49 pages • 1 hour read
Deborah HopkinsonThe Great Trouble
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2013A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Background
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
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BetaPart 5-EpilogueChapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 5: “The Last Death and the First Case”
Part 5, Chapter 25 Summary: “In Which the Mystery Is Solved”
An epigraph from Dr. John Snow cautions against using water that has been exposed to waste.
Over the next week, the epidemic slows. Snow credits this development to the removal of the pump handle and the natural progression of the disease. Eel wonders about the original source of contamination, which Snow cautions may remain a mystery. Snow and Whitehead collaborate to further investigate the epidemic; Whitehead is now convinced of Snow’s theory. Snow wonders about the “index case.” Eel believes that it may be Mr. Griggs, but Snow explains that too many people grew sick at the same time for this to be the case. He believes that someone else infected the Broad Street water supply in the first place.
Annie Ribbon’s father, Constable Lewis, dies on September 19. He is the last victim of the epidemic. When Eel visits the Lewises to deliver his condolences, he recalls that the infant, Fanny, was sick before Mr. Griggs. Florrie has now recovered; she and Eel find Whitehead and Snow. When Mrs. Lewis is interviewed, she says that prior to the outbreak, she soaked the sick infant’s diapers in water, which she then dumped into the cesspool below her building. An investigation reveals that the cesspool, which is less than three feet from the well, is leaking.
Eel, Florrie, and Snow discuss their conclusions. Cases likely waned after Fanny died on September 2 because her contaminated diapers were no longer going into the cesspool. However, Constable Lewis was sick even after the pump handle was removed, which meant that if the handle hadn’t been removed, more people would have fallen sick when his wastewater was dumped into the cesspool. Eel is saddened by the many deaths but is glad that he made a difference in preventing further loss of life.
Part 5, Chapter 26 Summary: “Henry and Me”
One evening at Dr. Snow’s house, Eel encounters Dr. Farr, Mr. Edward, his wife, and Reverend Whitehead. Henry is also there, as Mrs. Weatherburn has taken the young boy under her wing after learning the whole story. Dr. Farr reports that he once worked with Eel and Henry’s father; he recognized Eel when the boy came to the General Register Office, even though he hadn’t immediately placed the boy. Mr. Edward offers to adopt Henry, Eel, and Dilly and to pay for the boys to go to school. Eel considers becoming a doctor like Snow.
Epilogue Summary
1885
Wednesday, September 26
Snow, Whitehead, Florrie, Henry, and Eel go to a committee meeting at St. James’ Church. The cesspool has been repaired, and the Broad Street residents have successfully campaigned to have their water pump handle returned. After the meeting, Snow and Whitehead depart to collaborate on writing about the spread of cholera. Florrie, Eel, and Henry walk together and discuss the events of the past year. They walk near Blackfriars Bridge, and Eel thinks of his days mudlarking and of Thumbless Jake, whom he hasn’t seen in a long time. Though he fears that Jake’s life still is defined by trouble, he marvels at how they all have survived.
Part 5-Epilogue Analysis
The final part of the novel, “The Last Death and the First Case,” neatly wraps up the mystery portion of the narrative in a manner that mirrors the pattern of many Victorian-era detective stories. As Snow, Whitehead, Eel, and Florrie sit in a comfortable room and discuss the answer to the “index case” problem, this denouement mimics the typical conclusions of Sherlock Holmes mystery stories. This stylistic choice draws implicit parallels between Eel’s investigations and the more personality-based conflicts that dominate the mystery genre. Unlike many later subgenres of detective fiction, the climactic scenes of which often occur amidst intense action, Victorian-era detectives were known for their “armchair” solutions. Thus, in this model, the revelation of the true culprits becomes more of a denouement than a climax. By following this older narrative pattern, Hopkinson mimics Victorian narratives to increase the novel’s verisimilitude and emphasize the story’s setting within this historic time frame.
This conclusion is paired with an optimistic vision of Eel and Snow’s accomplishment, one that focuses on the proper way to form legitimate scientific conclusions. While Snow cautions that he and Eel do not have enough data to conclude that the removal of the Broad Street water pump handle was the sole reason for the epidemic’s wane, the later revelation that the last death of the epidemic (Constable Lewis) and the “index case” (Fanny Lewis) came from the same family makes this cause and effect more clear, for all members of the family used the cesspool to dispose of their waste. Constable Lewis’s death confirms that failing to remove the handle to the water pump would have led to more deaths, as more “cholera poison” would have ended up in the water, given the constable’s protracted illness. Hopkinson therefore employs moments of optimism to balance the bleakness of her narrative’s setting in disease-ravaged, poverty-stricken Victorian England while maintaining the historical accuracy of the tale. The novel’s claim that optimism, hope, and even joy can be present amidst widespread suffering and death is also designed to elevate the tone and focus on higher principles in addition to describing the grimmer aspects of existence. This approach reinforces the author’s investment in finding positive lessons even in times of “great trouble.”
