Fagin
| Fagin | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Created by | Charles Dickens |
| Portrayed by | Lon Chaney, Sr. (1922), Alec Guinness (1948), Ron Moody (1968), Dom DeLuise (voice, 1988), Richard Dreyfuss (1997), Gary Farmer (2003), Ben Kingsley (2005), Timothy Spall (2007), Russ Abbott (2010/11), Noah Berry (2011), Rowan Atkinson (2010/11), Neil Morrisey (2011/12), Harry Moore (2012) |
| Information | |
| Nickname(s) | The Jew |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Criminal |
Fagin /ˈfeɪɡᵻn/ is a fictional antagonist in Charles Dickens's novel Oliver Twist. In the preface to the novel he is described as a "receiver of stolen goods", but within the text he is more frequently identified simply as "the Jew." He is the leader of a group of children (the Artful Dodger and Charley Bates among them) whom he teaches to make their livings by pickpocketing and other criminal activities, in exchange for shelter. A distinguishing trait is his constant—and insincere—use of the phrase "my dear" when addressing others. At the time of the novel, he is said by another character, Monks, to have already made criminals out of "scores" of children. Nancy, who is the lover of Bill Sikes, one of the novel's major villains, is confirmed to be Fagin's former pupil.
Although portrayed humorously, Fagin is a self-confessed miser who, despite the wealth he has acquired, does very little to improve the squalid lives of the children he guards, or his own. In the second chapter of his appearance, he is shown (when talking to himself) that he cares less for their welfare, than that they do not "peach" (inform) on him and the other children. Still darker sides to the character's nature are shown when he beats the Artful Dodger for not bringing Oliver back; in his attempted beating of Oliver for trying to escape; and in his own involvement with various plots and schemes throughout the story. He indirectly but intentionally causes the death of Nancy by falsely informing Sikes that she had betrayed him, when in reality she had shielded Sikes from the law; whereupon Sikes kills her. Near the end of the book, Fagin is captured and sentenced to be hanged, in a chapter that portrays him as pitiable in his anguish.
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