Brownlow’s character is a admixture of the many traits normally found in people.
Basically kind and generous, he has some common, questionable characteristics. He is often impatient and curt. At times, he cannot resist teasing his dutiful housekeeper. In the pursuit of his objectives, he is not always governed by the most commendable regard for legal and ethical considerations; or, to express the essence of his character in another way, Brownlow is a man who, when it suits him, allows the ends to justify the means. But still, Brownlow is an unselfish man for whom benevolence is an active principle. To have good intentions is not enough for him; he must express his impulses in energetic action. It is as an activist that Brownlow prosecutes Oliver’s cause. After the old gentleman takes over the management of the boy’s affairs, he becomes the acknowledged leader of the honorable company gathered around Oliver. (Compare him to Fagin.) And in a Dickens novel, when battle begins against the elements of vice and corruption, the good guys win.
