In his novella, The Secret Sharer,
Joseph Conrad's narrator declares that "meaning depends upon sharing." Certainly, in
the case of Magwitch, a gamin of the streets of London, a thief and an accomplice of
Compeyson, a man without anyone to love him, a man with no home, a convict so forlorn
that when a little boy commiserates with him about his chills, he clings to this caring
thought and holds it as much more meaningful than it is. So, when he has the good
fortune of being given a sheep rancher's wealth, Magwitch wishes to share it with the
one person in his life who has shown him some kindness. For, to share this wealth lends
it meaning. To groom a poor boy not too unlike himself, lends something worthwhile to
Magwitch's tragic life.
Yes, Pip, dear boy, I've made a gentleman on
you! It's me wot has done it! I swore that time, sure as ever I earned a guinea, that
guinea should go to you. I swore arterwards, sure as ever I spec'lated and got rich, you
should get rich. I lived rough, that you should live smooth; I worked hard that you
should be above work. What odds, dear boy? Do I tell it fur you to feel a obligation?
Not a bit. I tell it, fur you to know as that there hunted dunghill dog wot you kep life
in, got his head so high that he could make a gentleman—and, Pip, you're
him!”
That he, a lowly
"dunghill dog" of the streets of London could be responsible for a young gentleman's
success somehow vindicates Magwitch and gives him some pride and sense of self-worth.
For, he feels that he must be worth something since a gentleman is the product of his
sponsorship. Having Pip as a gentleman vindicates Magwitch; this situation gives him
something to be proud of, and it gives him something to live for as Pip becomes the son
he has never had.
No comments:
Post a Comment