Although he has been advanced to master of the workhouse, Bumble's deprivation of a beadle's symbols of office is indicative of his true status. Marriage to "the relict of Mr. Corney deceased" has reduced him to a subordinate rank appropriately signaled by the absence of the three-cornered hat.
The row between the matron and her spouse is the only extended passage of pure humor in the book. There are occasional flashes of comedy, as when Sikes is drenched with beer and when Fagin receives the blow aimed at Bates, but the interludes are fleeting. The incidents grow out of the fearful circumstances that overshadow them, hence admitting only an uneasy chuckle. Even the brawl in the workhouse does not stimulate a reaction of hearty amusement. We laugh at the Bumbles, but our pleasure stems largely from satisfaction at seeing them in a situation of deserved discomfort. On the other hand, we laugh with Mr. Pickwick and his friends but should be distressed to see them suffer actual harm. Joyous humor is aroused by sympathetic comic figures, not by despicable ones such as the ones in Oliver Twist. There is little relief in the book from the pervasive sense of intense evil and impending doom.
As soon as Bumble leaves the workhouse and has his meeting with Monks, we return to the menacing atmosphere of hidden agenda, treachery, and the potential for violence. The subsequent meeting between Monks and the Bumbles takes place under circumstances typical of similar scenes: at night, amid sodden surroundings of decay and ruin, accompanied by rain, thunder, and lightning.
After a long build-up of complications, there has been a slight movement in the direction of unraveling the plot's events. Some pertinent information concerning Sally's death, previously withheld, has been revealed. The matron's unruffled demeanor when leaving the death chamber is now clarified. No substantial amount of enlightenment has been set forth, but something has been cleared up.
