Nicholas Nickleby, Chapter 49 summary

What happens

1. Nicholas visits Madeline Bray on Charles’s commissions, while the household worries about Smike’s health and Snawley’s demands.
2. Mrs. Nickleby praises Frank’s attentions, missing Kate’s embarrassment, and Miss La Creevy arrives before Tim and Frank.
3. Tim and Miss La Creevy flirt, while Kate and Frank sit together by the window and speak quietly.
4. Frank pulls an elderly neighbor from the chimney, and Mrs. Nickleby treats his intrusion as unwanted courtship.
5. The neighbor praises Miss La Creevy, frightens Mrs. Nickleby, and follows the visitors back to his custodians.
6. Nicholas returns and finds Smike awake, fully dressed, and distressed, but Smike refuses to explain his feelings.

In this chapter

What to notice

Smike acknowledges intense feelings without explaining them. His secrecy leaves Nicholas unable to understand the distress beneath his grateful manner.

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