Oliver Twist Characters

A guide to the many characters in Oliver Twist

In this, the second of Dickens’ novels, we already have a range of characters that have become immortal. Dickens was to go on with that creation of immortal characters, so many that now it would be difficult to count them. Amongst the classic Oliver Twist characters we have the unforgettable Fagin and Mr Bumble. There are also The Artful Dodger and Bill Sykes and his girlfriend, Nancy.

Oliver is a passive protagonist. Things are done to him rather than him doing anything. Other characters act around him and most of them are far more interesting than he is.

The villains of Oliver Twist are the novel’s most interesting and memorable characters. Bill Sikes is completely evil: he is stupid, brutal, and insensitive. He lives his life by threatening people and being physically violent to anything or anyone who gets in his way – even his faithful dog. Fagin is clever, crafty, devious, and manipulative.

The good characters in the novel are relatively uninteresting. Rose Maylie represents the ideal Victorian woman –  sweet, loving, and giving. She has no faults and that makes her unbelievable.  Mr. Brownlow is more interesting; he actively supports Oliver, leads the fight against the villains, and is characterised with minor weaknesses.

Nancy struggles with her conscience. She is one of the criminals but she has many good qualities. She eventually betrays her friends to protect Oliver. Her life is an example of the conditions most homeless children would grow up to exist in as a result of having been raised by someone like Fagin.

Dickens’ fictional creations represent a cross-section of society— chimney-sweepers, wealthy misers, criminals, judges, and any variety of person one could meet in Victorian society. They are notable for the vividness with which they are described. By emphasizing how these characters talk, dress, and move, Dickens was able to provide clear, easily imagined pictures that have inspired illustrators for nearly two centuries and proven themselves adaptable to dramatists, cinematographers, composers, and fashion designers. During the last two centuries, artists have had fun imagining them in their drawings and paintings and actors have relished representing them on the stage and on the screen. Fagin has been played by a long line of the most distinguished actors in British and American culture, such as Lon Chaney, Alec Guinness, Ron Moody, George C Scott, Richard Dreyfuss, Ben Kingsley, Rowan Atkinson, Neil Morrissey, and many more.

Oliver Twist character list

Oliver Twist – an orphan whose mother died at his birth

Mr Bumble – a beadle in the parish workhouse where Oliver was born

Mrs Mann – superintendent where the infant Oliver is placed until age 9

Mr Sowerberry – an undertaker who takes Oliver as an apprentice

Mrs Sowerberry – Mr Sowerberry’s wife

Noah Claypole –Sowerberry’s apprentice, who bullies Oliver

Charlotte – the Sowerberrys’ maid

Mr Gamfield – a chimney sweep in the town where Oliver was born

Mr Brownlow – a kindly gentleman who takes Oliver in

Mr Grimwig – a friend of Mr. Brownlow

Mrs Bedwin – Mr Brownlow’s housekeeper

Rose Maylie – Oliver’s second benefactor, later found to be his aunt

Mrs Lindsay Maylie – Rose Maylie’s adoptive aunt

Harry Maylie – Mrs Maylie’s son

Mr Losberne – Mrs Maylie’s family doctor

Mr Giles – Mrs Maylie’s butler

Mr Brittles – Mrs Maylie’s handyman

Duff and Blathers – policemen

Fagin – a fence

Bill Sikes – a professional burglar

The Artful Dodger – Fagin’s most effective pickpocket

Charley Bates – a boy in Fagin’s gang

Toby Crackit – a criminal, associate of Fagin and Sikes,

Nancy – Bill Sikes’s girlfriend

Bet – friend to Nancy

Barney – a criminal cohort of Fagin

Agnes Fleming – Oliver’s mother

Mr Leeford – Oliver’s father

Old Sally – a nurse who attended Oliver’s birth

Mrs Corney – matron in the women’s workhouse

Monks – an associate of Fagin’s, and long-lost half-brother of Oliver

Monks’ mother – an heiress who did not love her husband

Mr Fang – a magistrate

Tom Chitling – one of Fagin’s gang members

That’s our guide to Oliver Twist characters. Make sense? Any questions? Let us know in the comments section below!