Our Mutual Friend

Johnny’s death takes a toll on many people, though Silas is not upset. In private, he gloats. Mrs. Boffin speaks to her husband, Rokesmith, and Bella. She has decided that she can never name another child after John Harmon; she has also decided that she should not evaluate children for adoption based on how loveable they seem. When Sloppy visits, she invites him to stay and “be taken care of for life” (336). Sloppy is initially enthusiastic but does not want to abandon Betty.

Miss Peecher has noticed that Headstone seems distracted and suspects that this is the result of Headstone’s love for Lizzie. Headstone visits Lizzie and asks her why she has not followed the education plan that he devised with Charley. Instead, she has been receiving lessons from the teacher appointed by Eugene. Headstone and Charley have both confronted Eugene, he explains, and he would like Lizzie to stop these lessons. Lizzie politely refuses. As he prepares to leave, Headstone hints that there are other things on his mind. He promises to explain them in the future and then exits. Lizzie is left feeling confused and a little distressed. Jenny probes her feelings about Eugene, but Lizzie insists that she could not be with “a gentleman” romantically because he is many social ranks above her. Lizzie believes that Eugene must inevitably marry a wealthy woman.

Pleasant Riderhood, the daughter of Rogue Riderhood, runs an unofficial pawn store and lodging house catering to sailors. One evening, a man asks whether her father is home. The man says he has visited before and a friend of his spoke to Riderhood. He quizzes Pleasant about her father and his previous line of work. Pleasant feels nervous, especially when the man begins to talk about theft and murder. Pleasant assures him that sailors in this neighborhood are rarely targeted for crime, though the man claims that he was once attacked in this area.

Riderhood returns home, interrupting the conversation between his daughter and the stranger. He does not recognize the stranger but sits down with him for a drink. The stranger uses a distinctive knife to open the bottle; Riderhood recognizes the knife as once belonging to George Radfoot, a sailor. The stranger knew Radfoot, who was killed. Riderhood also recognizes the stranger’s coat as having once belonged to Radfoot. When he wonders whether the stranger killed Radfoot, the stranger accuses Riderhood of lying. He hints that Radfoot himself was a criminal. When Riderhood demands an explanation, the stranger bluntly states that he came to tell Riderhood that Riderhood’s accusation against Hexam is false. Radfoot, he claims, was more likely to be a murderer than Hexam. The stranger is aware that Riderhood and Radfoot had a criminal partnership. Since Hexam is dead, Riderhood suggests, there is nothing he can do. The stranger warns that Riderhood’s lies could harm Hexam’s children. Since the stranger does not know Lizzie’s location, Pleasant offers to get him this information the following day. Riderhood is willing to acknowledge that his statement to the lawyers might not have been wholly true, so the stranger reveals that he will bring a second statement for Riderhood to sign. The second statement will retract the original accusation. The stranger refuses again to reveal his identity.

After the stranger leaves, he wanders through the streets, attempting to retrace the route he took on his previous visit. Previously, the narrator says, this stranger has gone under the names Julius Handford and John Rokesmith. In reality, he is John Harmon. John reflects on how he reached this position: In the wake of his father’s death, he returned to England. He had doubts about the marriage clause in his father’s will, as well as the way in which the fortune might change his life. George Radfoot was a sailor on the ship on which John sailed back to England. The two men became friends—so much so that John confessed his doubts to Radfoot. Because Radfoot and Harmon resembled one another, they hatched a plan to swap identities and observe Bella to learn more about John’s supposed future wife.

Once the boat docked, John slipped through the crowd, keen to avoid the many people who were gathered to welcome him back. He reconvened with Radfoot in Limehouse Church, and they proceeded to Riderhood’s neighborhood. John observed that Radfoot seemed to know Riderhood. He believes that the men tricked him and that Riderhood slipped him some kind of drug. After the meeting, Radfoot suggested that he and John swap clothes. After doing so, John felt sleepy and passed out. He has blurry recollections of the room, of a struggle, and of plunging into the water. He dragged himself from the water and recovered enough to limp to a pub nearby. Those inside assumed that he was just another man who fell into the river while drunk. For two days, he recovered in the pub; he then decided to use this strange situation as an opportunity to observe Bella. He paid for 12 nights in a hotel and kept a close eye on the newspapers, only to discover that John Harmon had supposedly been murdered. After a visit to the police station, he deduced that the murdered man was actually Radfoot, who had been carrying his papers and dressed in his clothes at the time of his death. Radfoot, he suspects, tried to kill him and take his money, only for someone else to attack them. This allowed John to escape while Radfoot was killed.

