Monday, April 27, 2015

Case Study No. 1918: Tom Pinch

Martin Chuzzlewit de Charles Dickens Espanol parte 18
12:51
Lista de Reproducion:
https://www.you tube.com/playlist? list=PLisphwxRv2jM6Z81qm AR4X1uCWkGSQ3Ad

La vida y aventuras de Martin Chuzzlewit, que asi es el titulo completo, fue publicada por entregas por la editorial britanica Chapman and Hall entre 1843-44, con poco exito para lo que Dickens acostumbraba. Por ello fue penalizado, ya que le habian adelantado dinero, y ese rifirrafe supuso la ruptura de la colaboracion del autor con esta longeva editorial hasta 1858 en que le volvieron a publicar.


Martin Chuzzlewit esta considerada por los estudiosos como la obra mas victoriana de todas las que Dickens escribio. Se dice que es tambien una respuesta o un intento de emular a Los viajes de Gulliver de Swift.


En Estados Unidos causo un fuerte rechazo y la perdida de lectores solo se recupero cuando Dickens publico su Cancion de Navidad.


Cuando volvio a publicarse en EE.UU en 1968, Dickens anadio unas palabras donde agradecia la "generosidad y magnanimidad norteamericanas" para con esta novela de aventuras.
Tags: Charles Dickens (Author) Martin Chuzzlewit (Book) Sub Espanol
Added: 5 months ago
From: nes70rprime
Views: 634

[scene opens with Tom Pinch speaking to his sister Ruth]
RUTH: What are you writing, dear?
TOM: Well, John Westlock has very kindly offered to look out for an opportunity for me, so I thought I'd prepare a brief description of myself and my qualifications such as he could show his friends ... but blast me if I can get any further than "a respectable young man age thirty five."
[Tom's friend John Westlock enters]
JOHN: You need not trouble yourself with that any further, Tom.
TOM: John! Good heavens, come in, come in!
JOHN: I beg your pardon ... uh, your sister's pardon especially, but I couldn't help but overhear as I was coming up the path.
TOM: Ruth, my dear, this is John Westlock, of whom I've spoken to you so often.
RUTH: How do you do?
[he takes her hand]
JOHN: I'm delighted to make your acquaintance, Miss Pinch.
TOM: John, my dear fellow! Sit down, sit down.
[he takes his hat]
TOM: I was gonna call upon you today.
JOHN: I, uh ... I bring you excellent news.
[he sits down]
JOHN: It seems you have friends in London after all.
TOM: I? What do you mean?
JOHN: As I was having breakfast this morning, a ... a gentleman called on me. A very sober-looking lawyer named Mister Fips. Now, you don't know him, do you?
TOM: Well, I've never heard of him before in my life.
JOHN: No, neither had I ... He began by saying, "I believe you are acquainted with Mister Thomas Pinch?" I said I was.
[Ruth smiles]
JOHN: "I understand Mister Pinch has recently left the employ of a Mister Pecksniff and is living in London," he said.
[Tom gets a concerned look on his face]
JOHN: "Very near London," I said. "Is he by any chance in search of another situation?" he said. "Indeed he is," I said. Then he said, "I think I can accomodate him."
[Ruth claps her hands together and smiles]
RUTH: Tom!
TOM: Good gracious me!
JOHN: He said he had a client who is in want of a kind of secretary and librarian, but ... uh, though the salary was small, being but a hundred pounds a year.
TOM: A ... a hundred pounds a year?
JOHN: Still, the duties were not heavy ... and there the post was, vacant and ready for your acceptance.
[he turns to his sister]
TOM: Dear Ruth, one hundred pounds!
RUTH: It's like a fairy tale!
JOHN: I can tell you, Miss Pinch, I half-suspected him of being a supernatural agent myself.
[she laughs]
JOHN: Until he took out his pocketbook ...
[he reaches into his jacket and pulls out his wallet]
JOHN: And handed me this card.
[he takes out a card and hands it to Tom, who begins reading]
TOM: "Mister Oswald Fips, solicitor. Augustinian Friars."
JOHN: Where he has his offices and awaits your call.
TOM: Let us go there at once! Ruth, my dear, you will excuse us?
RUTH: Of course, I'll go and get your hat.
[she gets up to leave]
TOM: Wait a minute, who is this client of Mister Fips?
JOHN: I have no idea, Tom. Fips wouldn't tell me.
TOM: Oh well, doubtless I shall find out ... John, you will dine with us this evening! Ruth is making a steak pudding!
JOHN: I should like nothing better in the entire world!
[she gets a nervous look on her face]
RUTH: Tom?
TOM: Yes, dear?
RUTH: You wouldn't rather have chops?
TOM: I wouldn't ... What about you, John?
JOHN: Steak pudding is one of my favorite dishes.
[she gives a resigned sigh (but keeps smiling)]
RUTH: Very well, then.
[cut to Tom and John standing in a room filled with bookshelves and furniture covered in sheets, as another man draws the curtain on one of the windows]
TOM: This is my place of work?
OSWALD: It has been rather ... neglected of late, as you can see.
[Tom picks up one the books and smiles]
TOM: What an amazing number of books!
[the lawyer pulls up another curtain]
OSWALD: Before anything else can be done, we must have them put in order, catalogued, and ranged upon the bookshelves, Mister Pinch.
[he blows on one of the books, as a cloud of dust comes off]
OSWALD: That would do to begin with, I think.
TOM: That would be a task full of interest for me, until Mister ...
OSWALD: Until ... Mister?
TOM: I don't believe you mentioned the gentleman's name.
OSWALD: Didn't I?
[he closes the book (as another puff of dust comes out)]
OSWALD: No, I don't think I did ... Well, I daresay he'll be here one of these days to introduce himself.
[he gives a smile]
OSWALD: You'll get on very well together, I'm sure ...
[he drops the smile]
OSWALD: You have a key?
[Tom holds up the key]
OSWALD: Half past nine, you know. Let us say ... from half past nine to four, or thereabouts. A little earlier, or a little later, according to as you feel disposed.
[he smiles again (as Tom just stares at him dumbfounded), then heads for the door]
OSWALD: You won't forget to lock the door behind you when you leave ...
[he tips his hat]
OSWALD: Good day to you!
[he leaves and slams the door behind him]

