Smike Character Analysis in Nicholas Nickleby

Smike is Nicholas’s closest friend. Near the end of the novel, it’s revealed that Smike is Ralph’s son, which also makes him Nicholas and Kate’s cousin and Mrs. Nickleby’s nephew. After leaving Dotheboys Hall, Smike eventually ends up living with the Nickleby family, all of whom adore Smike. The novel portrays him as someone with a heart of gold. He becomes steadfastly loyal and devoted to Nicholas after Nicholas treats him with kindness. Smike’s reaction to Nicholas differs sharply from his reaction to Squeers, who routinely beats Smike when he is still at Dotheboys Hall. Smike and Nicholas’s relationship underlines the novel’s exploration of how kindness breeds loyalty while selfish behavior, like that of Squeers, alienates people and turns them into enemies. Squeers’s abuse of Smike also helps the novel explore power structures. In particular, Squeers believes that the power he holds over Smike gives him the right to abuse Smike and force him to work without pay. After Nicholas treats Smike with kindness, Smike tells Nicholas that he wants to serve him. In that way, he grants Nicholas a similar kind of power that Squeers held over him. In contrast to Squeers, though, Nicholas responds to Smike by treating him as an equal, and the two forge an indomitable bond as a result. The novel also suggests that Squeers’s persistent abuse of Smike damages Smike’s intellectual capacity. Smike falls ill and dies before learning that Ralph is his father.

Smike Quotes in Nicholas Nickleby

The Nicholas Nickleby quotes below are all either spoken by Smike or refer to Smike. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

'May I—may I go with you?' asked Smike, timidly. 'I will be your faithful hard-working servant, I will, indeed. I want no clothes,' added the poor creature, drawing his rags together; 'these will do very well. I only want to be near you.'

'And you shall,' cried Nicholas. 'And the world shall deal by you as it does by me, till one or both of us shall quit it for a better. Come!'

Related Characters: Smike (speaker), Nicholas (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 162

Explanation and Analysis:

'The word which separates us,' said Nicholas, grasping him heartily by the shoulder, 'shall never be said by me, for you are my only comfort and stay. I would not lose you now, Smike, for all the world could give. The thought of you has upheld me through all I have endured today, and shall, through fifty times such trouble. Give me your hand. My heart is linked to yours. We will journey from this place together, before the week is out. What, if I am steeped in poverty? You lighten it, and we will be poor together.'

Related Characters: Nicholas (speaker), Smike

Page Number and Citation: 251

Explanation and Analysis:

It was a harder day's journey than yesterday's, for there were long and weary hills to climb; and in journeys, as in life, it is a great deal easier to go down hill than up. However, they kept on, with unabated perseverance, and the hill has not yet lifted its face to heaven that perseverance will not gain the summit of at last.

Related Characters: Nicholas (speaker), Smike

Related Literary Devices:

Page Number and Citation: 269

Explanation and Analysis:

'When I talk of home,' pursued Nicholas, 'I talk of mine—which is yours of course. If it were defined by any particular four walls and a roof, God knows I should be sufficiently puzzled to say whereabouts it lay; but that is not what I mean. When I speak of home, I speak of the place where—in default of a better—those I love are gathered together; and if that place were a gypsy's tent, or a barn, I should call it by the same good name notwithstanding. And now, for what is my present home, which, however alarming your expectations may be, will neither terrify you by its extent nor its magnificence!'

Related Characters: Nicholas, Smike

Page Number and Citation: 423

Explanation and Analysis:

Smike Character Timeline in Nicholas Nickleby

The timeline below shows where the character Smike appears in Nicholas Nickleby. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...is a cold, one-story house. There is a barn and stable nearby. A boy named Smike rushes to meet them. Squeers asks Smike why he’s late, and Smike says he fell... (full context)

After lessons, Nicholas sits by the fire in the oven. Smike approaches timidly. When Nicholas notices him, Smike recoils as if he is expecting a blow.... (full context)

Smike begins to follow Nicholas around because he’s the only person to treat him with kindness.... (full context)

