The Old Curiosity Shop

When the reader first meets Dick Swiveller, he seems to be headed down the same path as Quilp and Fred. He owes money to nearly everyone, but his only concern is whether or not his aunt in the country will continue to send him more money. His behavior concerning Sophia is just as manipulative—he creates a situation just so he can use her reaction to his advantage. Where he differs from the other men, however, is that when he pretends to be jealous, he actually does end up feeling jealous. This is a testament to a depth of feeling that neither Quilp nor Fred seems to possess for the targets of their manipulation. For them, it is only ever a matter of money, whereas Dick actually seems to like Sophia; he only goes along with the marriage plot because of complacency and an earnest (though perhaps misguided) desire to help his friend—certainly not because he wants to gain Nell’s fortune for himself or marry her for love.

Fred presents as a toned-down version of Quilp—perhaps his character provides a glimpse of what Quilp himself might have been like when he was younger. Fred is ready and willing to sell his sister into marriage just so he can have her inheritance all to himself, and the way he talks about her when she is not there speaks volumes to his true feelings about her. However, when he speaks directly to her, he clearly intends to pit her against their grandfather. His reassurances that he loves her come hand-in-hand with the accusation that their grandfather intentionally keeps them apart and lies to Nell about him. Nell, being young and naïve, cannot see through his words to the strategy behind them. Her brother tells her he loves her, and if he says it, it must be true. If her grandfather does not talk about Fred, and Fred says that is because he wants her to hate him, she experiences doubt about her grandfather. Fred plans to groom that seed of doubt until she reaches marriageable age so that she will go with Dick willingly and shun her grandfather as he shunned Fred.