47 pages • 1 hour read
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
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Chapters 6-10Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 6 Summary: “Philanthropy in Minor Canon Corner”
Content Warning: The novel and the guide reference drug addiction, colonialism, and racist beliefs.
Reverend Crisparkle lives with his mother, Mrs. Crisparkle. One morning, they receive a letter from a man named Mr. Honeythunder, who is married to Mrs. Crisparkle’s sister. He is planning to send two young orphans, Neville and Helena Landless, to Cloisterham; Neville will stay with Reverend Crisparkle, and Helena will stay at the girls-school at the Nuns’ House (where Rosa also lives). Revered Crisparkle quickly begins planning a dinner so that Neville and Helena can meet new people, especially young people such as Edwin Drood and Rosa Bud, reasoning that “youth takes to youth” (52).
A short time later, Neville, Helena, and Mr. Honeythunder arrive in Cloisterham. Mr. Honeythunder is loud, rude, and disruptive. He largely ruins the dinner, and everyone is very happy when he leaves the town that night.
Chapter 7 Summary: “More Confidences Than One”
Neville and Crisparkle accompany Honeythunder to the station; as they walk back, Neville explains more of his and Helena’s history to Reverend Crisparkle. Neville reveals that he and Helena grew up in Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka, which was under British colonial control in the 19th century); their mother died when they were young, and they were raised by an abusive and cruel stepfather. When the stepfather also died, Mr. Honeythunder became their guardian.
Neville confides that he and Helena were very suspicious of Crisparkle and assumed he would also be cruel to them; however, “[they now] see an unmistakable difference between your house and your reception of us, and anything else we have ever known” (60). Neville explains that he has many bad character traits resulting from his difficult childhood; he thinks his sister is more stubborn, and also more resilient than him. Reverend Crisparkle listens seriously and expresses his hope that he can help Neville to become better. In response to Neville’s questions, Crisparkle explains that Edwin and Rosa (who were both at the dinner) are engaged.
Neville and Crisparkle arrive back at the party. Rosa is singing, and Jasper is watching her lips intently. Rosa becomes increasingly distressed and bursts into tears; Edwin assumes that she was nervous about singing in front of others and worried that that Jasper (her music teacher) would be critical of her. Rosa calms down, and the party wraps up; Rosa and Helena go home together. They vow to be good friends to one another. Helena asks Rosa about Edwin, and also about Jasper; Rosa confides that she is terrified of Jasper because he is clearly obsessed with her (although he has never said or done anything explicitly inappropriate). Helena soothes Rosa, feeling protective towards her new friend.
Chapter 8 Summary: “Daggers Drawn”
After Helena and Rosa leave, Neville and Edwin continue talking. Edwin explains that Jasper is his guardian, and that he is preparing for a career as an engineer in Egypt. Neville asks Edwin about his relationship with Rosa; Edwin seems annoyed by these questions, which angers Neville, who “is already enough impressed by Little Rosebud, to feel indignant that Edwin Drood (far below her) should hold his prize so lightly” (69). The two young men grow increasingly angry with one another, but Jasper interrupts them and rebukes them for quarrelling.
Edwin quickly says that he doesn’t bear Neville any ill will; Neville says the same thing but does not seem as sincere as Edwin. Jasper, Neville, and Edwin converse, while Jasper plies the two younger men with alcohol. He also hints to Neville that Edwin is privileged, spoiled, and doesn’t appreciate his good fortune. Neville and Edwin begin to bicker again; Neville eventually becomes so angry that he is about to throw a goblet at Edwin, but Jasper stops him.
Neville leaves and hurries back to the Crisparkle house; he confides to Reverend Crisparkle that he has fought with Edwin Drood and remains very angry with him. Crisparkle urges Neville to attempt to control his temper. After Neville goes to bed, Jasper arrives. Jasper tells Crisparkle about Neville’s violent outburst and confides that he feared Neville was going to kill Edwin.
