Nicholas Nickleby, Chapter 43 summary
Chapter 43 of 65 · 23 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 43, Nicholas Nickleby supports a stranger in a tavern quarrel and discovers that he is Frank Cheeryble, his employers’ nephew. Their warm acquaintance leads to a cheerful visit at the Nicklebys’ cottage, where family affection and generous friendship contrast with Nicholas’s jealous thoughts and an unnamed person’s closing anguish.
What happens
- Nicholas and John Browdie defend a young stranger who kicks a man for speaking offensively about a woman he knows.
- Nicholas recognizes the defeated man as Tom, and the stranger introduces himself as Frank Cheeryble.
- Nicholas enjoys his new friendship but privately worries that Frank might compete for the mysterious young woman’s affection.
- The brothers welcome Frank at work, and Charles arranges a visit to Nicholas’s family.
- Kate’s grief for her father softens Mrs. Nickleby’s complaints, and Charles and Frank enjoy a happy Sunday with the family.
- After friendly farewells, an unnamed person prays alone and collapses in grief.
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In this chapter
What to notice
The narrator separates Nicholas’s general generosity from his possessive thoughts about love. His pleasure in Frank’s friendship exists alongside anxiety about romantic competition.
Quick check
Who visits the Nicklebys’ cottage on Sunday?
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