Fagin () is the secondary

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.Charles Dickens's 1838 novel ''

Oliver Twist ''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens. It was originally published as a serial from 1837 to 1839 and as a three-volume book in 1838. The story follows the titular orphan, who, ...

''. In the preface to the novel, he is described as a " receiver of stolen goods". He is the leader of a group of children (the

Artful Dodger Jack Dawkins, better known as the Artful Dodger, is a character in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist''. The Dodger is a pickpocket and his nickname refers to his skill and cunning in that occupation. In the novel, he is the leader of th ...

and Charley Bates among them) whom he teaches to make their livings by

pickpocketing Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person or a victim's pocket without them noticing the theft at the time. It may involve considerable dexterity and a knack for misdirection. A th ...

and other criminal activities, in exchange for shelter. A distinguishing trait is his constant and insincere use of the phrase "my dear" when addressing others. At the time of the novel, he is said by another character, Monks, to have already made criminals out of "scores" of children. Nancy, who is the lover of

Bill Sikes William Sikes is a fictional character and one of the main antagonists (alongside Monks) in the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. Sikes is a malicious criminal in Fagin's gang, and a vicious robber and murderer. Throughout much o ...

(the novel's lead villain), is confirmed to be Fagin's former pupil. Fagin is a confessed miser who, despite the wealth that he has acquired, does very little to improve the squalid lives of the children he guards, or his own. In the second chapter of his appearance, it is shown (when talking to himself) that he cares less for their welfare, than that they do not "peach" (inform) on him and the other children. Still darker sides to the character's nature are shown when he beats the

for not bringing Oliver back; in his attempted beating of Oliver for trying to escape; and in his own involvement with various plots and schemes throughout the story. He indirectly but intentionally causes the death of Nancy by falsely informing Sikes that she had betrayed him, when in reality she had shielded Sikes from the law, whereupon Sikes kills her. Near the end of the book, Fagin is captured and sentenced to be hanged, in a chapter which portrays him as pitiable in his anguish.

Role in the novel

Fagin is portrayed as a criminal mastermind who kidnaps orphaned children and trains them to be pickpockets in return for sheltering and feeding them; he keeps the ill-gotten money for himself. His "wards" include the novel's

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...

Oliver Twist, the

, Charley Bates, and Nancy. He also trained the novel's main antagonist, housebreaker

, who later became his main source of stolen goods. Oliver at first believes that Fagin is an

artisan An artisan (from , ) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, sculpture, clothing, food ite ...

who makes wallets and handkerchiefs which are, in fact, stolen at Fagin's order, and goes along with his new teacher's orders. The only one in the gang to protect Oliver is Nancy, who is also Sikes's lover. After Oliver is arrested for supposedly picking the pocket of a gentleman named Mr. Brownlow (an act actually committed by the Artful Dodger and Charley Bates), Brownlow takes pity on Oliver and brings him to his house, helping him recover from the abuse and malnourishment he has suffered. Fagin and Sikes, fearing that Oliver will betray him to the police, force Nancy to help Sikes kidnap the boy again. Oliver tries to run away, but Sikes almost beats him into submission, stopping only when Nancy begs him to show mercy while the cowardly Fagin tries to smooth matters over between the two. Fagin forces Oliver to help Sikes burgle a house owned by the wealthy, elderly widow Mrs. Maylie. After breaking into the house, Oliver is shot in the arm and Sikes abandons him while he makes his own escape. Mrs. Maylie and her niece

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

take Oliver in and raise him in a polite society. Fagin later meets with a fellow criminal, the mysterious Mr. Monks, and plots with him to destroy Oliver's newfound reputation. To make sure Oliver never learns of his true parentage, Fagin and Monks conspire to buy a locket and a ring left to the boy by his late mother from Mr. Bumble and his wife, the former Mrs. Corney, and Monks throws them in the river. Nancy, ashamed of her role in Oliver's kidnapping, tells Mr. Brownlow and Rose that Oliver is in danger, and secretly joins them in a plan to rescue him. Fagin becomes suspicious of Nancy and has Noah Claypole, who has recently joined his gang, follow her to one of her meetings with Brownlow and Rose. Upon learning what Nancy is up to, Fagin lies to Sikes that she intends to turn him over to the police, provoking Sikes to kill her. Fagin and Monks attempt to flee London, but both are arrested. Monks, after being forced to confess his part, is given a second chance thanks to Mr. Brownlow and Oliver, but Fagin is sentenced to be hanged for his crimes. The night before Fagin's execution, Oliver visits him in prison, and Fagin rages against the entire world for the sorry end he has come to. The following day, he is hanged. Fagin from Oliver Twist

Historical basis

Fagin's name comes from one of Dickens's friends he had known in his youth while working in a boot-blacking factory. Fagin's character might be based on the criminal Ikey Solomon, who was a

fence A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or net (textile), netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its ...

at the centre of a highly publicised arrest, escape, recapture, and trial. Some accounts of Solomon also describe him as a London

underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

"kidsman" (a kidsman was an adult who recruited children and trained them as pickpockets, exchanging food and shelter for goods the children stole). The popularity of Dickens's novel caused "fagin" to replace "kidsman" in some crime circles, denoting an adult who teaches minors to steal and keeps a major portion of the loot. Other sources, such as Howard Mancing in ''The Cervantes Encyclopedia'', claim that Fagin is assumed to be modelled on Monipodio, one of the main characters in

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( ; ; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelist ...