Chapter 9 Summary: “Birds in the Bush”
The narrative provides more information about Rosa’s history: When she was six, her mother died in a tragic accident. Her father was devastated and died of a broken heart a year later. While Rosa’s father grieved, his best friend (Edwin’s father) suggested the engagement between Edwin and Rosa; Edwin’s father also died when the children were young. They have grown up with the knowledge that their fathers wanted them to marry. Rosa has lived at the Nuns’ House school full-time since she was seven, even though it serves mostly as a boarding school.
After Neville and Helena’s arrival in Cloisterham, gossip about the fight between Neville and Edwin quickly spreads. Rosa is unhappy about the gossip because she has “an uncomfortable feeling that she was involved in it, as cause, or consequence” (81); she also worries that the tension between Neville and Edwin will impact her friendship with Helena.
Mr. Grewgious, Rosa’s legal guardian, and the executor of her trust, visits her. He checks in with Rosa, noting that she will likely be marrying Edwin in less than a year. He also wants to provide both Rosa and Edwin with copies of her father’s will so that they can review it themselves. Rosa takes the opportunity to ask if there are any legal or financial consequences if she and Edwin don’t get married; Mr. Grewgious reassures her that “this betrothal is a wish, a sentiment, a friendly project, tenderly expressed on both sides” (87). If Rosa and Edwin don’t want to get married, they aren’t required to.
Rosa mentions that Edwin has left Cloisterham but will be coming back at Christmas; she asks Mr. Grewgious to visit her at Christmas in case she has any updates to give him (the implication is that Rosa may be intending to tell Grewgious that the engagement is off). Mr. Grewgious leaves Rosa and runs into Jasper near the cathedral. Grewgious tells Jasper that he has confirmed with Rosa that she is free to break off the engagement; he can tell that Jasper does not like this news and thinks that Jasper is being protective of his nephew. Jasper gleans that Rosa and Edwin will be coming to a final decision at Christmas; he declares his expectation that the engagement will move forward, and that the pair will marry when Edwin celebrates his 21st birthday in May.
Chapter 10 Summary: “Smoothing the Way”
Reverend Crisparkle speaks with his mother, who expresses her dislike and mistrust of Neville: “I hope Mr. Neville may come to good, but I don’t believe he will” (94). Jasper told Mrs. Crisparkle about the violent altercation between Neville and Edwin. Reverend Crisparkle listens patiently to his mother and attempts to advocate for Neville. Later, Crisparkle visits an isolated walkway near the river, where he knows that Neville and Helena regularly walk together. Crisparkle has observed that the siblings remain extremely close during their time in Cloisterham, and that Neville is passing along his new education to Helena so that she can learn as well.
Crisparkle suggests that Neville formally apologize to Edwin and Jasper; he is concerned that Neville is viewed with suspicion and mistrust because of his altercation with Edwin. Neville explains that he cannot apologize, because it would not be sincere: He is in love with Rosa and infuriated by the dismissive way in which Edwin treats her. Crisparkle is shocked by Neville’s open declaration, and he makes Neville and Helena promise to never tell anyone else about Neville’s feelings for Rosa.
Crisparkle then visits Jasper and asks him to intercede with his nephew, asking Edwin to write a note of apology and amends. Crisparkle explains that he has likewise interceded with Neville and feels confident that peace can be established between the two young men if Edwin reaches out. Jasper agrees, and also shows Crisparkle his journal, in which he has written about the confrontation between Edwin and Neville. Later, Jasper shares a note from Edwin with Crisparkle: In response to his uncle’s request, Edwin cheerfully agrees to meet with Neville, and suggests a meeting with himself, Neville, and Jasper on Christmas Eve (when Edwin will be back in Cloisterham).
