Previous
Georgiana Podsnap
Mr. Venus runs a taxidermy shop and is a friend of Silas Wegg. He eventually marries Pleasant Riderhood. Venus briefly gets involved with Wegg’s plan to blackmail Noddy Boffin with a will that Wegg discovered in the dust mounds near Boffin’s former home, but Venus’s conscience gets the better of him, and he reveals the whole plan to Boffin.
Mr. Venus Quotes in Our Mutual Friend
The Our Mutual Friend quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Venus or refer to Mr. Venus. 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:
).
Book 3, Chapter 6 Quotes
“Do you like what Wegg’s been a-reading?”
Mr Venus answered that he found it extremely interesting.
“Then come again,” said Mr Boffin, “and hear some more. Come when you like; come the day after to-morrow, half an hour sooner. There’s plenty more; there’s no end to it.”
Mr Venus expressed his acknowledgments and accepted the invitation.
“It’s wonderful what’s been hid, at one time and another,” said Mr Boffin, ruminating; “truly wonderful.”
Related Characters:
Nicodemus “Noddy” Boffin (speaker), Mr. Venus, Bella, Silas Wegg
Related Symbols:
Dust
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
478
Explanation and Analysis:
This quote shows the progression of the relationship between Noddy Boffin and the professional reader he’s hired, Silas Wegg. Boffin has started to become a miser (or at least pretend to become one) and as part of this process, he has started to collect books about the lives of real-life British misers. Initially, Boffin just collected the books without reading them—fittingly, for a miser—but eventually he decides to have Wegg read about the misers to him, going over to see Wegg while Wegg is hosting his friend Mr. Venus as a guest.
Initially, Boffin seems to be disrespecting Wegg’s time, coming to his house unannounced and forcing him to read several stories. After the later reveal that Boffin was only ever pretending to be a miser, however, this scene takes on a different meaning. With that context, it seems that perhaps Boffin is specifically forcing Wegg and Venus to hear stories about misers, in the hopes that it will show them the dangers of living greedily. Boffin emphasizes that when it comes to miser stories, “there’s no end to it,” suggesting how widespread greed is. Unfortunately, the stories about misers only increase Wegg’s curiosity, leading him to believe that old Mr. Harmon must have hidden something valuable in his dust mounds, just like so many real misers left behind stashes of treasure. This shows how deeply greed has become a part of Wegg’s character and reveals how greed can corrupt a person, dominating their life.
Get the entire Our Mutual Friend LitChart as a printable PDF.
Mr. Venus Quotes in Our Mutual Friend
The Our Mutual Friend quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Venus or refer to Mr. Venus. 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:
).
Book 3, Chapter 6 Quotes
“Do you like what Wegg’s been a-reading?”
Mr Venus answered that he found it extremely interesting.
“Then come again,” said Mr Boffin, “and hear some more. Come when you like; come the day after to-morrow, half an hour sooner. There’s plenty more; there’s no end to it.”
Mr Venus expressed his acknowledgments and accepted the invitation.
“It’s wonderful what’s been hid, at one time and another,” said Mr Boffin, ruminating; “truly wonderful.”
Related Characters:
Nicodemus “Noddy” Boffin (speaker), Mr. Venus, Bella, Silas Wegg
Related Symbols:
Dust
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
478
Explanation and Analysis:
This quote shows the progression of the relationship between Noddy Boffin and the professional reader he’s hired, Silas Wegg. Boffin has started to become a miser (or at least pretend to become one) and as part of this process, he has started to collect books about the lives of real-life British misers. Initially, Boffin just collected the books without reading them—fittingly, for a miser—but eventually he decides to have Wegg read about the misers to him, going over to see Wegg while Wegg is hosting his friend Mr. Venus as a guest.
Initially, Boffin seems to be disrespecting Wegg’s time, coming to his house unannounced and forcing him to read several stories. After the later reveal that Boffin was only ever pretending to be a miser, however, this scene takes on a different meaning. With that context, it seems that perhaps Boffin is specifically forcing Wegg and Venus to hear stories about misers, in the hopes that it will show them the dangers of living greedily. Boffin emphasizes that when it comes to miser stories, “there’s no end to it,” suggesting how widespread greed is. Unfortunately, the stories about misers only increase Wegg’s curiosity, leading him to believe that old Mr. Harmon must have hidden something valuable in his dust mounds, just like so many real misers left behind stashes of treasure. This shows how deeply greed has become a part of Wegg’s character and reveals how greed can corrupt a person, dominating their life.
