Arguably the most infamous criminal in Oliver Twist is Fagin, and both Dickens and Cruikshank appear to have paid special attention to making his appearance as vile as his charac- ter. Dickens plays off of stereotypes, creates negative comparisons, and continually reminds readers of the villainy in Fagin's features. Kitton notes that "although the artist [Cruikshank]
imparted too venerable appearance on the Artful Dodger, he has seized in a wonderful manner the characteristics of criminal types in his rendering Fagin and Bill Sikes" (11). Notably, alt- hough Kitton analyzes the artistry and drawing skills exemplified in Cruikshank's work, he plays into the notion that to draw a criminal well, one must produce an image that is physically as vile as the character's personality. Fagin's rendering was no small matter, given that Cruik- shank gave "no less than five studies of Fagin" for Dickens to choose from (Kitton 15). It ap- pears that with Fagin's enduring popularity and Dickens' and Cruikshank's extra attention, Fagin is intended as the criminal masterpiece in Oliver Twist.
The most compelling and damning description of Fagin, for Dickens' contemporary audience, is his Jewish ethnicity. In fact, in the first half of the novel, Fagin is as likely to be referred to as "the Jew" as anything else. Not only that, but as scholar Susan Meyer points out, Dickens "emphasizes aspects of [Fagin's] character familiar from the anti-Semitic tradition, namely his miserliness, his greed, his exotic and strange appearance, his effeminacy, his
obsequiousness, his cowardliness- and the size of his nose" (239). And as seen in the examples below, Fagin is first given identity as his ethnicity, not by a name. As critic Maria Paganoni discusses, Dickens worked within society's long-established anti-Semitic prejudice (310). As Dickens scholar Robert Butterworth explains, it is likely Dickens was unaware of his own tendencies towards anti-Semitism, although it is certainly apparent now, adding that as a newly popular writer, Dickens "would be ill-advised to write something grossly out of tune with the attitudes of his readers." Although the nineteenth century was a time when Jewish citizens were gaining more acceptance in both mainstream society and politics as well as equality under the law, "prejudice had by no means ended" (Butterworth). It was not until the 1867 edition that he removed some of these references because of complaints from his readers (Paganoni 315).
Fagin's initial description leaves no room for mistaking his evil character, and he seems to mesh into his seedy surroundings:
The walls and ceiling of the room were perfectly black, with age and dirt… In a frying-pan which was on the fire, and which was secured to the mantelshelf by a string, some sausages were cooking; and standing over them, with toasting-fork in his hand, was a very old shrivelled Jew, whose villanous-looking and
repulsive face was obscured by a quantity of matted red hair. He was dressed in a greasy flannel gown, with his throat bare; and seemed to be dividing his attention between the frying -pan and a clothes-horse: over which a great number of silk handkerchiefs were hanging. (65)
Readers may notice from his choice of meal that his faith bears little weight in Fagin's daily life, and much can be said of his apparent "divided attention" as well. The fact that he guards both his food and his handkerchiefs show that he distrusts people, even his own child recruits. His attention to food and goods suggest a survivalist mentality, especially since the goods are his stolen bounty from which he supports himself.
The text describes Fagin's appearance in a straightforward way, even though his actions are often described sarcastically. "The Jew smiled hideously; and, patting Oliver on the head, said, [as long as Oliver behaved him] he saw they would be very good friends," and then he leaves the room and locks Oliver inside (Dickens 126). Readers know immediately that the pat on the head and promise of "very good friends" is a thinly veiled disguise for a master, slave relationship.
Fagin then takes on the likeness of a paranoid snake guarding his hoard:
It was a chill, damp, windy night, when the Jew: buttoning his great coat tight round his shrivelled body, and pulling the collar up over his ears so as to
completely obscure the lower part of his face: emerged from his den. He paused on the step as the door was locked and chained behind him; and having listened while the boys made all secure, and until their retreating footsteps were no longer audible, slunk down the street as quickly as he could… The Jew stopped for an instant at the corner of the street; and, glancing suspiciously round, crossed the road, and struck off… It seemed just the night when it befitted such a being as
the Jew, to be abroad. As he glided stealthily along, creeping beneath the shelter of the walls and doorways, the hideous old man seemed like some loathsome
reptile, engendered in the slime and darkness through which he moved…
(131-2)
Paganoni notes this snake/reptile comparison as a Satanic reference, adding that the "merry old gentleman" title by which Fagin is often referred is another name for the Devil (310). Socially, readers would likely agree with Fagin's comparison to Satan; as historian Larry Wolff explains, his "campaign to make Oliver a thief" was understood to be "a comprehensive assault upon the innocence of a child" (231-2), much like Satan's own campaign against humanity.
With vague descriptions like "the old Jew" (Dickens 66), "[his] hideous grin" (67), his "evil leer" (91), and the very common, "old man," it is clear that Dickens relied greatly on Cruikshank to establish the specific details of Fagin's unattractive appearance, and Cruikshank delivers a memorable image of the famed criminal in the story's illustrations.
"Oliver's Reception by Fagin and the Boys" (Figure 2) shows Fagin, standing sideways, laughing, along with the Dodger, at Oliver. His back is hunched, giving the "shrivelled" effect that Dickens refers to, and his nose and beard create two sharp points, as opposed to the other characters' more round faces. Also, his crooked fingers give away both his old age and his "crooked" ways. Both "Monks and the Jew" (Figure 4) and "Mr. Fagin and His Pupils
Recovering Nancy" (Figure 5) clearly emphasize his extraordinarily large, hooked nose, another anti-Semitic, stereotypical trait (Paganoni 308), and his beady eyes, which suggest anger and a lack of sympathy. This is contrasted, with what Cruikshank biographer Robert Patton says is "arguably the most celebrated etching Cruikshank ever made" (Bryant 59), "Fagin in the Condemned Cell" (Figure 8).
This last image of Fagin shows both his villainous physical features and the terror that plagues a man on the brink of an untimely death. As he "[sits] down on a stone bench opposite the door, which served for seat and bedstead; and [casts] his blood-shot eyes upon the ground, [trying] to collect his thoughts" of men he had seen hanged (Dickens 352), readers can see the terror in Fagin's eyes and panic across his wrinkled face (Figure 8). Although this illustration does not portray him as a sympathetic character, for his criminally ugly features have not changed, readers can easily identify the terror in Fagin's face. Dickens' ultimate criminal writhes at the thought of his ultimate punishment the same way Dickens' readers writhed at his descriptions.