The Purloined Handkerchief

1. The Purloined Handkerchief By Ian Palmer Nick Rowe Ethan Long John O. Jordan

2. The Handkerchief Motif • In the 1820’s and 1830’s handkerchiefs: • Determined social status • Common among all people • Were considered to be an article of luxury • Can be seen as a 19th Century Rolex

3. The Purloined Letter • Jordan offers that Dickens was attempting to parallel the Purloin Letter by Edgar Allen Poe. • Oliver’s missing father is marked in the novel by both letters and written documents that were kept secret by Monks such as: • The will • The letter • And the unnamed proofs

4. The Handkerchief Class System • Lower class handkerchiefs were: • Cotton • Worn around the neck • They were weary of the gallows. • Used for shielding the sun and for wiping sweat • Stole handkerchiefs from the wealthy

5. Class System (cont.) • Middle class handkerchiefs were: • Cotton • Worn in trouser pockets (we concluded in modern day they could be worn around the head also) • Usually solid colored

6. Class System (cont. again) • Upper class handkerchiefs were: • Silk • Worn in lapel pockets • Patterned • Stitched with the owner’s name

7. Bumble’s ‘Kercheifs • Mr. Bumble had one handkerchief in his hat and one in his pocket. • This can be seen as an attempt to gain a higher social status. • He removed the ‘kerchief from his hat to wipe his brow. • Symbolizes poverty • He removed the other ‘kerchief from his pocket when having tea. • Symbolizes wealth

8. Dickens’ Key Points • “Clothes are a powerful way of marking social distinction in a class society…” • “Power itself is often vested in clothing or social roles rather than the person.” • “Dress codes function not just as a differential system of classification, but as a means of social control; whereby institutions like the workhouse identify and regulate members of the lower class.”

9. Handkerchiefs and Hangings • Neckerchiefs were worn by thieves and criminals. • They served as a form of protection for a sensitive area. • They also served as a reminder of the “figurative noose” that was around their necks.

10. Examples of Criminal Use • On several instances Sikes attacked people’s throats. • Sikes attempts to drown his dog by tying a handkerchief around its neck. • The man in the white waistcoat says Oliver was predestined to be hanged. • As a result Oliver wants to hang himself with a handkerchief; however was too poor to afford one. • Fagin is seen with a bare throat. • Because of his great vulnerability to the present danger. • He also ties up his “booty” or jewels with a handkerchief.

11. Other Connections • The search was marked by woven materials. • A “patchwork coverlet” was put over a dead woman’s body. • There is an “old blanket” that covers the dead body of the old lady when Mr. Sowerberry goes to retrieve the body. • At the Brownlow’s home Oliver sees Miss Bedwin appear through the curtains.

12. Other Other Connections • Dickens describes a “dusky curtain” that hangs over Brownlow’s memory that prevents him from recognizing Oliver from the portrait of his mother. • The portrait itself is painted on canvas. • Sikes throws a rug over Nancy’s body after he murders her.

13. Nancy • Nancy’s handkerchief is white. • Suggests purity despite the terrible conditions she lives in • Her handkerchief was given to her by Rose. • Signifies the sisterly bond between their different social classes. • They were still equal in their devotion to Oliver. • Suggests that it has story value • It was traded for information about Oliver.

14. More Nancy • Nancy’s handkerchief contained religious significance. • She holds it in front of her face before Sikes kills her. • “She lifts it towards Heaven and breathes on prayer of mercy to her Maker.”

15. Oliver • Jordan suggests that Oliver is a purloin handkerchief throughout the text, simply waiting to be claimed. • He is a blank handkerchief however. Others like Fagin try to inscribe on him. • Fagin starts him by picking the marks out of handkerchiefs. • This signifies Oliver’s abandonment of himself and his heritage.

16. Bibliography • Jordan, John O. “The Purloin Handkerchief” Oliver Twist. Ed. Fred Kaplan. New York: Norton, 1993. 580-93.