Excerpt

Excerpt from The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain, by Charles Dickens

Mrs. William, like Mr. William, was a simple, innocent-looking person, in
whose smooth cheeks the cheerful red of her husband’s official waistcoat
was very pleasantly repeated. But whereas Mr. William’s light hair stood
on end all over his head, and seemed to draw his eyes up with it in an
excess of bustling readiness for anything, the dark brown hair of Mrs.
William was carefully smoothed down, and waved away under a trim tidy
cap, in the most exact and quiet manner imaginable. Whereas Mr.
William’s very trousers hitched themselves up at the ankles, as if it
were not in their iron-grey nature to rest without looking about them,
Mrs. William’s neatly-flowered skirts—red and white, like her own pretty
face—were as composed and orderly, as if the very wind that blew so hard
out of doors could not disturb one of their folds. Whereas his coat had
something of a fly-away and half-off appearance about the collar and
breast, her little bodice was so placid and neat, that there should have
been protection for her, in it, had she needed any, with the roughest
people. Who could have had the heart to make so calm a bosom swell with
grief, or throb with fear, or flutter with a thought of shame! To whom
would its repose and peace have not appealed against disturbance, like
the innocent slumber of a child!

“Punctual, of course, Milly,” said her husband, relieving her of the
tray, “or it wouldn’t be you. Here’s Mrs. William, sir!—He looks
lonelier than ever to-night,” whispering to his wife, as he was taking
the tray, “and ghostlier altogether.”

Without any show of hurry or noise, or any show of herself even, she was
so calm and quiet, Milly set the dishes she had brought upon the
table,—Mr. William, after much clattering and running about, having only
gained possession of a butter-boat of gravy, which he stood ready to
serve.

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Explanation

Detailed Explanation of the Excerpt from The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain by Charles Dickens

Context of the Source

The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain (1848) is one of Charles Dickens’ lesser-known Christmas stories, part of his series of holiday-themed novellas (including A Christmas Carol). The tale follows Redlaw, a tormented chemistry professor haunted by painful memories, who is visited by a ghost offering him the power to forget his sorrows—only to discover that erasing grief also erases love, compassion, and human connection.

This excerpt introduces Mr. and Mrs. William Swidger, a cheerful, working-class couple who serve as foils to Redlaw’s bitterness. Their warmth and domestic harmony contrast sharply with the protagonist’s isolation, reinforcing Dickens’ themes of memory, forgiveness, and the redemptive power of human kindness.

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Themes in the Excerpt

1. Contrast Between Order and Chaos

   • The passage juxtaposes Mr. William’s restless energy with Mrs. William’s (Milly’s) serene composure, embodying the balance between activity and tranquility in a healthy marriage.
   • Dickens suggests that harmony arises from complementarity—Mr. William’s bustling nature is tempered by Milly’s calm, just as her quiet strength stabilizes his impulsiveness.

2. Domestic Bliss as a Counter to Isolation

   • The Swidgers represent the warmth of ordinary life, a direct antidote to Redlaw’s ghostly loneliness. Their home is a sanctuary of routine, care, and mutual support—qualities Redlaw has rejected in his pursuit of forgetting.
   • The symbolism of food and service (Milly setting the table, Mr. William’s clumsy but eager help) underscores the nurturing power of domestic rituals, which Dickens often celebrates as a bulwark against despair.

3. Innocence and Vulnerability

   • Milly’s childlike purity ("the innocent slumber of a child") makes her a symbol of unspoiled goodness. Her calm demeanor is not just a personal trait but a moral force—her presence seems to protect her from harm, as if her virtue repels cruelty.
   • This aligns with Dickens’ recurring theme that kindness and simplicity are sacred, often contrasted with the corrupting influences of greed or bitterness (as seen in Redlaw).

4. The Supernatural vs. the Mundane

   • Mr. William’s whispered remark—"He looks lonelier than ever to-night… and ghostlier altogether"—hints at Redlaw’s otherworldly torment. The Swidgers, grounded in the tangible world of work and love, serve as a counterpoint to his spectral suffering.
   • The butter-boat of gravy (a comically small detail) humorously underscores the absurdity of Redlaw’s despair when set against the Swidgers’ contentment with life’s small joys.