---

From wikipedia.org:

The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit (commonly known as Martin Chuzzlewit) is a novel by Charles Dickens, considered the last of his picaresque novels. It was originally serialised in 1843 and 1844. Dickens thought it to be his best work, but it was one of his least popular novels. Like nearly all of Dickens' novels, Martin Chuzzlewit was released to the public in monthly instalments. Early sales of the monthly parts were disappointing, compared to previous works, so Dickens changed the plot to send the title character to America. This allowed the author to portray the United States (which he had visited in 1842) satirically as a near wilderness with pockets of civilisation filled with deceptive and self-promoting hucksters.

The main theme of the novel, according to a preface by Dickens, is selfishness, portrayed in a satirical fashion using all the members of the Chuzzlewit family. The novel is also notable for two of Dickens' great villains, Seth Pecksniff and Jonas Chuzzlewit. It is dedicated to Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, a friend of Dickens.

Plot summary
Martin Chuzzlewit has been raised by his grandfather and namesake. Years before, Martin senior took the precaution of raising an orphaned girl, Mary Graham. She is to be his nursemaid, with the understanding that she will be well cared for only as long as Martin senior lives. She thus has strong motivation to promote his well-being, in contrast to his relatives, who only want to inherit his money. However, his grandson Martin falls in love with Mary and wishes to marry her, ruining Martin senior's plans. When Martin refuses to give up the engagement, his grandfather disinherits him.

Martin becomes an apprentice to Seth Pecksniff, a greedy architect. Instead of teaching his students, he lives off their tuition fees and has them do draughting work that he passes off as his own. He has two spoiled daughters, nicknamed Cherry and Merry, having been christened as Charity and Mercy. Unbeknown to Martin, Pecksniff has actually taken him on to establish closer ties with the wealthy grandfather, thinking that this will gain Pecksniff a prominent place in the will.

