72 pages • 2 hours read
Charles DickensThe Old Curiosity Shop
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1840A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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BetaChapters 9-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 9 Summary
At home, Nell pleads with her grandfather to share his pain with her. Nell declares that she would rather be a beggar and be happy at it than be stuck in their current, miserable situation. As she cries, Mr. Quilp sneaks into the room. He has heard their entire conversation. When Nell and her grandfather realize Mr. Quilp is there, Nell is dismissed so they can speak privately. Mr. Quilp reveals the grandfather’s secret: He has no money at all, having gambled away what little money Nell’s deceased parents left her. Desperate to win even a small amount to secure Nell’s future, the grandfather began borrowing money from Mr. Quilp, but he has also lost all these sums at the gambling table. When the grandfather asks who betrayed his secret, Mr. Quilp simply asks him, ironically, who he “think[s]” did it. The grandfather guesses that it was Kit, and Mr. Quilp confirms this conclusion—even though it is false. Mr. Quilp deduced the grandfather’s gambling on his own, using information gathered from his eavesdropping, including Nell’s own admissions to Mrs. Quilp earlier in the week.
Chapter 10 Summary
On the street outside, Kit keeps watch over the Curiosity Shop. He sees Mr. Quilp's arrival and departure and also notes that the grandfather has not gone out at all that night. Kit weaves through the alleyways back to his own house, startling his mother when he arrives. At first, Kit is bothered by the goings-on at the Shop, but when he realizes how hard his mother and siblings work all day, he resolves to be more cheerful and help with the housework. Mrs. Nubbles praises Kit for watching over Nell, joking that he might have fallen in love with her. Kit bashfully denies this. At that moment, Nell herself arrives at their door in tears. Her grandfather’s health suddenly turned worse, and he screamed that Kit can never come near them again. Nell delivers Kit’s wages, begging him to forgive her for parting with him in this way.
Chapter 11 Summary
Over the course of the next few weeks, Nell’s grandfather’s physical and mental health quickly deteriorate. Mr. Quilp seizes the Curiosity Shop with the help of his lawyer friend, Sampson Brass. Nell keeps vigil at her grandfather’s side, determined to avoid any interaction with the two men. Mr. Quilp conducts a thorough inventory of all items in the Curiosity Shop. Nell sees Kit standing outside, and they talk through the window. Kit invites Nell to come live with his family if her grandfather does not recover; if he does recover, he is welcome to live with them too. Mr. Quilp steps outside to investigate the noise (their conversation), and Kit leaves. Mr. Quilp and Brass decide to sell off the Curiosity Shop’s full inventory and the building itself.
Chapter 12 Summary
Nell’s grandfather eventually recovers, but not completely. His mental state has declined to the point where he cannot hold conversations and routinely forgets even the smallest of matters. One Tuesday, Mr. Quilp informs the grandfather and Nell that he has sold the Shop’s inventory and that they will have to leave soon. The grandfather states confidently that they will leave Friday. He and Nell plan their escape in secret—they agree to leave early in the morning before Quilp and Brass awaken and to wander in the world as beggars. Nell steals the keys to the front door from Mr. Quilp’s rooms, and they depart with nothing but a few belongings between them. Nell quickly realizes that her grandfather is not capable of guiding them, as he soon loses his sense of direction and awareness of locations. Nell leads them down the street, unsure of where they are headed but happy that they are together and hopeful that they can leave their miseries behind.
Chapters 9-12 Analysis
Nell cannot bear not knowing the truth of her grandfather’s pain; being excluded in this way makes her deeply depressed. His secret is not only that he gambles and that he lost her inheritance by doing so, but also that he cannot even admit to himself that he is addicted to gambling. While it might have started as an earnest attempt to earn money for his granddaughter, it has clearly developed into a bad habit at best and an addiction at worst. This is where the grandfather’s greed comes to light: At some point, gambling stopped being about Nell and it started being about the game itself—the thrill of the bet, the pride born of winning, and the determination born of losing.
Assuming that business at the Curiosity Shop is doing well, the grandfather’s decision to borrow from Quilp seems even more questionable. If the grandfather truly only wanted to secure Nell’s future, he could have saved money from sales at the shop; the fact that he turned to taking out loans suggests that the profits from the shop also fuel his gambling. At every turn, he loses what little money he has, and he cannot get himself out of this spiral. In fact, he is so ashamed of himself and his gambling that when he believes Kit betrayed his trust and shared his secret, he has a complete mental break and becomes ill to the point of almost dying. This is when Nell makes a proposition that her grandfather does not understand at first. She suggests they just leave and become beggars—that she would be happier doing that than she would ever be if she stayed in the Shop and lived in debt to Quilp. The tragedy here is that in his determination to give Nell something, the grandfather has cost them both everything.
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