Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of Eighty

Several young characters and their parents in Barnaby Rudge struggle with what it means to be an adult. Dolly, Joe, Emma, Edward, and Barnaby all begin the novel in their late teens and twenties, yet each of them faces distinct challenges with being perceived as an adult, either due to their actions, the beliefs of their guardians, or, in Barnaby’s case, his intellectual disability.

Although Dolly’s age is not specified, her actions are often compared to those of “a spoilt child” (321). At the beginning of the novel, Dolly’s actions are often naive and selfish, warranting this description, but her growth throughout the novel is evident through her emotional maturation. Dolly’s character arc shows her growing out of childish, self-centered views through learning to recognize her own feelings and responsibilities—above all, her love for Joe—and finding the humility to admit her mistakes and correct them. She secures her happy ending at the novel’s end by forgoing her former whims as a “coquette,” instead embracing a mutual relationship with Joe as a mature, reliable woman.

Joe is emotionally abused by his father, who not only belittles him in front of his friends but encourages others to see Joe as a child. When he runs away from the Maypole, Old John puts out a reward for Joe, whom he calls a “young boy” and portrays as someone much younger and smaller than he actually is. Though Joe has been an adult for years and others like Gabriel perceive him as such, his father refuses to accept this. In order to assert his adulthood and come into his own, Joe must separate himself from his father and hometown, engaging in acts of heroism and self-determination abroad before returning in triumph, which in turn forces his father to recognize his son’s maturity and worth.

Emma and Edward face similar difficulties to Joe. Emma has dealt with trauma since the death of her father and is recognized as a young woman of substance by others, such as when her captors amidst the rioters learn to respect her: “[T]here was not a man among them but held her in some degree of dread” (711). Nevertheless, Haredale still does not allow her to have her own choice when it comes to the man she wants to marry. Sir John meddles with Edward’s life even further, establishing firm expectations for whom he should marry and not allowing him to make his own decisions as an adult would. Emma and Edward must thus face the necessity of defying their father figures to forge the life they wish to have together, which they succeed in doing at the novel’s close through their marriage.

Barnaby, who is 22 at the beginning of the novel, is considered a child not only by his mother but by nearly everyone else around him, even after the narrative skips forward five years. After describing Barnaby’s youth, the narrator refers to his adulthood as “[h]is older childhood” and that, in growing into a man and retaining his intellectual disability, “his childhood was complete and lasting” (254). Like the other young characters, the fact that Barnaby is an adult is ignored yet, unlike them, this is specifically due to the stereotypes associated with his intellectual disability. There is, however, always more to Barnaby’s capabilities than meets the eye: Some characters, such as his mother, recognize that Barnaby can observe and comment upon things in a way that shows insight and wisdom. When Barnaby joins the riots, he does so because he knows of his mother’s financial troubles and is trying to find some way to gain money, revealing his sense of agency and responsibility. While his situation has not changed as much as the other young peoples’ at the novel’s close, his insights and his acts of self-determination reinforce the idea that the young are usually far more capable and worthy of respect than their elders might admit.