Our Mutual Friend, Chapter 5 summary

What happens

1. Silas Wegg runs a street stall and invents a privileged connection with the corner house opposite him.
2. Boffin admires Wegg’s ability to read and offers him evening employment, which Wegg accepts for twice the proposed payment.
3. A cart driver and his donkey help Wegg find Boffin’s home, locally known as Harmony Jail.
4. The Boffins welcome Wegg into a room divided between Mrs Boffin’s fashionable furnishings and her husband’s simpler comforts.
5. After accepting drink and pie, Wegg corrects Boffin’s mistaken book title but evades explaining the difference between Roman and Rooshan.
6. Wegg reads without understanding much, Mrs Boffin repeatedly dozes, and Boffin struggles with the horrors he hears.

In this chapter

What to notice

Boffin’s excitement about gaining access to books meets distress at their contents. His reaction contrasts with Wegg’s detached delivery.

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