Giles and Brittles

Giles and Brittles are the two principal male servants of the Maylie household, bound by a formal master-servant relationship that the novel uses both for comic relief and to expose the gap between self-regard and actual courage. Giles, the butler and steward, carries himself with a lofty affability that constantly reminds those below him of his superior station; Brittles, the lad-of-all-work who entered the service as a mere child and is still treated as a promising young boy though he is past thirty, occupies the lower rank and defers to Giles in all matters. Their relationship is one of institutional hierarchy, personal dependency, and shared incompetence when tested by real danger.

Roles and Hierarchy

Giles acts as the senior authority within the domestic staff. He is described as a faithful old servant who has been with the Maylie family for twenty years, and he takes visible pride in his position. When he recounts the burglary to the kitchen audience, he sits with his legs stretched out before the fender, leaning on the table, and illustrates his story with dramatic gestures, while Brittles corroborates everything before Giles says it, holding a mug of ale and nodding in agreement. Giles addresses Brittles with a tone of patronage, and Brittles accepts this without question, even when Giles calls him a "slow boy" who has been slow for upwards of thirty years. The hierarchy is so ingrained that when a knock comes at the door after the burglary, Giles looks at Brittles expecting him to answer it, and Brittles, "being naturally modest, probably considered himself nobody, and so held that the inquiry could not have any application to him."

The Burglary and Its Aftermath

The defining episode for their relationship is the attempted burglary at Chertsey. Giles wakes to a noise, rouses Brittles, and together they descend the stairs with a dark lantern. In the confusion, Giles fires a pistol and believes he has shot one of the thieves. When Oliver Twist appears at the door the next morning, wounded and exhausted, Giles seizes him by one leg and one arm, drags him into the hall, and proclaims, "Here's one of the thieves, ma'am! Here's a thief, miss! Wounded, miss! I shot him, miss; and Brittles held the light." Brittles immediately adds, "In a lantern, miss," applying one hand to the side of his mouth so his voice might carry better. Giles basks in the praise, postponing the awkward truth that he has only shot a boy, and Brittles supports his story without contradiction. When the Bow Street officers Blathers and Duff arrive, both men are put through a melodramatic reenactment of the night's events, which they perform six times over, contradicting each other in not more than one important respect the first time and in not more than a dozen the last. Under questioning, Giles admits he "couldn't swear to him" and that he "begins to be very much afraid he had been a little too hasty," while Brittles declares he "shouldn't know the real boy, if he were put before him that instant."

Comic Cowardice and Mutual Dependence

Their shared fear during the pursuit of the burglars is a source of sustained comedy. After the thieves escape, Giles, Brittles, and a travelling tinker stand in the field, each too afraid to continue. Giles insists that the gate "stopped the flow of the excitement," and Brittles eagerly catches at the idea. Giles admits he is afraid, and Brittles follows suit, saying "only there's no call to tell a man he is, so bounceably." They all three face about and run back with complete unanimity. Later, when Giles is ordered to open the front door after Oliver's knock, he looks at Brittles, who offers no reply; Giles then appeals to the tinker, who has suddenly fallen asleep. Brittles finally capitulates on the condition that he open the door "in the presence of witnesses," and the entire party goes upstairs with the dogs in front, talking very loud to warn any evil-disposed person outside, and pinching the dogs' tails to make them bark savagely. Giles holds fast by the tinker's arm "to prevent his running away, as he pleasantly said."

Giles's Reward and Continued Service

After the crisis, Mr. Losberne executes a small commission in Giles's favor: Mrs. Maylie deposits twenty-five pounds in the local savings bank for his gallant behavior. Giles announces this in the kitchen with an air of majesty, calling for a mug of ale and declaring that if he is at all haughty to his inferiors, he would thank them to tell him so. The reward does not alter the fundamental dynamic between the two servants. In the final chapter, both Giles and Brittles remain in their old posts, though Giles is now bald and Brittles quite grey. They sleep at the parsonage but divide their attentions so equally among the Maylie household, Oliver and Mr. Brownlow, and Mr. Losberne that the villagers have never been able to discover to which establishment they properly belong. Their relationship, defined by Giles's authority and Brittles's deference, endures unchanged into old age.