Oliver Twist: The Climax and Final Chapters (46-53)
The Climax and Resolution of Oliver Twist
Chapter 46: Nancy’s Sacrifice
Nancy meets Mr. Brownlow and Rose Maylie on London Bridge and leads them to a secluded spot. Noah Claypole overhears Nancy beg them to ensure that none of her associates get into trouble because of her choice to help Oliver. They agree, and Nancy tells them when they will most likely see Monks visiting the public house. They hope to catch Monks and force the truth about Oliver from him. Nancy’s description of Monks startles Mr. Brownlow, who appears to know him. Brownlow begs Nancy to accept their help, but she says that she is chained to her life. He and Rose depart. Nancy cries violently and then heads for home. Noah hurries to Fagin’s house.
Chapter 47: Bill Sikes Commits Murder
When Sikes delivers stolen goods to Fagin that night, Fagin and Noah relate the details of Nancy’s trip. Fagin deliberately does not tell Sikes that Nancy insisted that her associates not get into trouble. In a rage, Sikes rushes home and beats Nancy to death while she begs for mercy.
Chapter 48: Sikes Flees London
In the morning, Sikes flees London, seeing suspicious looks everywhere. He stops at a country inn to eat. Seeing a bloodstain on Sikes’s hat, a salesman grabs it to demonstrate the quality of his stain remover. Sikes flees the inn. He overhears some men talking about the murder at the post office. He wanders the road, haunted by the image of Nancy’s dead eyes. A local barn catches fire, and Sikes helps put out the fire. Sikes decides to return to London and hide. Afraid that his dog, Bull’s-eye, will give him away, he tries to drown the animal, but it escapes.
Chapter 49: Monks’s Identity Revealed
Mr. Brownlow has captured Monks and brought him to the Brownlow home. Monks’s real name is Edward Leeford. Brownlow was a good friend of Monks’s father, Mr. Leeford. Mr. Leeford’s tragic history is detailed:
- Mr. Leeford was forced to marry a wealthy older woman by his family. They separated, but did not divorce. Edward and his mother went to Paris.
- Mr. Leeford fell in love with Agnes Fleming, who became pregnant with Oliver.
- Mr. Leeford inherited a fortune and left a portrait of Agnes in Brownlow’s care before traveling to Rome to claim it.
- Mr. Leeford died in Rome. Monks’s mother burned Mr. Leeford’s will, ensuring the fortune fell to her and Edward.
After his mother died, Monks lived in the West Indies on their ill-gotten fortune. Brownlow, remembering Oliver’s resemblance to the woman in the portrait, had gone there to find Monks after Oliver was kidnapped. Meanwhile, the search for Sikes continues.
Chapter 50: The Death of Bill Sikes
Toby Crackit and Tom Chitling flee to a squalid island hiding place after Fagin and Noah are captured by the authorities. Sikes’s dog, Bull’s-eye, shows up at the house, and Sikes arrives soon after. Charley Bates arrives and attacks the murderer, calling for the others to help him. The search party and an angry mob arrive demanding justice.
Sikes climbs onto the roof with a rope, intending to lower himself to escape in the midst of the confusion. However, he loses his balance when he imagines that he sees Nancy’s eyes before him. The rope catches around his neck, and he falls to his death, hanged in an accidental noose.
Chapter 51: Oliver’s Inheritance and Rose’s True Identity
Oliver and his friends travel to the town of his birth, with Monks in tow, to meet Mr. Grimwig. Monks reveals the contents of the destroyed letter and will:
- The letter confessed Mr. Leeford’s affair to Agnes Fleming’s mother.
- The will stated that if Leeford’s illegitimate child were a girl, she would inherit the estate unconditionally. If it were a boy (Oliver), he would inherit only if he committed no illegal or guilty act. Otherwise, Monks and his mother would receive the fortune.
The shame of Agnes’s involvement caused her father to flee his hometown and change his family’s name. Agnes ran away to save her family the shame, and her father died soon thereafter of a broken heart. His other small daughter was taken in by a poor couple who died soon after. Mrs. Maylie took pity on the little girl and raised her as her niece. That child is Rose.
Mr. and Mrs. Bumble confess to their part in concealing Oliver’s history, and Mr. Brownlow ensures that they never hold public office again. Harry Maylie has given up his political ambitions and vowed to live as a poor clergyman. Knowing that she no longer stands in the way of Harry’s ambitions, Rose agrees to marry him.
Chapter 52: Fagin’s Last Night
Fagin is sentenced to death for his many crimes. On his miserable last night alive, Brownlow and Oliver visit him in his jail cell to find out the location of papers verifying Oliver’s identity, which Monks had entrusted to Fagin.
Chapter 53: Conclusion and Resolution
Noah Claypole is pardoned because he testifies against Fagin. Charley Bates turns to an honest life and becomes a successful grazier (a person who feeds cattle before they are taken to market).
Brownlow arranges for Monks’s property to be divided between Monks and Oliver. Monks travels to the New World, where he squanders his share of the inheritance and lives a sordid life that lands him in prison, where he dies.
Mr. Brownlow adopts Oliver as his son. He, Losberne, and Grimwig take up residence near the rural church over which Harry presides, ensuring Oliver lives a happy and secure life.