Nicholas Nickleby

Nicholas continues to be a success on the stage. He is so popular that several people who have never visited the theater before come to see him. Mr. Crummles uses one of the shows as a benefit for Nicholas, and Nicholas earns 20 pounds. He uses some of the money to pay back the loan he took from John. He sends half of the money to Newman with instructions to give it secretly to Kate. He also asks Newman to inquire as to how Kate and Mrs. Nickleby are faring.

Mr. Folair arrives at Nicholas’s quarters with a letter from another actor, Mr. Lenville. In the letter, Lenville demands that Nicholas present himself at the theater tomorrow to have his nose pulled in front of the theater company. Nicholas takes the request as an insult. Mr. Folair assures Nicholas that he only brought the letter as a joke but says that Lenville is quite serious. Lenville has grown jealous because Nicholas has been taking all of the best roles since he arrived. Folair says Lenville even contemplated using a real sword in a scene to injure Nicholas and put him off the stage for a month or two. In the end, Lenville thought better of that plan.

Nicholas goes to the theater at the agreed-upon time. Lenville turns the affair into a kind of performance of its own and looks on Nicholas with disdain. He’s surprised, though, that Nicholas doesn’t seem as afraid as Lenville thought he would be. The women root for Nicholas, while the men (because they’re jealous of Nicholas’s success) root for Lenville. When Lenville approaches Nicholas to pull his nose, Nicholas knocks him down. Lenville’s wife rushes to the stage to make sure he’s okay. She then urges Lenville to apologize to Nicholas, which he ultimately does. Afterward, the men who had opposed Nicholas take turns pulling him aside to voice their congratulations. Nicholas has won them over.

Nicholas receives a letter back from Newman, and Newman has enclosed the money Nicholas sent. He says that at this point, Kate and Mrs. Nickleby do not need money, though Nicholas may soon. Newman also writes that there 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 his uncle Ralph. Nicholas tells the theater troupe he may need to leave soon. They’re all dismayed, though many of the men are secretly relieved that they may soon be rid of a rival.