Sam Weller is a
fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...
in ''
The Pickwick Papers'' (1836), the first novel by
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
, and the character that made Dickens famous.
A humorous
Cockney bootblack, Sam Weller first appeared in the fourth serialised episode.
Previously the monthly parts of the book had been doing badly, selling only about 1,000 copies a month — but the humour of the character transformed the book into a publishing phenomenon, raising the sales by late autumn of 1837 to 40,000 a month.
[Baer, Florence E]
Wellerisms in ''The Pickwick Papers''
''Folklore'', Published by Taylor & Francis, Ltd, Vol. 94, No. 2 (1983), pp. 173-183
On the impact of the character, ''
The Paris Review
''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Philip ...
'' stated, "arguably the most historic bump in English publishing is the Sam Weller Bump."
Such was the popularity of the character that
William Thomas Moncrieff
William Thomas Moncrieff (24 August 1794 – 3 December 1857) commonly referred as W.T. Moncrieff was an English dramatist and author.
Biography
He was born in London, the son of a Strand tradesman named Thomas. The name Moncrieff he assumed for ...
named his 1837
burletta ''
Samuel Weller, or, The Pickwickians'' after the main comic character in the novel, rather than on
Samuel Pickwick himself. Merchandise based on the character appeared, such as Sam Weller puzzles, Weller boot polish and Weller joke books.
Character
In chapter 10 of the novel, the eponymous hero of the novel,
Mr. Pickwick
Samuel Pickwick is a fictional character and the main protagonist in ''The Pickwick Papers'' (1836), the first novel by author Charles Dickens. One of the author's most famous and loved creations, Pickwick is a retired successful businessman an ...
, meets Sam Weller working at the
White Hart Inn in
The Borough and soon takes him on as a personal servant and companion on his travels. Initially, Sam Weller accepts the job as Pickwick offered a good salary and a new set of fine clothes. However, as the novel progresses, Sam becomes deeply attached to Mr. Pickwick, with the relationship between the idealistic and unworldly Pickwick and the astute
cockney Weller being likened to that between
Don Quixote and
Sancho Panza. While the elderly Mr. Pickwick is mostly a passive and innocent figure having an almost childlike simplicity, Sam Weller is depicted as 'street-wise', being the more experienced of the two despite his youth, and probably the most intelligent character in the novel. While Pickwick is quick to lose his temper Sam maintains his composure. While Pickwick has no interest in romance or marrying, Sam courts and eventually marries Mary, his Valentine – "a well-shaped female servant".
Weller's loyalty to Pickwick is such that when the latter is sent to the
Fleet Prison for debt Weller gets himself arrested so that he can join Pickwick there and continue to serve and protect him. Weller refuses to marry his sweetheart as he believes his marriage will obstruct him from continuing to care for Mr. Pickwick. However, Pickwick makes arrangements that allow Weller to continue to work for him and still marry.
Weller as a Cockney
In the novel Sam is the son of
Tony Weller, a coachman. The Wellers, father and son, speak a form of
Cockney English prevalent in London's
East End
The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...
in 1836, pronouncing a "v" where there should be a "w", and "w” where there should be a "v" - "wery" instead of "very" and "avay" instead of "away" - in language that was outdated just 40 years after the novel's publication. Having trouble composing his
Valentine's Card to his sweetheart, Mary, Sam consults his father, Tony Weller:
`“Feel myself ashamed, and completely cir –” I forget what this here word is’, said Sam, scratching his head with the pen, in vain attempts to remember.
`Why don’t you look at it then?’, inquired Mr Weller.
`So I am a lookin at it’, replied Sam, `but there’s another blot. Here’s a “c”, and an “i”, and a “d”’.
`Circumwented, p’raps’, suggested Mr Weller.
`No, it ain’t that,’ said Sam, `circumscribed; that’s it’
`That ain’t as good a word as circumwented, Sammy,’ said Mr Weller, gravely.
Wellerisms in ''Pickwick Papers''
Sam Weller's way of quoting people has led to the
Wellerism
Wellerisms, named after sayings of Sam Weller (character), Sam Weller in Charles Dickens's novel ''The Pickwick Papers'', make fun of established clichés and proverbs by showing that they are wrong in certain situations, often when taken literally ...
, often a type of proverb.
[ Examples in ''Pickwick Papers'' include:
*"Then the next question is, what the devil do you want with me, as the man said, wen he see the ghost?"
* "Out vith it, as the father said to his child, when he swallowed a farden."
* "Wery glad to see you, indeed, and hope our acquaintance may be a long 'un, as the gen'l'm'n said to the fi' pun' note."
* "All good feelin', sir – the wery best intentions, as the gen'l'm'n said ven he run away from his wife 'cos she seemed unhappy with him."
* "There; now we look compact and comfortable, as the father said ven he cut his little boy's head off, to cure him o' squintin'."
* "Vich I call addin' insult to injury, as the parrot said ven they not only took him from his native land, but made him talk the English langwidge arterwards."
* "Sorry to do anythin' as may cause an interruption to such wery pleasant proceedin's, as the king said wen he dissolved the parliament."
]
Notable portrayals
*One of the first actors to portray the character on stage was W. J. Hammond
William John Hammond (1 July 1797–23 August 1848) was a British actor-manager and singer of comic songs of the early 19th-century. He played Sam Weller in ''Samuel Weller, or, The Pickwickians'' in 1837.
Early life
W. J. Hammond was born ...
in '' Samuel Weller, or, The Pickwickians'' (1837) in a production staged while Dickens was still serialising the novel.
* Digby Bell - ''Mr. Pickwick'' (1903) at the Herald Square Theatre and later the Grand Opera House.
*H. P. Owen - '' The Pickwick Papers'' (1913)
*Hubert Woodward - ''The Adventures of Mr. Pickwick
''The Adventures of Mr. Pickwick'' is a 1921 British silent comedy film directed by Thomas Bentley based on the 1837 novel ''The Pickwick Papers'' by Charles Dickens. As of August 2010, the film is missing from the BFI National Archive, and is ...
'' (1921)
* Sam Kydd - '' The Pickwick Papers BBC TV Serial 1952
* Harry Fowler - '' The Pickwick Papers'' (1952)
* Sam Kydd - ''Bardell V. Pickwick'' (1955)''Bardell V. Pickwick'' (1955)
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
Database
*
Teddy Green
Teddy Green is an English actor, choreographer, and dancer probably best known for playing supporting roles in two Cliff Richard films, '' The Young Ones'' and '' Summer Holiday''.
Career
His film roles include Chris in The Young Ones with Cli ...
- ''
Pickwick'' -
West End musical (1963)
*
Roy Castle
Roy Castle (31 August 1932 – 2 September 1994) was an English dancer, singer, comedian, actor, television presenter and musician. In addition to being an accomplished jazz trumpet player, he could play many other instruments. Following a vers ...
-
Broadway version (1965)
*Roy Castle - ''
Pickwick'' - television musical (1969)
*
Phil Daniels - ''
The Pickwick Papers'' (1985)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weller, Sam
Charles Dickens characters
The Pickwick Papers
Fictional servants
Fictional people from London
Literary characters introduced in 1836
Male characters in literature
Comedy literature characters
Male characters in film
Male characters in television