view; ... Mountain-peaks of great celebrity in the valleys, whence no trace of their existence was visible sometimes for months together, had been since morning plain and near in the blue sky. And now, when it was dark below, though they seemed solemnly to recede, like spectres who were going to vanish, as the red dye of the sunset faded out of them and left them coldly white, they were yet distinctly defined in their loneliness above the mists and shadows. Seen from these solitudes ... the ascending Night came up the mountain like a rising water. When it at last rose to the walls of the convent of the Great Saint Bernard, it was as if that weather-beaten structure were another Ark, and floated on the shadowy waves.

After they are ushered inside and shown to a sitting room to await dinner, one of the members attempts to make some conversation with a female member of the other party, but little progress is made. The various groups don't appear particularly interested in talking. What little is said are mostly polite insults. The manner of speech of certain members of each party and the mannerisms of some of the characters was very reminiscent of characters from the first part of the book. However, Dickens is very careful not to name names. He calls them by names that are descriptive of their actions currently, such as "the Chief", "the insinuating traveler", "the lady", "the artist traveler", etc.. Only Mrs General is named by name, and I don't believe we've met her before.

During dinner, one of the females (who has just recently been married) passes out and is taken to her room by her husband. After dinner, a shy young woman (whom I guess to be Little Dorrit) goes to the room to visit her. She is sleeping, and the young woman remarks, "She is very pretty ... It was a curious thing to say, but it had some hidden meaning, for it filled her eyes with tears". After gently waking her up, the young bride says she is feeling better and is surprised when the other young woman announces that she has a message to deliver. The young woman delivers the message (which takes the form of a short letter). After the bride reads it, she hands it back to the young woman and asks her to tell her caller, "say I was very well and very happy. And that I thanked him affectionately, and would never forget him".

Upon leaving the room, the young woman is met by one of the other travelers. One who is very polite and kind, but for some reason she has an immediate aversion to him. As the chapter draws to a close, we see this last traveler sign his name on the guestbook. The travelers listed are:
The Dorrit family:

William Dorrit, Esquire
Frederick Dorrit, Esquire
Edward Dorrit, Esquire
Miss Dorrit
Miss Amy Dorrit
Mrs General

The young married couple:

Mr and Mrs Henry Gowan

And finally, the mysterious traveler who was politely rude to some of the gentleman (most likely Edward and/or Henry), and who also creeped out Amy:

Blandois (a.k.a. Monsieur Rigaud)

Chapter 2 - Mrs General -- 09 Mar 2010

This chapter introduces us to Mrs General - "the daughter of a clerical dignity" who married late in life to an older man. When he passed away, she found he had left her nothing. As a result, she advertised herself as a woman who could nurture a young woman through the social mazes. She must have been a force to be reckoned with, because the agency couldn't wait to be rid of her and advertised her as "a prodigy of piety, learning, virtue, and gentility".

She eventually found a young 14yo girl whom she helped to cultivate and eventually marry off. No sooner was she married than the young woman found Mrs General "both inconvenient and expensive", and immediately advertised her with such high praise that nobody could possibly not want to hire her.

Naturally, this is where Mr Dorrit and Mrs General's paths cross. He is looking for someone to tutor his daughters in the way of high society and she seems the perfect fit. Mrs General accepts the position on one condition: "on terms of perfect equality, as a companion, protector, Mentor, and friend."

"Msr General had no opinions. Her way of forming a mind was to prevent it from forming opinions." Similarly, she couldn't dismiss the fact that there were improprieties in the world, but she did her best to ignore them and encouraged others to do so as well.

