Little Dorrit, Chapter 10 summary
Chapter 10 of 70 · Book 1: Poverty · 32 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 10, Arthur Clennam seeks information about the public claim against Dorrit, but the Circumlocution Office sends him between officials without answering his question. He meets Mr Meagles and Daniel Doyce, whose account of official resistance to his invention shows that Arthur’s frustrating experience belongs to a much wider pattern.
What happens
- The narrator describes a government department that protects its power by preventing action and providing positions for the Barnacle family.
- Barnacle Junior sends Arthur to Mr Tite Barnacle’s home, where Arthur receives evasions and instructions to approach the Department formally.
- Arthur returns to the Office, repeats his question to successive officials, and receives forms instead of useful information.
- At the exit, Arthur encounters Mr Meagles dragging Daniel Doyce outside and follows them to the Park.
- Meagles describes years of official obstruction against Doyce’s invention, while Doyce explains his disappointment without giving way to constant complaint.
- The three men set off toward Doyce’s factory in Bleeding Heart Yard, which Arthur also wants to visit.
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In this chapter
What to notice
Barnacle junior’s protest treats a request for information as improper. It captures the conflict between Arthur’s practical purpose and an office organized to resist inquiry.
Quick check
What does Arthur receive from the agreeable young Barnacle’s department?
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