Now the death of John Harmon is officially confirmed, throwing John’s plans to identify himself into confusion. He does not know whether to reveal his real identity. Furthermore, he has now fallen in love with Bella from afar. He studies her further, wanting to determine whether she would marry him even without a fortune. Posing as John Rokesmith, a humble secretary, he plans to propose to Bella. When he approaches her at the Boffin house, however, she tells him to stop chasing her. Bella rejects him and asks him to hide his affection for her from the Boffins. John is sad but accepts her decision.

John now believes that he should never reveal his identity to the world. When he speaks to Mr. Wilfer, he hears Wilfer explain his ambitions for his daughter who, he hopes, will enter into high society and marry well thanks to her relationship with the Boffins.

John meets with Betty Higden. She tells him that Sloppy is trying to balance helping her against spending time in the Boffin home. Betty wants him to benefit from the Boffins’ generosity, so she has decided to run away. Doing so, she says, will also distract her from the ghosts of her past and allow her to make a living so as not to have to accept charity. John talks to Mrs. Boffin about Betty’s comments. Mrs. Boffin arranges to give Betty the money she needs to set up her new life.

Meanwhile, John prepares a document for Riderhood, which will then be sent anonymously to Lizzie. As Sloppy will require an education in the future, John arranges for him to receive lessons from the same teacher who is working with Lizzie.

That evening, John visits Headstone. He has heard about Headstone through Mortimer, he claims, and he is surprised by how much and how openly Headstone dislikes Eugene. When John tries to talk about Lizzie, Headstone becomes increasingly agitated. He is worried that Lizzie and Eugene have a connection. John is concerned that Lizzie may have been negatively affected by her father’s damaged reputation, though Headstone dismisses this notion. He insists that there is at least one man (meaning himself) who would marry Lizzie. John gets Riderhood to sign the letter recanting his accusation, which he then sends to Lizzie.

Meanwhile, Betty prepares to leave London. She is given a letter that marks her as a family friend of the Boffin family.

Shortly after meeting the Boffins’ secretary, Headstone and Charley visit Lizzie. While they walk, Charley talks about his plans to allow Headstone and Lizzie some time alone. He is supportive of whatever Headstone plans to say to her, though he does not clarify what exactly Headstone is planning to ask. Lizzie tries to object to Charley leaving them alone, but Charley does so anyway. When they are alone, Headstone confesses his love to Lizzie. Kindly but firmly, Lizzie refuses his proposal. Headstone becomes angry, threatening whatever anonymous man has won her heart. As Lizzie grows increasingly afraid, Headstone rails against Eugene, his apparent rival. Headstone departs in a maelstrom of anger, sadness, and pain.

From afar, Charley can tell that the conversation did not go as hoped. He is angry that Lizzie turned down his friend. When he speaks to her, he describes how well their marriage might have worked. He also becomes angry, which makes Lizzie cry. Riah encounters the weeping Lizzie and walks her to her house. During their walk, they encounter Eugene, who is shocked by Lizzie’s apparent distress. Lizzie warns him to be careful as the trio walks to her house.

The Lammles celebrate their wedding anniversary. The party is attended by many guests, including Fledgeby, Twemlow, the Veneerings, Eugene, Mortimer, the Podsnaps, and Lady Tippins. Remembering Mortimer’s involvement with the supposed Harmon murder, Lady Tippins asks for the latest news. Mortimer talks about the anonymous letter sent to Lizzie that clears Hexam of the murder. However, Lizzie herself has disappeared. At the end of the party, Mrs. Lammle speaks to Twemlow in a strange way. She acts as though someone is watching her, so they pretend to examine a book while they talk. Asking for Twemlow’s secrecy, Mrs. Lammle explains that someone is plotting against Georgiana, trying to wed her to Fledgeby for her fortune. She asks Twemlow to speak to Podsnap and stop the wedding.