Summary
Tom's methodical approach to paying off his father's debts takes a promising turn when Bob Jakin proposes a trading venture. While Maggie wrestles with internal conflicts, Tom focuses on concrete action—working hard at his uncle's firm and saving every penny. When Bob suggests they pool resources to trade in foreign goods for potentially high returns, Tom sees a chance to accelerate his family's financial recovery. However, his father refuses to risk their meager savings, forcing Tom to approach Uncle Glegg for backing. The scene that follows showcases Bob's masterful salesmanship as he charms the skeptical Mrs. Glegg, transforming her from suspicious gatekeeper to eager investor through flattery, storytelling, and strategic reverse psychology. Bob's performance—praising her wisdom while claiming his goods aren't worthy of her—reveals how understanding human nature can turn obstacles into opportunities. Mrs. Glegg, initially dismissive of the 'packman,' ends up buying his merchandise and agreeing to invest twenty pounds in Tom's venture. This chapter demonstrates how Tom's practical nature and Bob's street smarts complement each other, creating possibilities neither could achieve alone. Their partnership represents hope for the Tulliver family's future, while also showing how different approaches to life's challenges—Tom's steady determination versus Maggie's internal struggles—can lead to very different outcomes.
Coming Up in Chapter 35
As Tom builds his secret fund through trading ventures, Maggie faces her own crossroads. The delicate balance between duty and desire becomes increasingly precarious, threatening to upset the careful equilibrium she's maintained.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
Aunt Glegg Learns the Breadth of Bob’s Thumb While Maggie’s life-struggles had lain almost entirely within her own soul, one shadowy army fighting another, and the slain shadows forever rising again, Tom was engaged in a dustier, noisier warfare, grappling with more substantial obstacles, and gaining more definite conquests. So it has been since the days of Hecuba, and of Hector, Tamer of horses; inside the gates, the women with streaming hair and uplifted hands offering prayers, watching the world’s combat from afar, filling their long, empty days with memories and fears; outside, the men, in fierce struggle with things divine and human, quenching memory in the stronger light of purpose, losing the sense of dread and even of wounds in the hurrying ardor of action. From what you have seen of Tom, I think he is not a youth of whom you would prophesy failure in anything he had thoroughly wished; the wagers are likely to be on his side, notwithstanding his small success in the classics. For Tom had never desired success in this field of enterprise; and for getting a fine flourishing growth of stupidity there is nothing like pouring out on a mind a good amount of subjects in which it feels no interest. But now Tom’s strong will bound together his integrity, his pride, his family regrets, and his personal ambition, and made them one force, concentrating his efforts and surmounting discouragements. His uncle Deane, who watched him closely, soon began to conceive hopes of him, and to be rather proud that he had brought into the employment of the firm a nephew who appeared to be made of such good commercial stuff. The real kindness of placing him in the warehouse first was soon evident to Tom, in the hints his uncle began to throw out, that after a time he might perhaps be trusted to travel at certain seasons, and buy in for the firm various vulgar commodities with which I need not shock refined ears in this place; and it was doubtless with a view to this result that Mr Deane, when he expected to take his wine alone, would tell Tom to step in and sit with him an hour, and would pass that hour in much lecturing and catechising concerning articles of export and import, with an occasional excursus of more indirect utility on the relative advantages to the merchants of St Ogg’s of having goods brought in their own and in foreign bottoms,—a subject on which Mr Deane, as a ship-owner, naturally threw off a few sparks when he got warmed with talk and wine. Already, in the second year, Tom’s salary was raised; but all, except the price of his dinner and clothes, went home into the tin box; and he shunned comradeship, lest it should lead him into expenses in spite of himself. Not that Tom was moulded on the spoony type of the Industrious Apprentice; he had a very strong appetite for pleasure,—would have liked to...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Strategic Charm - When Understanding People Becomes Power
Understanding someone's psychological needs and feeding them strategically to transform resistance into cooperation.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to identify the hidden emotional currencies people trade in—respect, status, feeling important—and how skilled operators use these currencies to get cooperation.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when someone gets their way not through arguing but by making the other person feel smart, important, or generous—then observe how it changes the entire dynamic.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Packman
A traveling salesman who carried goods in a pack, going door-to-door to sell merchandise. These were often looked down upon by respectable society as lower-class peddlers.
Modern Usage:
Today we see this same prejudice against door-to-door salespeople, telemarketers, or anyone in direct sales - people assume they're pushy or untrustworthy.
Trading venture
A business partnership where people pool money to buy goods and resell them for profit, often involving foreign or exotic items. It was risky but could bring high returns.
Modern Usage:
This is like investing in a startup, buying cryptocurrency, or any high-risk investment where you could lose everything or make big money.
Family honor
The reputation and social standing of an entire family, which could be damaged by one member's failures. Paying debts was crucial to maintaining respectability.
Modern Usage:
We still see this in families where one person's bankruptcy, arrest, or scandal affects everyone's reputation in their community.
Reverse psychology
A persuasion technique where you get someone to do what you want by suggesting they shouldn't or can't do it, making them want to prove you wrong.
Modern Usage:
Sales people still use this - telling customers something is 'probably too expensive' for them, making them want to prove they can afford it.
Social gatekeeping
When someone controls access to opportunities or resources based on class, reputation, or social standing. Mrs. Glegg initially acts as a barrier to Tom's plans.
Modern Usage:
This happens everywhere - from exclusive clubs to job networks where who you know matters more than what you know.
Complementary skills
When two people have different strengths that work well together. Tom has determination and respectability; Bob has street smarts and charm.
