54 pages 1 hour read

Charles Dickens

Pickwick Papers

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1836

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapters 47-57Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 47 Summary

Content Warning: This section features discussions of sexual assault, suicide, abduction, sexism, racism, and fatphobia.

Job finds Lowten, who takes him to Perker, and Job tells Perker that Dodson and Fogg have put Mrs. Bardell in prison. Perker visits Pickwick the next day and tells him that Mrs. Bardell’s imprisonment depends on his paying the legal fees. Perker spoke to Mrs. Bardell, who said she’d state that her lawyers conspired to bring the suit against Pickwick if he pays the debt and gets both of them out of prison. While Pickwick thinks about this, Sam announces that a lady is there to see him. When Pickwick asks them to enter, Winkle and Arabella Allen (now Arabella Winkle) appear, along with Mary. Winkle tells Pickwick that it has taken months for them to enact their plan to escape with Mary’s help, but that Arabella’s brother Ben doesn’t know of her marriage. They want Pickwick, once he’s released from prison, to visit Ben Allen and Winkle’s father and convince them of the goodness of the marriage. Snodgrass and Tupman arrive and are told the news. Sam sends Job to Pell, who arranges for Sam’s release. Later that day, Pickwick, Sam, and Mrs. Bardell are released.