' '' Rinconete y Cortadillo'' (1613). Monipodio is the leader of a criminal gang in 17th-century

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

that includes cutpurses and cape stealers.

Allegations of antisemitism

Fagin has been the subject of much debate over

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

. The first 38 chapters of the book refer to Fagin by his racial and religious origin 257 times, calling him "the Jew", against 42 uses of "Fagin" or "the old man". Dickens wrote that he had made Fagin Jewish because "it unfortunately was true, of the time to which the story refers, that the class of criminal almost invariably was a Jew". It is often argued that Fagin was based on a specific Jewish criminal of the era, Ikey Solomon. Dickens also claimed that by calling Fagin "the Jew" he had meant no imputation against the Jewish people: "I have no feeling towards the Jews but a friendly one. I always speak well of them, whether in public or private, and bear my testimony (as I ought to do) to their perfect good faith in such transactions as I have ever had with them..." Dickens sold his London home in 1860 to a Jewish banker, James Davis, who objected to the emphasis on Fagin's Jewishness in the novel. When he sold the house, Dickens allegedly told a friend: "The purchaser of Tavistock House will be a Jew Money-Lender." Dickens became friends with Davis's wife, Eliza, who told him in a letter in 1863 that Jews regarded his portrayal of Fagin a "great wrong" to their people. Dickens then started to revise ''Oliver Twist'', removing all mention of "the Jew" from the last 15 chapters; he later wrote in reply: "There is nothing but good will left between me and a People for whom I have a real regard and to whom I would not willfully have given an offence". In one of his final public readings in 1869, a year before his death, Dickens cleansed Fagin of all stereotypical caricature. A contemporary report observed: "There is no nasal intonation; a bent back but no shoulder-shrug: the conventional attributes are omitted." In later editions of the book, printed during his lifetime, Dickens himself excised over 180 instances of 'Jew' from the text. In an introduction to a 1981 reissue of ''Oliver Twist'', Irving Howe wrote that Fagin was considered an "archetypical Jewish villain." Comic book creator Will Eisner, disturbed by the antisemitism in the typical depiction of the character, created a

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

in 2003 titled '' Fagin the Jew''. In this book, the back story of the character and events of ''Oliver Twist'' are depicted from his point of view.

Media portrayals

Numerous prominent actors have played the character of Fagin. Lon Chaney portrayed Fagin in a silent film version ''

''.

Alec Guinness Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. In the BFI, British Film Institute listing of 1999 of BFI Top 100 British films, the 100 most important British films of the 20th century ...

portrayed Fagin in David Lean's 1948 film adaptation of ''Oliver Twist'', with controversial make-up by Stuart Freeborn which exaggerated stereotypical Jewish facial features. The release of the film in the USA was delayed for three years on charges of being antisemitic by the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith and the New York Board of Rabbis. It was finally released in the United States in 1951, with seven minutes of profile shots and other parts of Guinness' performance cut. For the BBC's at the time controversial 1962 serial, Fagin was portrayed in a fashion very faithful to the novel by Irish actor Max Adrian. Ron Moody's portrayal in the original London production of the musical '' Oliver!'' by

Lionel Bart Lionel Bart (1 August 1930 – 3 April 1999) was an English writer and composer of pop music and musicals. He wrote Tommy Steele's "Rock with the Caveman" and was the sole creator of the musical ''Oliver!'' (1960). With ''Oliver!'' and his work ...

, which he repeated in the Oscar-winning 1968 film, is recognisably influenced by Guinness's portrayal. However, the antisemitic quality of Guinness' portrayal was considerably toned down in the musical, partly because of Moody being Jewish himself; he was in fact the first Jewish actor to portray Fagin on film since Irving Pichel. While Fagin remains an unrepentant thief, he is a much more sympathetic and comic character than he is in the novel. His plot with Monks is deleted and his role in Nancy's death is similarly excised, and he is portrayed as being cowardly and deeply afraid of Bill Sikes. Fagin is completely innocent of Nancy's murder and is horrified when he finds out. He even admonishes Sikes saying that: " eshould not have done that." Bart's musical also deletes Fagin's arrest and the musical ends with Fagin, faced with beginning again, pondering the possibility of going straight. The film version reverses this ending, with Fagin briefly considering reformation, but then gleefully teaming up again with Dodger to start their racket again. Moody's performance as the character is often considered the most critically acclaimed. He won a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

for his performance, and was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Actor The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 1st Academy Awards to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading ...

. When ''Oliver!'' was brought to Broadway in 1964, Fagin was portrayed by Clive Revill, but in a 1984 revival, Moody reprised his performance opposite

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

winner Patti LuPone, who played Nancy. Moody later stated: "Fate destined me to play Fagin. It was the part of a lifetime."

