"If you had to die." — fourteenth illustration by W. L. Sheppard for Dickens's "Dombey and Son" (American Household Edition, 1873)

"If you had to die" by W. L. Sheppard. Fourteenth illustration for Dickens's Dombey and Son in the American Household Edition (1873), Chapter XII, "Paul's Education," p. 75. 9.3 x 13.7 cm (3 ⅝ by 5 ⅜ inches) framed. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]

Passage Illustrated: Paul waxes Philosophical with Mr. Toots

Kyd's (Clayton J. Clarke's) watercolour study of Paul's comedic foil: Mr. P. Toots (c. 1910).

One evening Mr. Toots was sitting at his desk, oppressed by correspondence, when a great purpose seemed to flash upon him. He laid down his pen, and went off to seek Paul, whom he found at last, after a long search, looking through the window of his little bedroom.

“I say!” cried Toots, speaking the moment he entered the room, lest he should forget it; “what do you think about?”

“Oh! I think about a great many things,” replied Paul.

“Do you, though?” said Toots, appearing to consider that fact in itself surprising. “If you had to die,” said Paul, looking up into his face — Mr. Toots started, and seemed much disturbed.

“Don’t you think you would rather die on a moonlight night, when the sky was quite clear, and the wind blowing, as it did last night?”

Mr. Toots said, looking doubtfully at Paul, and shaking his head, that he didn’t know about that. [Chapter XII, "Paul's Education," 74]

Commentary: A Growing Obsession with Death that Toots cannot comprehend

Sol Eytinge, Junior's study of a "grown-up" clotheshorse with his pugilistic instructor: Mr. Toots and The Chicken (1867).

Since the vacuous Toots is primarily interested in sartorial matters such as floral-patterned waistcoats (which, incidentally, Dickens as a young man about town enjoyed), Paul's somewhat philosophical question about how Toots would like to expire takes the materialistic and intellectually limited Toots by surprise. Sheppard suggests by Toots's posture and facial expression that Paul's roommate is obviously startled. In contrast, the thoughtful Paul studies his companion intently as he turns from his window on the world. The effectiveness of the picture as well as its accompanying text depends upon a kind of role reversal, as the precocious child confronts the metaphysical concern of mortality while the older boy, in years an adult, dwells in the moment and the purely physical.

Sheppard has included such telling details as the blanket with which Paul has covered his knees, the patterned "Turkey" carpet, and the floral wallpaper, all of which imply a certain degree of luxury in this school for the sons of the economically elite. The enormous bed emphasizes Paul's frail, diminutive physique, suggesting that the occupant ought to be more physically robust and somewhat older.

Illustrations of Mr. Toots at Dr. Blimber's School in Other Editions

Left: Phiz's February 1847 illustration for the fourteenth chapter, Paul goes Home for the Holidays, in which the beautifully dressed Toots interacts with Florence. Centre: Fred Barnard's Household Edition illustration of the scene that precedes the one chosen by Sheppard; here, Carker broaches to Dombey the idea of transferring Walter: "You respect nobody, Carker, I think," said Mr. Dombey (1877). Right: Harry Furniss's only illustration involving the fatuous Toots: Mr. Toots Makes a Speech (1910).

Related Material, including Other Illustrated Editions of Dombey and Son (1846-1910)

Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham. [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned it and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]

Bibliography

Dickens, Charles. Dombey and Son. Illustrated by W. L. Sheppard. The Household Edition. 18 vols. New York: Harper & Co., 1873.

__________. Dombey and Son. Illustrated by F. O. C. Darley and John Gilbert. The Works of Charles Dickens. The Household Edition. 55 vols. New York: Sheldon and Company, 1862. Vols. 1-4.

__________. Dombey and Son. Illustrated by Sol Eytinge, Jr., and engraved by A. V. S. Anthony. 14 vols. Boston: Ticknor & Fields, 1867. III.

__________. Dombey and Son. Illustrated by Fred Barnard [62 composite wood-block engravings]. The Works of Charles Dickens. The Household Edition. 22 vols. London: Chapman and Hall, 1877. XV.

__________. Dombey and Son. With illustrations by H. K. Browne. The illustrated library Edition. 2 vols. London: Chapman and Hall, c. 1880. II.

__________. Dombey and Son. Illustrated by Fred Barnard. 61 wood-engravings. The Household Edition. 22 vols. London: Chapman and Hall, 1877. XV.

__________. Dombey and Son. Illustrated by W. H. C. Groome. London and Glasgow, 1900, rpt. 1934. 2 vols. in one.

__________. Dombey and Son. Illustrated by Harry Furniss. The Charles Dickens Library Edition. 18 vols. London: Educational Book, 1910. Vol. IX.

__________. Dombey and Son. Illustrated by Hablot K. Browne ("Phiz"). 8 coloured plates. London and Edinburgh: Caxton and Ballantyne, Hanson, 1910.

__________. Dombey and Son. Illustrated by Hablot K. Browne ("Phiz"). The Clarendon Edition, ed. Alan Horsman. Oxford: Clarendon, 1974.

Dickens, Mary Angela, Percy Fitzgerald, Captain Edric Vredenburg, and Others. Illustrated by Harold Copping with eleven coloured lithographs. "Little Paul Dombey," the tenth chapter in Children's Stories from Dickens. London: Raphael Tuck, 1893. Pp. 101-109.

Created 27 January 2022