Chapters 6-10 Analysis
The rising action of the plot progresses with the arrival of the Landless siblings in Cloisterham. Since Cloisterham is such a small and insular community, the arrival of anyone new would likely be a point of interest, but a number of factors signal that the siblings are “outsiders” who will introduce conflict into the narrative. Neville and Helena are orphans (developing the motif of orphans, since Rosa and Edwin have also lost their parents at a young age), and this can make them the target of mistrust or suspicion; in the Victorian era, many people held strong beliefs about hereditary traits, and so someone whose family connections and origins were unknown could be considered suspect as a result.
More significantly, Neville and Helena are presented as culturally and racially ambiguous. They have recently arrived in England from Ceylon; Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) was under the control of the British empire between 1796 and 1948. It is never established whether Neville and Helena are white, South Asian, or have a diverse racial background, but they are described as “very dark and very rich in color [with] … something untamed about them” (55). Neville and Helena’s surname is English, but it was not uncommon for European men to have children with non-European women; the surname “Landless” might serve to reinforce the siblings’ liminal position in which they are not fully English and not fully Sri Lankan. The colonial origins in Neville and Helena’s history complement the plotline about Jasper’s consumption of opium, situating the novel’s English setting as also one rooted in imperialism and interconnected to a global empire.
Many characters respond negatively to the siblings, especially to Neville, for reasons that seem to be rooted in racism and prejudice, thereby developing the theme of Prejudice Leading to Hasty Conclusions. Edwin and Neville antagonize one another for multiple reasons (including rivalry over Rosa’s affections), but Edwin repeatedly makes racist comments towards Neville, commenting that “that part of the world [where Neville comes from] is at a safe distance” (74) and “you are no judge of white men” (75). Later, Mrs. Crisparkle (who has had very limited interactions with Neville) insists, “I hope that Mr. Neville may come to good, but I don’t believe he will” (94). While Neville’s hot temper and difficulty curbing his impulses don’t endear him to the Cloisterham community, his ambiguous cultural and racial origins make him a greater target of prejudice and suspicion. Dickens does pointedly have one character (Crisparkle) trust Neville and see his potential for goodness; likewise, Rosa quickly trusts and bonds with Helena. Helena and Neville have also lacked parental care or nurture while they were growing up, and Dickens offers a relatively sympathetic picture of two young people who have the potential for kindness and compassion when they are treated with those same qualities.
The introduction of Neville further contributes to the theme of Jealousy and Hidden Desire because he quickly falls for Rosa and feels angry with Edwin for failing to appreciate her properly. Neville’s open hostility towards Edwin contrasts with Jasper’s efforts to conceal his feelings under an exaggerated guise of affection. However, Neville’s open antagonism sets him up to potentially function as a red herring (a suspect or clue used to distract from the actual criminal) in the subsequent mystery plot: Because Neville is known to be hostile towards Edwin and potentially violent, it will be very easy for everyone to believe that Neville was responsible for Edwin’s disappearance and/or death.
While many red herrings are inserted into a mystery plot by the author to build suspense for the reader, Jasper manipulates Neville in a way that suggests he may be using him as a decoy. Jasper functions as a surrogate author, carefully composing the “plot” in the lead-up to Edwin’s disappearance, planting clues and building up a plausible alternative suspect. His use of a journal, which he shows to Crisparkle several times, heightens this sense of Jasper as “plotting” in the dual sense of composing a plan and a narrative. Jasper often stages the conversation so as to heighten the tension between Neville and Edwin, and he also plies the two young men with alcohol to heighten their impulsivity. Jasper’s suspicious behavior, and his obvious obsession with Rosa, is transparent almost immediately to Neville and Helena. The first time that Jasper’s obsession with Rosa is explicitly discussed occurs when Helena questions Rosa, saying, “you know that he loves you?” (66). Neville and Helena have led less sheltered lives, and have been exposed to violence and cruelty, so they may be shrewder and more observant. Neville and Helena’s immediate awareness of what has otherwise been a secret shows why they play such an important role in the inciting action of the plot, and also why they are viewed with mistrust by many of the other residents of Cloisterham: They make what is implicit and not discussed an open source of antagonism, disrupting the polite yet sinister tension that preceded them.
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