Ben Kingsley Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ben Kingsley, various accolades throughout Ben Kingsley on screen and stage, his career spanning fi ...

's portrayal of Fagin in

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański (; born 18 August 1933) is a Polish and French filmmaker and actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Roman Polanski, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Britis ...

's 2005 screen adaptation was also inspired by the 1948 version. In the 1980 ATV series ''The Further Adventures of Oliver Twist'', Fagin was played by David Swift. In this 13-episode series, Fagin has escaped his hanging by pretending to have had a stroke, which has left him paralyzed (and therefore unfit to be executed) and is in hiding at The Three Cripples, tended to by Barney. In the 1982 made-for-TV movie version, Fagin is portrayed by George C. Scott. Although the character is generally portrayed as elderly, diminutive, and homely, Scott's version of the character was markedly younger, stronger, and better-looking. Also, this version of the character had him more caring of his orphan charges, feeding them well and treating them with obvious concern. Ron Moody reprised the role of Fagin in the 1983

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

television program 'The Other Side of London' In the 1985

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

, Fagin is portrayed by

Eric Porter Eric Richard Porter (8 April 192815 May 1995) was an English actor of stage, film and television. Early life Porter was born in Shepherd's Bush, London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdo ...

. In Disney's animated version, '' Oliver & Company'' (1988), Fagin is a kind-hearted but poor man living in New York City. He lives in poverty with his five dogs and is desperately searching for money to repay his debts to a ruthless loan shark. This version does away with the moral quandary of child exploitation as all the characters are dogs who have no real need for money and genuinely want to help their owner. Informed by earlier portrayals, he retains a large nose, red hair, and a green coat, but his racial characteristics, religion or "Jewishness" play no role in his character. He is voiced by the Italian-American Dom DeLuise. In 1994, '' Oliver!'' was revived in London. Fagin was played by many noted British actors and comedians, including

Jonathan Pryce Sir Jonathan Pryce (born John Price; 1 June 1947) is a Welsh actor. He is known for his performances on stage and in film and television. He has received numerous awards, including two Tony Awards and two Laurence Olivier Awards as well as nom ...

, George Layton, Jim Dale, Russ Abbot, Barry Humphries (who had played Mr Sowerberry in the original 1960 London production of '' Oliver!'') and Robert Lindsay, who won an Olivier Award for his performance. The different actors playing Fagin were distinguished by their different costumes, especially their coats. Pryce used a patched red and brown coat, while Lindsay used the traditional dark green overcoat seen in the 1968 film version. In the 1996-1997 Saban's Adventures of Oliver Twist series, Fagin is voiced by Brian George. In this version, instead of a human, he resembles a wise, old, and kind

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...

. In Disney's live action television production ''

'' (1997), Fagin is played by

Richard Dreyfuss Richard Stephen Dreyfuss ( ; Dreyfus; born October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He emerged from the New Hollywood wave of American cinema, finding fame with a succession of leading man parts in the 1970s. He has received an Academy Award, a ...

. In the film '' Twisted'' (1996), a film loosely based on Dickens's ''

'', the Fagin character is played by actor William Hickey. In the miniseries '' Escape of the Artful Dodger'' (2001), Fagin is played by actor Christopher Baz. In the film '' Twist'' (2003), a film also loosely based on Dickens' ''

'', Fagin is played by actor Gary Farmer. In a 2007

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television adaptation, Fagin is played by Timothy Spall. Contrary to his appearance in the novel, he is beardless and overweight in this version. He is also a more sympathetic character. In December 2008, '' Oliver!'' was revived at the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and listed building, Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) an ...

, London with Rowan Atkinson playing the character. This role was taken over by

Omid Djalili Omid Djalili (; born 30 September 1965) is a British comedian, actor, and writer. Early life and education Djalili was born on 30 September 1965 in St Mary Abbots Hospital in Kensington, London, to Iranian Baháʼí parents Ahmad and Parvane ...

in July 2009. He was succeeded by Russ Abbot in June 2010. In 2015–16, BBC2's '' Dickensian'' Fagin was played by the actor Anton Lesser. In 2023, in the

New York City Center New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama, and the New York City Center 55th Street Theater) is a performing arts center at 131 West 55th Street (Manhattan), 55th Street between Sixth Avenue, Six ...

Encores! Encores! is a Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre, Tony-honored concert series dedicated to reviving United States, American Musical theatre, musicals, usually with their original orchestrations. Presented by New York City Center since 1994, E ...

revival of '' Oliver!'', Fagin was played by

Raúl Esparza Raúl Eduardo Esparza is an American actor. Considered one of Broadway's most prominent leading men since the 2000s, he is best known for his Tony Award-nominated performance as Bobby in the 2006 Broadway revival of ''Company'' and for his te ...

and Gavin Lee. In 2022 he was portrayed by

Christopher Eccleston Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor whose work has encompassed Hollywood blockbusters and arthouse films, television dramas, Shakespearean stage performances and science fiction, most notably the Ninth Doctor, ni ...

in the children's television series Dodger.

References

External links