Butts

Jonathan Lipata Arevalo
12/4/12
AP English Literature
Emerson/Mahan

Angels In The House and The Fallen

In Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens has a myriad of characters that are used to portray the social norms and environment of his time. In doing so, he effectively and satirically criticizes Victorian views of how many people were viewed solely based on superficial things such as status and or gender. In the case of gender, Dickens effectively depicts and critiques how women were viewed and “supposed to be” by comparing and contrasting “angels of the house” and those that are “fallen.” One such character is Rose Maylie, a woman with romantic ties to one Harry Maylie. Rose is the exemplar of what an “angel” should be. She is extremely mannerly, prim, and proper; summarily, she can be defined as “a creature as fair and innocent of guile as one of God’s angels” (Dickens). Not only she is characterized as an “angel” through her demeanor and actions, she is outright called an “angel.” Furthermore, the connotation of the flower that bears the same name, which possesses a sweet and gentle imagery, only serves to further justify Rose as an “angel.” Lastly, her selflessness of giving up a happy relationship to allow a Harry to succeed and prosper when she says that he should “have turned to high and noble pursuits” is evident of a prime characteristic of what Victorian age women were supposed to be; she is sacrificing and acting on the behalf and for the benefit of a man (Dickens). Another character that possesses Victorian “angel” qualities is Agnes Fleming. However, she descended from her “angel” status and became someone who has “fallen.” The mother of Oliver, she fell in love and consummated an illegitimate relationship with Edwin Leeford, who was married and already had a child. Despite this potentially scandalous fact, Agnes was very characteristic of an “angel” as she waited and “trusted patiently” for Edwin to marry her (Dickens). Unfortunately, the two conceived a child, one as illegitimate as their relationship and would be born out of wed-lock. Because of this, Agnes runs away to prevent shame and scandal for Edwin and his family, a selfless and “angelic” act that ironically causes her to become “fallen.” Following her death in child birth, her birthing doctor believes her to be just another poor woman, another “fallen” woman, on the streets because she does not have a wedding ring. Despite this, this act was highly characteristic of an “angel” since she gave up a lot, including her life, to save a man’s reputation. A woman, by the name of Nancy, is another character that had “fallen” but still exhibited qualities of an “angel.” Her life of crime, thievery, and possibly prostitution are large indicators of her “fallen” status. However, she refuses a chance to acquire means of a better life, means to improve hers. She does this for a bond made with Sikes, a bond that commits her to stay and protect Bill Sikes. No matter the pleading offers to abandon her criminal pursuits, she stays steadfast and refuses to give Sikes and everyone else up. This is very apparent when Nancy tells Rose, “I could not be his death… Nothing could save him” (Dickens). Even with a golden and sensible opportunity, she stands by her duty as a Victorian woman to benefit a man. It may not be in the conventional sense; she is still an “angel” in this regard. And like Agnes, she gives so much that she ends up losing her life in her attempt to protect Sikes. Whether a female character was portrayed as an “angel” or someone who has “fallen,” they are still angels, just fallen angels. They still are characteristic of angels, maybe not their lives, but for their deeds. By showing the similarities of angels and the fallen angels, Dickens shows that all women of that time were the same, just like he believed men are equal. He effectively shows that all women in that time period were the same and exhibited the “angel in the house” qualities in many different ways, shapes, and forms.

Works Cited
Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist. New York: New American Library, 1980. Print.

Cited: Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist. New York: New American Library, 1980. Print.