Young Martin befriends Tom Pinch, a kind-hearted soul whose late grandmother had given Pecksniff all she had, believing Pecksniff would make an architect and gentleman of him. Pinch is incapable of believing any of the bad things others tell him of Pecksniff, and always defends him vociferously. Pinch works for exploitatively low wages, while believing he is the unworthy recipient of Pecksniff's charity.

When Martin senior hears of his grandson's new life, he demands that Pecksniff kick young Martin out. Then, Martin senior moves in and falls under Pecksniff's control. During this time, Pinch falls in love with Mary, but does not declare it, knowing of her attachment to young Martin.

One of Martin senior's greedy relatives is his brother, Anthony Chuzzlewit, who is in business with his son, Jonas. Despite considerable wealth, they live miserly, cruel lives, with Jonas constantly berating his father, eager for the old man to die so he can inherit. Anthony dies abruptly and under suspicious circumstances, leaving his wealth to Jonas. Jonas then woos Cherry, whilst arguing constantly with Merry. He then abruptly declares to Pecksniff that he wants to marry Merry, and jilts Cherry - not without demanding an additional 1,000 pounds on top of the 4,000 that Pecksniff had promised him as Cherry's dowry, with the argument that Cherry has better chances for matchmaking.

Jonas, meanwhile, becomes entangled with the unscrupulous Montague Tigg and joins in his pyramid scheme-like insurance scam. At the beginning of the book he is a petty thief and hanger-on of a Chuzzlewit relative, Chevy Slyme. Tigg cheats young Martin out of a valuable pocket watch and uses the funds to transform himself into a seemingly fine man called "Tigg Montague". This façade convinces investors that he must be an important businessman from whom they may greatly profit. Jonas eventually ends up murdering Tigg, who has acquired some kind of information on him.

At this time, Tom Pinch finally sees his employer's true character. Pinch goes to London to seek employment, and rescues his governess sister Ruth, whom he discovers has been mistreated by the family employing her. Pinch quickly receives an ideal job from a mysterious employer, with the help of an equally mysterious Mr Fips.

Young Martin, meanwhile, has fallen in with Mark Tapley. Mark is always cheerful, which he decides does not reflect well on him because he is always in happy circumstances and it shows no strength of character to be happy when one has good fortune. He decides he must test his cheerfulness by seeing if he can maintain it in the worst circumstances possible. To this end, he accompanies young Martin to the United States to seek his fortune. The men attempt to start new lives in a swampy, disease-filled settlement named "Eden", but both nearly die of malaria. Mark finally finds himself in a situation in which it can be considered a virtue to remain in good spirits. The grim experience, and Mark's care nursing Martin back to health, change Martin's selfish and proud character, and the men return to England, where Martin returns penitently to his grandfather. But his grandfather is now under Pecksniff's control and rejects him.

At this point, Martin is reunited with Tom Pinch, who now discovers that his mysterious benefactor is old Martin Chuzzlewit. The older Martin had only been pretending to be in thrall to Pecksniff. Together, the group confront Pecksniff with their knowledge of his true character. They also discover that Jonas murdered Tigg to prevent him from revealing that he had planned to murder Anthony.

Senior Martin now reveals that he was angry at his grandson for becoming engaged to Mary because he had planned to arrange that particular match himself, and felt his glory had been thwarted by them deciding on the plan themselves. He realises the folly of that opinion, and Martin and his grandfather are reconciled. Martin and Mary are married, as are Ruth Pinch and John Westlock, another former student of Pecksniff's. Tom Pinch remains in unrequited love with Mary for the rest of his life, never marrying, and always being a warm companion to Mary and Martin and to Ruth and John.

Characters
The first to be introduced is Seth Pecksniff, a widower with two daughters, who is a self-styled teacher of architecture. He believes that he is a highly moral individual who loves his fellow man, but mistreats his students and passes off their designs as his own for profit. He seems to be a cousin of Old Martin Chuzzlewit. Pecksniff's rise and fall follows the novel's plot arc.

