Dick Swiveller

Initially a comical accessory to the antagonists in the novel, he undergoes a transformation, becoming a key helpmate bridging the depiction of the main characters that are either mostly villainous or goodly in nature.

When the destitute Nell and her grandfather leave London, Swiveller is befriended by the villainous Quilp, who to keep him under his eye helps him gain employment as a clerk with the unscrupulous siblings Sally and Sampson Brass.

He instantly rushes to the nearest public house and returns with a boy, "...who bore in one hand a plate of bread and beef, and in the other a great pot, filled with some very fragrant compound, which sent forth a grateful steam, and was indeed choice purl, made after a particular recipe which Mr Swiveller had imparted to the landlord, at a period when he was deep in his books and desirous to conciliate his friendship.

He becomes aware of the Brasses' villainy and, with the help of the Marchioness, exposes a plot to frame Kit Nubbles and secures his release from prison.

[5][6] His transformation from an idle and vacant youth to a key helpmate bridges the depiction of the main characters that are either mostly villainous or goodly in nature.