| “ | What a fine thing capital punishment is! Dead men never repent; dead men never bring awkward stories to light. Ah, it's a fine thing for the trade! Five of 'em strung up in a row, and none left to play booty, or turn white-livered! | „ |
| ~ Fagin. |
Fagin is the secondary antagonist of the late Charles Dickens' 1838 novel Oliver Twist. He is an elderly master thief who kidnaps children and teaches them how to steal for him. The novel's primary villain, Bill Sikes, is his former apprentice.
A revised, and more sympathetic, version of the character is featured in Oliver!, the 1960 stage musical adaptation of the novel and its 1968 film adaptation, as well as Oliver & Company, the 1988 animated Disney version of the musical.
Portrayals[]
He has been portrayed by several actors in several adaptations of Oliver Twist, including:
- The late Lon Chaney, Sr. in the 1922 film adaptation, who also played the title character in the 1925 film adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera.
- The late Sir Alec Guinness in the 1948 film adaptation, who also played Charles I in Cromwell.
- The late Ron Moody in Oliver!, who also played Iago in a 1981 BBC production of Othello.
- Richard Dreyfuss in Disney's 1997 live-action television adaptation, who also played Alexander Dunning in RED.
- Sir Ben Kingsley in the 2005 film adaptation, who also played Cosmo in Sneakers, Dr. Xavier Fitch in Species, Don Logan in Sexy Beast, The Hood in the Thunderbirds film, The Rabbi in Lucky Number Slevin, Nizam in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Tamir Aladeen in The Dictator, Trevor Slattery in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Archibald Snatcher in The Boxtrolls and General Woundwort in the 2018 Netflix Watership Down adaptation.
- Timothy Spall in the 2007 BBC television adaptation, who also played Peter Pettigrew in the Harry Potter film series, Beadle Bamford in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and the Dragon in the Magic Light Pictures Room on the Broom adaptation.
- Rowan Atkinson in the 2008 revival of Oliver!, who also played Edmund Blackadder in the Blackadder franchise and Scrappy-Doo in the live-action Scooby-Doo film adaptation.
Biography[]
Novel[]
Fagin is portrayed as a greedy, immoral criminal mastermind who kidnaps orphaned children and trains them to be pickpockets in return for sheltering and (occasionally) feeding them; he keeps the ill-gotten money for himself. He treats the children with cruelty, beating and starving them if they do not do his bidding, or if they bring in less money than he desires. His "wards" include the novel's title character, the Artful Dodger, Charley Bates, and Nancy. He also trained the novel's primary antagonist, Bill Sikes, who later becomes his main competitor.
Oliver is at first innocent of Fagin's true nature, believing him to be a tailor who makes wallets and kerchiefs - which are in fact stolen at Fagin's order. Upon learning the truth about Fagin's operation, Oliver wants no part in it, but has his hand forced. The only one in the gang to protect Oliver is Nancy, who is also Sikes' lover.
When Oliver is falsely accused of robbing a gentleman named Mr. Brownlow and arrested, Fagin immediately fears the boy revealing his criminal operation. Brownlow takes pity on Oliver and brings him to his house, helping him recover from the abuse and malnourishment he suffered at Fagin's hands. Fagin, fearful that Oliver will turn him in to the police, joins forces with Sikes and sends him and Nancy to kidnap the boy once again. Oliver tries to run away, but Fagin and Sikes beat him into submission, stopping only when Nancy begs them to show mercy.
Fagin forces Oliver to burglarize a house with Sikes owned by a wealthy, elderly woman named Mrs. Maylie, but Oliver is shot in the arm after breaking in. Maylie and her niece Rose - later revealed to be Oliver's maternal aunt - take him in and raise him in polite society, trying to rid him of the coarse manners he learned from Fagin and Sikes. Fagin later meets with a fellow criminal, the mysterious Mr. Monks, and plots with him to destroy Oliver's newfound reputation as a young gentleman.
To make sure Oliver never learns of his true parentage, Fagin and Monks steal a locket and a ring left to the boy by his late mother on her deathbed and throw them in the river. Nancy, ashamed of her role in Oliver's kidnapping, tells Maylie and Rose that Fagin, Sikes, and Monks are going to ruin his life. Fagin becomes suspicious of Nancy and follows her to one of her meetings with Maylie and Rose. He also sends one of his child thieves, Noah, to spy on her. Upon learning what Nancy is up to, Fagin lies to Sikes that she is going to betray him to the police, provoking Sikes to kill her. Sikes himself later dies via hanging himself while being chased by an angry mob upon the discovery of his crime.
Fagin attempts to flee London with Monks, who is revealed to be Oliver's half-brother who wants the boy dead so he can be sole beneficiary of their wealthy father's will. Both are arrested, but while Monks is given a second chance with help from Oliver, Fagin is sentenced to be hanged for his crimes. The night before Fagin's execution, Oliver visits him in prison, and Fagin rages at him and the entire world for the sorry end he has come to. However, knowing he has nothing left to gain by keeping it secret, he tells Oliver where his identity papers are. The following day, Fagin meets his fate.
Oliver![]
in Oliver!, the 1960 stage musical adaptation of the novel, and its 1968 film adaptation, Fagin is presented in a somewhat more sympathetic light. While he remains a thief and a kidnapper, he treats the children with more kindness and compassion than his novel counterpart, and is ambivalent about his career as a thief, wondering in the song "Reviewing the Situation" if he should give up his life of crime. He is also given a happier ending, escaping from prison and going into business with the Artful Dodger. However, this ending was also bittersweet as Fagin came close to abandoning his criminal ways before Dodger convinced him to remain a thief.
Oliver & Company[]
In Oliver & Company, Disney's 1988 animated musical version of Oliver Twist, Fagin is reimagined as a sympathetic character. He is portrayed as a kind-hearted thief who is in debt to a loan shark named Bill Sykes, and reluctantly allows his beloved dogs and a kitten named Oliver to steal for him to save him from Sykes. In the end, Fagin saves Oliver's new owner, Jenny, from Sykes, who is killed by a train, thus cancelling Fagin's debt.
Fagin was voiced by the late Dom DeLuise.
Fagin the Jew[]
In 2003, comic book artist Will Eisner wrote the graphic novel Fagin the Jew, retelling the events of Oliver Twist from Fagin's point of view.
Trivia[]
- Since the publication of Dickens' novel, "Fagin" has entered the lexicon as an adjective for one who uses children to commit crimes or otherwise do their dirty work, and then keeps the profits.
- Fagin has been criticized as an anti-Semitic caricature of Jewish people as greedy and miserly. Dickens refers to Fagin in his narration as "the Jew" several times, although he later revised the novel to downplay Fagin's religion and ethnicity. The 1948 film adaptation of the novel has also been criticized for presenting Fagin as a Jewish stereotype.