Voorjaar 2009 no.66
The Dutch Dickensian Volume XXIX 18
jealousy John Jasper suffers in the Mystery of
Edwin Drood, which leaves him "nothing but
a heap of torn and miry clothes upon the
floor."
Eugene is much more in control of himself,
always, though his control is anything but self-
repression. It is, rather, a matter of wilfully
self-indulgence. He is related to Dick Swiveller
in the Old Curiosity Shop and to young Martin
Chuzzlewit. Steerforth, in David Copperfield,
is his cousin, as are James Harthouse in Hard
Times and Sydney Carton in A Tale of Two
Cities. But Eugene is much more carefully
portrayed than any of those young man - and
much worse than any of them except
Steerforth. It is not just that Eugene is a bored
young gentlemen of insignificant means; he
has a "careless manner" and a "certain lazily
arrogant air" (2,1). He makes no effort to
work, and indulges his lack of occupation as
much as he does himself.
When Jenny sees him and asks, "Mr.
Wrayburn, ant it?" he responds "So I am told."
He laughingly identifies himself as "a man to
be doubted," and "a bad idle dog" (2,2). In
proposing to find a tutor for Lizzie and Jenny
he proposes "to be of use to somebody -
which I never was in this world, and never
shall be on any other occasion." A "passing
appearance of earnestness" and "generous and
unselfish interest" on Eugene's part is just
that: a "passing appearance in hum usually
so light and careless," and he acknowledges
that he has acted "selfishly enough." When he
adds, "The novelty of my doing any
thing in the least useful has its
charms," the narrator notes that this
remark was made either "skilfully" or
"by an evil chance." When Eugene
claims to "respect" Lizzie, he does so
with "an appearance of openness,
truthfulness, unsuspecting generosity,
in his words and manner."
Over and over, the narrator warns us
not to trust Eugene, When he seems to
have mocked Jenny, carelessly, he is
"shocked" at what he has done. But
surprisingly, we are to trust him this
time: The narrator reports that he is
"shocked - to do him justice - at the thought
of trifling with her infirmity" (2,2). As he
leaves Jenny and Lizzie, he stops "to light
another cigar, and possible to ask himself
what he was doing." The narrator continues,
'If so, the answer was indefinite and vague' -
and then the narrator passes judgement on
Eugene: "Who knows what he is doing, who is
careless what he does!"
Mortimer tries to influence Eugene, tries to
argue with him. But Eugene refuses. Will
Eugene pay the upholsterer's bill? "I mean to
ray him But then I mean so much that I -
hat I don't mean So much that I only mean
and nothing more" (2,6). He jokes about
"moral influences" and "domestic virtues,"
and refuses to be "earnest."
Mortimer accuses his friend of hiding some
thing; Eugene answers that he doesn't "know"
whether he is hiding anything or not: "I know
less about myself than about most people an
the world, and I don't know."
Eugene's excuse of self-ignorance could be
simply "utterly careless," and irresponsible, a
matter of "reckless indifference," which would
be culpable enough; but the scene which fol
lows shows us that it is also dishonest. Eugene
does know what he is doing.
Eugene sits on the windowsill, making little
pellets of dirt from a flowerpot. To "wander
ers" stray into the courtyard, and Eugene
drops a pellet on the hat of one. "Hitting him
on the hat," he remarks, "I smoke serenely,
and become absorbed in contemplation of the
sky" (2,6). The two wanderers enter the build
ing.
FOKKIKC TUL CK'MLvTIC 1'jRUT'i
"When they emerge," said Eugene, "you shall
see me bring them both down;and so pre-