One day when Nicholas wakes up, Smike is missing. Squeers questions Nicholas and is convinced that Nicholas knows where Smike is or... (full context)

Squeers drags Smike in front of the other students and begins beating him with a cane. Nicholas tells... (full context)

...morning, he sees a figure close to him. When he investigates, he sees that it’s Smike. Nicholas surmises that Smike must have followed him from the school. Smike asks if he... (full context)

...leaving the party, Newman sees that the two people looking for him are Nicholas and Smike. Newman takes the punch he made for the Kenwigses’ party to his apartment for Nicholas... (full context)

...the women remark on Nicholas’s gallantry and air of aristocracy. Nicholas goes to sleep, while Smike and Newman stay up drinking together. (full context)

Nicholas returns to Newman’s apartment where he finds Smike and Newman eating. He explains that he failed to find a job, and Newman reassures... (full context)

...able to return and provide for them. When he returns to his apartment, he finds Smike waiting for him. Smike says that today he attempted to leave, but he didn’t want... (full context)

Nicholas pays his last week of rent. He sets out on the road, walking with Smike. They aim to find employment outside of London. Newman walks with them for close to... (full context)

Nicholas and Smike spend a night in a town called Godalming before setting out on the road again.... (full context)

Nicholas and Smike go to sit with Mr. Crummles. Nearby, Mr. Crummles’s sons theatrically fight with fake swords.... (full context)

...of other work to do as well, including making signs to advertise the shows, and Smike would have a job too. He says that the work would pay one pound per... (full context)

...from French to English and put his name on the title page. He then invites Smike and Nicholas to have dinner with him and his family at his house. (full context)

...he should play Romeo opposite Miss Snevellicci. He gives Nicholas books to read. Nicholas and Smike go to look for a place to sleep, which takes much longer than Nicholas expected... (full context)

...lodgings because he’s still preparing to play Romeo the following night. He’s also worried about Smike, who has been unable to learn his lines to perform as the apothecary in the... (full context)

...may come an occasion soon when Kate needs Nicholas’s protection. He doesn’t elaborate further. When Smike asks Nicholas what’s bothering him, Nicholas says that he has an enemy. That enemy is... (full context)

...At the theater, Mr. Folair tells Nicholas that many people are wondering how he and Smike ended up together and how they arrived at the theater company. Nicholas objects to the... (full context)

...stay for one or two more performances. Nicholas says he can’t do it and leaves. Smike gathers their things. As they’re about to board a coach to leave, Mr. Crummles appears.... (full context)

Nicholas arrives in London. He secures rooms at an inn for himself and Smike before going to find Newman. When he goes to Newman’s apartment, he learns that Newman... (full context)

...Nicholas, and Squeers says that he very much does. He then asks Mr. Squeers about Smike. Squeers says he knows next to nothing about Smike. He is 25 or 26 years... (full context)

...relief, that Mulberry’s injuries aren’t life-threatening. Nicholas then returns to the inn to check on Smike. At the inn, Nicholas tells Smike that he (Smike) will be going home. Smike initially... (full context)

When Nicholas returns home after the party, Smike and Mrs. Nickleby are still awake. Nicholas regales them with stories from the party. When... (full context)

...change in another member of the family, which she tells Kate about. She says that Smike seems to be struggling recently. Miss La Creevy says that she believes Smike has grown... (full context)

At the same time, Smike walks alone through London. He looks for a long time in a jewelry store window.... (full context)

...guess that it’s Nicholas, and Squeers says that’s not it, but they’re close. Fanny guesses Smike, and Squeers says she’s right. (full context)

Squeers tells John, Matilda, and Fanny that he has Smike locked in a room at his lodging. Squeers invites the party to his lodging, and... (full context)

...from laughing. When the coast is clear, he makes his way to the room where Smike is held captive. He tells Smike he’s there to break him out. Smike is initially... (full context)

Smike runs away from Squeers and Mr. Snawley’s house so fast that he’s not sure exactly... (full context)

Mrs. Nickleby and Kate are outside gardening. Mrs. Nickleby remarks that Smike is an especially gifted gardener, though he sometimes seems to neglect her side of the... (full context)