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Literary Devices

1. Parallel Structure & Antithesis

   • Dickens uses repetitive contrast ("whereas… whereas… whereas") to emphasize the opposing natures of Mr. and Mrs. William:
     • His hair stands on end; hers is smoothed down.
     • His trousers hitch up (restless); her skirts are composed (still).
     • His coat is half-off; her bodice is placid.
   • This antithesis reinforces their complementary relationship—chaos and order coexisting harmoniously.

2. Personification & Symbolism

   • Clothing as extension of personality:
     • Mr. William’s fly-away coat and hitching trousers suggest uncontrollable energy, while Milly’s neat bodice symbolizes protection and purity.
     • The red and white of her skirts and face evoke health, vitality, and innocence (red for warmth, white for purity).
   • The wind that cannot disturb her skirts implies that her virtue is unshakable, even by external forces.

3. Rhetorical Questions & Pathos

   • "Who could have had the heart to make so calm a bosom swell with grief…?"
     • This rhetorical question invites the reader to sympathize with Milly’s innocence and condemn any who would harm her.
     • It also foreshadows the novel’s later tension: Redlaw’s curse threatens to disrupt this peace, making her vulnerability a poignant contrast to his hardness.

4. Humor & Irony

   • Mr. William’s clumsy enthusiasm (grabbing only a "butter-boat of gravy") is comically underwhelming compared to Milly’s efficient grace.
   • The irony lies in how small, ordinary acts (setting a table) become profoundly meaningful in contrast to Redlaw’s grand, self-destructive sorrow.

5. Sensory Imagery

   • Visual: The cheerful red of the waistcoat and skirts, the neat waves of Milly’s hair, the disheveled state of Mr. William’s clothes.
   • Tactile: The smoothness of Milly’s cheeks, the stiffness of Mr. William’s iron-grey trousers.
   • Kinetic: The constant motion of Mr. William vs. the stillness of Milly.

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Significance of the Passage

1. Milly as a Moral Anchor

   • Milly’s calm and kindness foreshadow her later role in redeeming Redlaw. Her ability to soothe and heal (even in small ways, like setting a table) contrasts with Redlaw’s self-imposed isolation.
   • Dickens often uses female characters (like Milly or A Christmas Carol’s Fan) to represent compassion and moral clarity.

2. Critique of Extreme Rationalism

   • Redlaw’s rejection of memory (and thus, humanity) is exposed as foolish when set against the Swidgers’ embrace of life’s imperfections.
   • The passage suggests that true wisdom lies in balance—neither unfeeling detachment (Redlaw) nor mindless busyness (Mr. William), but thoughtful, loving engagement (Milly).

3. Dickens’ Social Commentary

   • The Swidgers are working-class, yet their home is rich in warmth—a rebuttal to Victorian assumptions that poverty equals moral failure.
   • Their mutual respect and teamwork (Milly’s quiet efficiency, Mr. William’s eager help) model an ideal of egalitarian marriage, progressive for the time.

4. Foreshadowing the Novel’s Resolution

   • The tranquility of this scene makes Redlaw’s inner turmoil more striking. Later, Milly’s ability to remember and forgive (unlike Redlaw) becomes key to breaking his curse.
   • The ghostly imagery ("lonelier… ghostlier") hints at the supernatural stakes—Redlaw is already half a ghost, and the Swidgers’ vitality is his last hope for salvation.

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Conclusion: Why This Passage Matters

This excerpt is a microcosm of Dickens’ broader themes:

• Memory vs. Forgetting: The Swidgers cherish the present; Redlaw fears the past.
• Isolation vs. Community: Their shared meal symbolizes connection; Redlaw’s empty table symbolizes despair.
• Innocence as Power: Milly’s calm is not weakness but a moral force that will ultimately defeat Redlaw’s curse.

Dickens’ rich characterization and vivid contrasts make this passage more than just description—it’s a moral argument disguised as a domestic snapshot. The Swidgers’ ordinary kindness is the antidote to Redlaw’s supernatural suffering, proving that humanity’s greatest magic lies in its simplicity.

Would you like a deeper dive into any specific aspect, such as Dickens’ use of gender roles or the Christmas theme in the novella?