Gentleman and Mrs. Sucksby appear to be the more developed adaptations of
Fagin, but Mr. Ibbs can also be considered as an adaptation and perhaps a truer
one than the other two characters.
Both Fagin and Mr. Ibbs are fences, but you don't see much of Fagin's real work
in Oliver Twist. Mr. Ibbs,
however, can be seen doing his job in plain sight, as the routine Susan shows us
from pages seven to ten. He appears
very harmless throughout the entire dealing with the thief, even seeming
generous enough to give him a couple more shillings.
Dickens was criticized for showing the life of criminals as he did, which
may have prevented him from showing many details in the fencing area of Fagin's
job. However, Waters can be much
freer in depicting the lives of criminals and is able to adapt Fagin's work as
something more open, giving a depth to the criminal gang that may not have been
able to be revealed in Oliver Twist.
The nature of the the fence's job is to be devious since you must be able
to take in stolen goods, sell them, and not get caught.
Fagin's deviousness comes through in many different places.
He appears to be a “merry old gentleman” when Oliver first meets him, but
quickly turns into the “Jew” as he reveals his true colors.
He easily plays on Noah Claypole's weaknesses to manipulate him into
doing what he wants and arguably goaded Bill Sikes into killing Nancy, as all
the caution he gave to Sikes was not to be “too violent for safety” and to be
“crafty” but not “too bold” (Dickens 395).
On the other hand, we don't know for sure what Noah all told Fagin, since
Nancy did not actually snitch on any of the criminal gang.
If Noah instead bent the truth when he was recounting his story to Fagin,
Fagin's rage can be more understandable and less devious.
Mr. Ibbs appears to have a less harmful devious streak, as shown when he
manipulates a thief into selling his wares for less than he could've got them
for (Waters 9).
This less than evil portrayal at first makes Mr.
Ibbs very endearing, until we see how he reacts during Gentleman's death.
He refuses to have any surgeons come to Gentleman's aid, he explains
“Bring a man like that, and we’re done for” (537) making it clear that Mr. Ibbs
is only concerned with himself, and not the well being of Gentleman. When
Charles screams murder in the streets, all Mr. Ibbs cares about is grabbing any
portable wealth and getting away before the cops come, even pushing Susan out of
his way at one point (Waters 539). Mr. Ibbs is demonstrating the principle Fagin
has towards self-preservation verses the safety of the gang. He clearly tells
Noah what he expects of him in that respect when he first joins the gang
‘To be able to do that, you depend upon me; to keep my little business all snug,
I depend upon you. The first is your number one, the second is my number one.
The more you value your number one, the more careful you must be of mine; so we
come at last to what I told you at first – that a regard for number one holds us
all together, and must do so unless we would all go to pieces in company’ (361).
Mr. Ibbs is less up front about expressing this
principle, but in the murder scene it is obvious that he considers it to be an
unspoken rule in the gang of the Borough and enforces it as long as he can.
In this adaptation, Waters uses Fagin's role as head in a criminal gang
and shifts it to Mr. Ibbs. Mr. Ibbs
can be seen as a business man, instead of a common thief, as Fagin could be
viewed. Mr. Ibbs' criminal gang can
be developed deeper than in Oliver Twist, allowing him to do things that
the original could not. It can also
be developed in a different, more sympathetic way since Waters does not have to
worry about how she portrays criminals.
Waters uses three different characters to masterfully portray Fagin’s
deeper sides, while still developing her own characters in unique ways.
In Fingersmith, Fagin has been
updated and modernized, even though the setting is still in Victorian England.
The reader can find new depths to his cruelty through Gentleman, a deeper
understanding of his kinder side through Mrs. Sucksby, and a more thorough look
at what his business might have been through Mr. Ibbs.
If Waters had instead combined all these characteristics into one
character, then he might have taken over the novel and distracted the reader
from what Waters was trying to accomplish:
showing the progress of two young women in Victorian England.