...same and that they’ve been looking forward to seeing Nicholas. Nicholas thanks John for helping Smike escape from Squeers, and John says it was nothing. More than that, he put Squeers... (full context)

...and Fanny get into a shouting match. Squeers joins in and accuses John of helping Smike escape. John says it’s true. He helped Smike escape, and he would do it again... (full context)

...Nicholas to stop either from advancing toward the other. Ralph announces that they have found Smike’s father. It’s Mr. Snawley, and he wants to take custody of Smike. Ralph explains that... (full context)

...true. After examining them, Nicholas is dismayed to see that they seem to be authentic. Smike clings to Nicholas and says he doesn’t want to leave. Nicholas tells Ralph and Mr.... (full context)

...it would be best to tell Charles immediately about what happened the night before regarding Smike. Nicholas explains the situation, and Charles agrees with Nicholas. He says that if Mr. Snawley... (full context)

...known Nicholas as Mr. Johnson.) Nicholas also tells Mr. Crummles about what led him and Smike to meet Mr. Crummles in the first place along with what has happened since they... (full context)

...the theater troupe is present. Mrs. Crummles is delighted to see Nicholas. She asks how Smike (who she knows as Digby) is doing. Nicholas says that he’s not doing well. Nicholas... (full context)

...as he begins to see her regularly in his role as the faux art dealer. Smike seems to be ill and wasting away. Nicholas takes him to see a physician, who... (full context)

...house at the same time that Miss La Creevy visits. Nicholas is at work, and Smike retreats to his room. The group spends a pleasant evening together, and Tim flirts with... (full context)

...group has a pleasant rest of the evening. When Nicholas comes home, he checks on Smike and asks him why he descends into his melancholic moods. Smike says that one day... (full context)

Around that same time, Smike becomes worrisomely ill. He becomes emaciated and looks exhausted. He can barely walk without help... (full context)

...they have undertaken. He says he’s taken an enormous risk by lying to say that Smike is Mr. Snawley’s son. Ralph says only Mr. Snawley is lying. Everything that Ralph and... (full context)

Nicholas and Smike travel to Devonshire. They find lodging in a small farmhouse. Nicholas excitedly points out places... (full context)

Within a fortnight, Smike’s condition has rapidly deteriorated. One night, Nicholas carries him outside to see the sunset. Smike... (full context)

On another night, Smike falls asleep on the couch. He tells Nicholas that he’s not afraid to die. But... (full context)

...possibility that Nicholas might be dead. Charles says it’s not Nicholas who is dead but Smike. Ralph isn’t sure why he should care. The man in the shadows reveals himself. It’s... (full context)

...Eventually, he sent Brooker to find his son. Brooker brought Ralph’s son (later known as Smike) back to Ralph’s house. When Smike was at Ralph’s house, he was neglected. (full context)

When Brooker saw that Smike was being neglected at Ralph’s house, he (Brooker) called a doctor, who said that Smike... (full context)

When Brooker returned to England, he made inquiries and learned that Smike had fled from the school with a man (Nicholas) bearing Ralph’s surname (Nickleby). Brooker returned... (full context)

Nicholas returns home after Smike dies. Kate, Mrs. Nickleby, Miss La Creevy, and Madeline all grieve deeply. Nicholas asks Kate... (full context)

When Ralph gets home, he thinks of what he’s been told about Smike. As soon as he heard the story, he knew it was true. Ralph thinks he... (full context)

...men sneak in through a window. They cannot find Ralph anywhere. Eventually, they go to Smike’s old room. Ralph is hanging from a strip of rope that he cut from the... (full context)

...lives nearby. He loves spending time with all of the children. Those children often visit Smike’s grave, where the grass grows a rich green. They speak in hushed tones about their... (full context)

Smike Character Analysis

Smike Quotes in Nicholas Nickleby

Chapter 13 Quotes

Chapter 20 Quotes

Chapter 22 Quotes

Chapter 35 Quotes

Smike Character Timeline in Nicholas Nickleby