Next we meet his two daughters, Charity and Mercy Pecksniff. They are also affectionately known as Cherry and Merry, or as the two Miss Pecksniffs. Charity is portrayed throughout the book as having none of that virtue after which she is named, while Mercy, the younger sister, is at first silly and girlish in a manner that's probably inconsistent with her numerical age. Later events in the story drastically change her personality.

Old Martin Chuzzlewit, the wealthy patriarch of the Chuzzlewit family, lives in constant suspicion of the financial designs of his extended family. At the beginning of the novel he has aligned himself with Mary, an orphan, to have a caretaker who is not eyeing his estate. Later in the story he makes an apparent alliance with Pecksniff, who, he believes, is at least consistent in character. His true character is revealed by the end of the story.

Young Martin Chuzzlewit is the grandson of Old Martin Chuzzlewit. He is the closest relative of Old Martin and has inherited much of the stubbornness and selfishness of the old man. Young Martin is the protagonist of the story. His engagement to Mary is the cause of estrangement between himself and his grandfather. By the end of the story he becomes a reformed character, realising and repenting of the selfishness of his previous actions.

Thomas (Tom) Pinch is a former student of Pecksniff's who has become his personal assistant. He is kind, simple, and honest in everything he does, serving as a foil to Pecksniff. He carries in his heart an undying loyalty and admiration for Pecksniff. Eventually, he discovers Pecksniff's true nature through his treatment of Mary, whom Pinch has come to love. Because Tom Pinch plays such a large role in the story, he is sometimes considered the novel's true protagonist.

---

From ebscohost.com:

The first appearance of a librarian as a significant character in a work of fiction was quite positive. In Charles Dickens' "Martin Chuzzlewit" (1843-4) the librarian Tom Pinch, despite his name, is a kind and compassionate man who plays the church organ without payment (is this one of the many extra duties librarians take on?).

He is eventually rewarded with a position as librarian in a private house at 100 pounds a year. (wages haven't changed much since!)

---

From google.com:

In this populous novel with a complex plot, librarian Tom Pinch displays the unpretentiousness of a babe and the heart of a saint. We meet Tom as a draftsman in the architectural firm of Mr. Pecksniff. He is "an ungainly, awkward-looking man, extremely shortsighted, and prematurely bald." Tom is more than ready to believe the worst of himself, however ill-founded the criticism may be, even when it issues from the loathsome hypocrite, Pecksniff. "Tom Pinch's heart was very tender, and he could not bear to see the most indifferent person in distress." He plays organ in the church without compensation.

Tom eventually sees the true character of Pecksniff; after his vile boss sacks him on a pretense, Tom accepts a position as a private librarian at 100 pounds a year. It is a mysterious assignment, for Tom does not know the identity of the individual who has hired him by proxy. Tom's new job site is in an out-of-the-way house. "On all the floors were piles of books, to the amount, perhaps, of some thousands of volumes." Those not stacked on the floor are "scattered singly or in heaps; not one upon the shelves which lined the walls." It is Tom's task and one that he gladly accepts to organize and catalog this jumble of books. He proceeds, under his own supervision, to put the mess in fine order and produces "a very marvel of a catalogue." We learn late in the novel that Tom's anonymous employer is none other than the elder Martin Chuzzlewit, whose beneficence toward Tom is but one act in his redemption from selfishness.

---

From imdb.com:

Martin Chuzzlewit: Season 1, Episode 5
Episode Five (5 Dec. 1994)
TV Episode - 53 min - Drama

Tom Pinch finds Mercy has suffered at her husband's hands. Montague attempts to blackmail Jonas. Young Martin and Mark Tapley return home from America. Young Martin hopes to gain forgiveness from his grandfather.

Philip Franks ... Tom Pinch
Peter Wingfield ... John Westlock
Cornelia Hayes O'Herlihy ... Ruth Pinch
Cyril Shaps ... Oswald Fips

No comments:

Post a Comment