New Year's morning

New Year's morning in Oliver Twist is a time of symbolic renewal and moral contrast, marking the board's presentation of a ceremonial coat to Mr. Bumble, the beginning of Oliver's recovery in the Maylie household, and the ultimate resolution of the story's conflicts through marriage and adoption.

The Beadle's New Year Gift

On New Year's morning, the board presented Mr. Bumble with a coat embellished with large brass buttons, the die of which was the same as the parochial seal—the Good Samaritan healing the sick and bruised man. Bumble put it on for the first time to attend the inquest on a reduced tradesman who had died in a doorway at midnight, a detail that underscores the irony of the parish's official emblem of charity being worn to a death caused by neglect. The coat became a symbol of Bumble's self-importance and the board's hollow benevolence.

Oliver's Recovery and the Portrait

During his convalescence at Mr. Brownlow's house, Oliver's attention was drawn to a portrait of a beautiful, mild-faced lady that hung opposite his chair. Mrs. Bedwin, the housekeeper, told him it was a portrait but did not know whose it was. Oliver felt the eyes in the painting seemed fixed upon him, making his heart beat as if it were alive and wanted to speak to him but could not. This portrait, later revealed to be of his mother Agnes Fleming, becomes a crucial clue to Oliver's identity and a source of emotional connection to the mother he never knew.

The Portrait's Removal and Oliver's Recovery

When Mr. Brownlow noticed the resemblance between Oliver and the portrait, he exclaimed in surprise, causing Oliver to faint. After this incident, the picture was removed from the room because Mr. Brownlow thought it might worry Oliver and prevent his recovery. Oliver, however, insisted that he loved to see it, and Mrs. Bedwin promised it would be hung up again once he was well. This episode highlights the protective care Oliver receives from his new benefactors and the mystery surrounding his origins.

Resolution and New Beginnings

In the novel's conclusion, the fortunes of the characters are resolved. Rose Fleming and Harry Maylie were married in the village church, and Mrs. Maylie took up her abode with them. Mr. Brownlow adopted Oliver as his son, moving with him and the old housekeeper to within a mile of the parsonage-house, thus linking together a little society whose condition approached perfect happiness. The white marble tablet in the altar of the old village church, bearing the single word 'AGNES,' stands as a memorial to Oliver's mother, suggesting that her spirit sometimes hovers round that solemn nook.