Our Mutual Friend

Content Warning: Both the novel and guide contain discussions of alcohol addiction, death by suicide, and antisemitism.

Our Mutual Friend explores the tension between poverty and dignity. Many of the lower-class (not to mention many of the middle- and upper-class) characters scrape by on the leavings of others—quite literally in the case of Harmon, who made his wealth off trash, or Hexam and Riderhood, who pull dead bodies from the Thames in exchange for rewards. Other characters, from Silas to Fledgby to the Boffins’ many petitioners, prey on and exploit those they see as vulnerable; still others, such as Reginald Wilfer and Riah, lead personally upright lives but depend for their income on people and institutions of dubious morality. Amid so much corruption, the novel questions whether it is possible to maintain one’s integrity in the face of monetary need.

Betty Higden offers what is perhaps the clearest counterexample to the overall trend of exploitation. Despite Betty’s bleak poverty, she strives to maintain her dignity. She dedicates her life to those who share in her misfortune, raising people, like Sloppy, who have nowhere else to turn. When her situation in London becomes too precarious, Betty ventures out beyond the city. She travels from town to town selling her wares, but she is insistent that she does not want charity. She likewise refuses money from the Boffins, as she wants to earn a wage. Despite her desperate desire to preserve some sort of nobility for herself, she is exploited and mistreated by the world around her, which sees her as an easy target. She is forced to pay what little money she has to keep herself out of the workhouse, an undignified fate that—to Betty—would be worse than death. Importantly, however, the other characters recognize Betty’s insistence on living by her own industry. She saves money for her funeral, and though the attendees would be willing to pay more on her behalf, they respect her wishes and fund the modest service entirely with her own savings. Betty ultimately maintains her dignity, though only in death.

The Lammles are a clear contrast to Betty. Coming from upper-middle-class backgrounds, they expected their marriage to be prosperous only to discover that neither of them had any money. Rather than work for a wage, they immediately resolve to exploit and scam other people to maintain their standard of living. The Lammles are an example of the undignified upper-middle-class refusal to work. They are poor—as poor as Betty, once their debts are called in—but they never recognize themselves as poor. They are too proud to believe that there could ever be any dignity in poverty, so they would rather commit crimes or flee the country than admit the truth.

The relationship between Bella and John Harmon particularly exemplifies the tension between poverty and dignity. Though John seems destined to marry Bella due to a clause in his father’s will, he does not want to marry someone who only wants money. Bella, having grown up in a lower-middle-class family, feels poverty is inherently “degrading” and is initially willing to do whatever it takes to secure wealth. Nevertheless, after posing as an unremarkable figure, John wins Bella’s heart, and Bella insists that she is happy to be with John regardless of their relative poverty. Their marriage—before John inherits his father’s estate—is evidence of the dignity that they find in poverty, improved by love and hard work. They eventually become rich, but their wealth serves as a narrative reward for virtuous behavior.