Note 7 to Chapter 8 of the author's Dickens and the Rhetoric of Laughter which Clarendon Press published in 1972. It has been included in the Victorian Web with the kind permission of the author and of the Clarendon Press, which retains copyright.
The reference to 2 Thessalonians is, by the way, extremely apt. The chapters cited are a part of a general discussion of iniquity and suggest that the duty of the Christian is to isolate himself from a dark world. The allusion thus not only is consonant with Mrs. Clennam's Calvinism but also supports the novel's vision of Christian pessimism and alienation.
6. Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.
7. For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us; for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you.
Last modified: 3 May 2001