Modern Usage:
Successful business partnerships today often pair someone good with numbers with someone good with people, or a tech person with a marketing person.
Characters in This Chapter
Tom Tulliver
Determined protagonist
Shows focused determination to restore his family's honor through practical action. He's methodical, saving every penny and seeking business opportunities rather than dwelling on problems.
Modern Equivalent:
The family member who steps up during a crisis - works extra shifts, takes on debt, does whatever it takes
Bob Jakin
Streetwise ally
Demonstrates how charm and understanding human nature can open doors that money and status cannot. His sales pitch to Mrs. Glegg is a masterclass in persuasion.
Modern Equivalent:
The friend who can talk their way into anywhere - knows how to read people and make them feel special
Mrs. Glegg
Skeptical gatekeeper
Represents social prejudice but also shows how people can be won over by the right approach. Her transformation from dismissive to supportive reveals her underlying vanity.
Modern Equivalent:
The difficult relative who controls family money - acts superior but secretly wants to feel important and appreciated
Mr. Tulliver
Cautious father
His refusal to risk their small savings shows how past failures can make people overly conservative, even when opportunities arise.
Modern Equivalent:
The parent who's been burned before and won't take any risks, even reasonable ones
Uncle Deane
Potential mentor
Watches Tom's progress with growing approval, suggesting that hard work and dedication are being noticed by those in positions to help.
Modern Equivalent:
The boss who's quietly evaluating you for promotion based on your work ethic
Key Quotes & Analysis
"So it has been since the days of Hecuba, and of Hector, Tamer of horses; inside the gates, the women with streaming hair and uplifted hands offering prayers, watching the world's combat from afar"
Context: Comparing Maggie's internal struggles to Tom's external action
Eliot uses this classical reference to show how gender roles have historically divided emotional labor from practical action. Women worry and feel while men act and fight.
In Today's Words:
It's always been this way - women stress and worry about everything while men just focus on getting stuff done
"For getting a fine flourishing growth of stupidity there is nothing like pouring out on a mind a good amount of subjects in which it feels no interest"
Context: Explaining why Tom failed at classical education but succeeds in business
This reveals how traditional education often fails students whose talents lie elsewhere. Tom isn't stupid - he's just being measured by the wrong standards.
In Today's Words:
Force someone to study stuff they don't care about and watch them look like an idiot, even if they're smart in other ways
"I'm not the man to speak disrespectful of my betters, but I wouldn't give a button for a packman as 'ud take the word out of my mouth"
Context: Bob flattering Mrs. Glegg while positioning himself as humble but skilled
Bob's masterful use of false modesty and reverse psychology. He elevates Mrs. Glegg while subtly establishing his own competence and uniqueness.
In Today's Words:
I respect people like you, but I'm not like those other pushy salespeople - I know quality when I see it
Thematic Threads
Class Navigation
In This Chapter
Bob expertly navigates class boundaries by flattering Mrs. Glegg's sense of superiority while achieving his business goals
Development
Builds on earlier themes of class barriers, showing how understanding can overcome them
In Your Life:
You might use similar awareness when dealing with supervisors or authority figures who need their status acknowledged
Practical Intelligence
In This Chapter
Bob's street smarts and people-reading skills prove more effective than formal education in achieving results
Development
Contrasts with Tom's methodical approach and Maggie's book learning
In Your Life:
Your ability to read people and situations often matters more than credentials in getting things done
Partnership Dynamics
In This Chapter
Tom and Bob's complementary skills create opportunities neither could achieve alone
Development
Introduced here as a new model for advancement
In Your Life:
You might find success by partnering with people whose strengths balance your weaknesses
Gender Power
In This Chapter
Mrs. Glegg wields significant financial influence despite societal limitations on women
Development
Continues exploration of how women navigate power within constraints
In Your Life:
You might recognize how influence can be exercised even when formal authority is limited
Economic Survival
In This Chapter
The trading venture represents hope for escaping debt and achieving financial security
Development
Evolves from earlier despair about the family's financial ruin
In Your Life:
You might see how small opportunities can become stepping stones to larger financial stability
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
How does Bob Jakin transform Mrs. Glegg from suspicious gatekeeper to eager investor?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does Bob's strategy of claiming his goods 'aren't worthy' of Mrs. Glegg work better than direct sales pressure would have?
analysis • medium - 3
Where have you seen someone use strategic charm to get what they want—making the other person feel important while advancing their own goals?
application • medium - 4
When you need cooperation from someone who's initially resistant, how could you apply Bob's approach of understanding their motivations first?
application • deep - 5
What does this scene reveal about the difference between manipulation and strategic understanding of human nature?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map the Influence Strategy
Think of someone you need cooperation from—a boss, family member, or difficult customer. Write down what makes them feel important or respected, what they're afraid of losing, and how you could frame your request to speak to their needs while achieving your goal. Practice Bob's approach of genuine appreciation combined with strategic communication.
Consider:
- •Focus on what genuinely matters to them, not what you think should matter
- •Consider how to make them feel powerful in the interaction rather than pressured
- •Think about the difference between flattery (empty praise) and strategic appreciation (recognizing real qualities)
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when someone successfully influenced you by making you feel heard and respected. What did they do that worked, and how did it feel different from being pressured or manipulated?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 35: The Wavering Balance
In the next chapter, you'll discover to recognize when someone is using emotional manipulation to override your better judgment, and learn self-denial without purpose becomes its own form of suffering. These insights reveal timeless patterns that resonate in our own lives and relationships.