Sir Nicholas: Chivalric Tropes and Dickens's Critique of the Aristocracy in Nicholas Nickleby

One of the most prominent themes in Charles Dickens's 1838-39 novel Nicholas Nickleby is the theme of class. In particular, Dickens highlights the tension between the middle and upper classes through the contrast between the middle-class titular protagonist and the novel's two aristocrats, Sir Mulberry Hawk and Lord Frederick Verisopht. In this thesis, I argue that Dickens foregrounds this contrast through his consistent deployment of tropes of chivalry and knighthood to describe Nicholas and his friends despite their middle-class status. I analyze the application of chivalric language, concepts, and characteristics to the actions and attitudes of the middle-class characters and compare them to corresponding actions and attitudes of the aristocrats, showing that the latter fail to uphold the same expectations of chivalry that the middle-class characters do. While prior criticism overlooks the connection between class and medieval tropes in the novel, this thesis argues that Dickens utilizes such tropes to demonstrate the superiority of the middle class as compared to the aristocracy and to promote their elevation to a higher social status within Victorian society. Through this dynamic, Dickens not only provides another example of the common trend of medievalism in the Victorian period, but, more importantly, also offers an illustration of the wider class tensions which emerged in the early- to mid-Victorian period.