This does NOT bode well for poor little Amy. I just don't see these two getting along at all

And thus ever, by day and night, under the sun and under the stars, climbing the dusty hills and toiling along the weary plains, journeying by land and journeying by sea, coming and going so strangely, to meet and to act and react on one another, move all we restless travellers through the pilgrimage of life.
Created: 28 Oct 2007 Updated: 09 Mar 2010 My chapter by chapter summary of the second half of Charles Dickens' masterpiece: Little Dorrit.
Chapter 1 - Fellow Travelers Chapter 2 - Mrs General Chapter 1 - Fellow Travelers -- 28 Oct 2007 Book two begins in much the same way as book one. A group of travelers have taken a journey and are stopping for the evening at a convent at the top of a mountain. There appear to be three distinct groups of people, two traveling from France to Italy, and the other party going in the opposite direction. The route would appear to be popular during the more mild months of the year. However, winter is almost upon the convent and very few people travel there during the harsh winter season. Describing how the view of the convent changes as seen from the valley floor in the morning, to being at the walls as the sun sets: Shining metal spires and church-roofs, distant and rarely seen, had sparkled in the view; ... Mountain-peaks of great celebrity in the valleys, whence no trace of their existence was visible sometimes for months together, had been since morning plain and near in the blue sky. And now, when it was dark below, though they seemed solemnly to recede, like spectres who were going to vanish, as the red dye of the sunset faded out of them and left them coldly white, they were yet distinctly defined in their loneliness above the mists and shadows. Seen from these solitudes ... the ascending Night came up the mountain like a rising water. When it at last rose to the walls of the convent of the Great Saint Bernard, it was as if that weather-beaten structure were another Ark, and floated on the shadowy waves. After they are ushered inside and shown to a sitting room to await dinner, one of the members attempts to make some conversation with a female member of the other party, but little progress is made. The various groups don't appear particularly interested in talking. What little is said are mostly polite insults. The manner of speech of certain members of each party and the mannerisms of some of the characters was very reminiscent of characters from the first part of the book. However, Dickens is very careful not to name names. He calls them by names that are descriptive of their actions currently, such as "the Chief", "the insinuating traveler", "the lady", "the artist traveler", etc.. Only Mrs General is named by name, and I don't believe we've met her before. During dinner, one of the females (who has just recently been married) passes out and is taken to her room by her husband. After dinner, a shy young woman (whom I guess to be Little Dorrit) goes to the room to visit her. She is sleeping, and the young woman remarks, "She is very pretty ... It was a curious thing to say, but it had some hidden meaning, for it filled her eyes with tears". After gently waking her up, the young bride says she is feeling better and is surprised when the other young woman announces that she has a message to deliver. The young woman delivers the message (which takes the form of a short letter). After the bride reads it, she hands it back to the young woman and asks her to tell her caller, "say I was very well and very happy. And that I thanked him affectionately, and would never forget him". Upon leaving the room, the young woman is met by one of the other travelers. One who is very polite and kind, but for some reason she has an immediate aversion to him. As the chapter draws to a close, we see this last traveler sign his name on the guestbook. The travelers listed are: The Dorrit family: William Dorrit, Esquire Frederick Dorrit, Esquire Edward Dorrit, Esquire Miss Dorrit Miss Amy Dorrit Mrs General The young married couple: Mr and Mrs Henry Gowan And finally, the mysterious traveler who was politely rude to some of the gentleman (most likely Edward and/or Henry), and who also creeped out Amy: Blandois (a.k.a. Monsieur Rigaud) Chapter 2 - Mrs General -- 09 Mar 2010 This chapter introduces us to Mrs General - "the daughter of a clerical dignity" who married late in life to an older man. When he passed away, she found he had left her nothing. As a result, she advertised herself as a woman who could nurture a young woman through the social mazes. She must have been a force to be reckoned with, because the agency couldn't wait to be rid of her and advertised her as "a prodigy of piety, learning, virtue, and gentility". She eventually found a young 14yo girl whom she helped to cultivate and eventually marry off. No sooner was she married than the young woman found Mrs General "both inconvenient and expensive", and immediately advertised her with such high praise that nobody could possibly not want to hire her. Naturally, this is where Mr Dorrit and Mrs General's paths cross. He is looking for someone to tutor his daughters in the way of high society and she seems the perfect fit. Mrs General accepts the position on one condition: "on terms of perfect equality, as a companion, protector, Mentor, and friend." "Msr General had no opinions. Her way of forming a mind was to prevent it from forming opinions." Similarly, she couldn't dismiss the fact that there were improprieties in the world, but she did her best to ignore them and encouraged others to do so as well. This does NOT bode well for poor little Amy. I just don't see these two getting along at all