The following excerpt was discovered among a box of Charles Dickens’ letters and other documents that until recently were hidden. The box contained letters to friends, drafts and ideas, and the concluding chapters of his famous unfinished novel. Below is the final page of the work, with a literary analysis by Kelsey Langlitz.

In the end, he was alone. Of course, that had been his plan. His self sacrifice for their lives. Their happiness. But he had never intended for it to unfold this way.

In the dark of the night, the shadowed man marched solemnly along the edge of the water. Almost tenderly, he stroked the brim of his hat. He had been wearing it for so long now, it almost felt like it had become a part of him. He was losing himself day after day to white wigs and grief and lies. He might as well have died that day. The person he once knew himself to be was gone. He stopped and spared a glance at his surroundings. It was nothing but moon speckled darkness. At least it was not the kind of utter blackness that swallowed a person whole. Instead, it was a shadowy world painted in grey.

With a nod and a flick of his wrist, the hat and white hair fell to the ground at his feet. His hand reached into his coat pocket, producing a small piece of jewelry. The only remnant of his past life. The only thing that had reminded him to keep up this charade. Leaning forward, he stared down into his reflection in the river where he died. A pale, sunken countenance gazed back up at him through the water.

He could recall the river. The icy thrill as his body was pushed off the bank. Struggling to hold his breath as he floated away, not wanting his killer to realize this corpse was still breathing.

Not wanting his uncle to know.

No one was more surprised than Edwin Drood to find himself being confronted by a madman in the form of his uncle. After having left Neville, Edwin had chosen to go out once more and take one last walk. One he would later regret. Stumbling upon his muttering and raving uncle was a shock. Being thusly attacked by the older man, even more so. As Jasper tightened his necktie around his nephew’s throat. Edwin had had the sense to feign his own demise. He allowed his body to slump, and for his uncle to loosen his hold once he imagined his dark task was complete.

Drood had returned to learn why his uncle had attempted to murder his own family, and to protect anyone else he could from the man. In that, he failed. The detective hadn’t been quick enough. Had learned of the opium addiction too late. Had hesitated too long. And in that hesitation, Jasper had killed Neville. Drood hadn’t imagined that Neville would come under suspicion for his death. Nor had he imagined that the two men would confront each other. In the end, Neville had gotten in enough of his own blows to bring about a slow death from his opponent.

With the danger disposed of, Edwin would have finally been free to reveal himself and resolve the mystery. Time refused to stand on his side yet again. While Edwin busied himself lamenting his mistakes, Helena and Rosa fled the town. The gossip was that they ran off to Ceylon to escape their shared grief.

No one was ever going to learn the truth of what happened that night to Edwin Drood. In the end, it wasn’t his death or disappearance that was important. Death is a mystery. The impact a life has on those around it, is not. Edwin Drood caught a rare glimpse of life after his own death. Hopefully the rest of us will not be so unlucky.

The ripples from the tossed ring into the river were still gently flowing outward after the lonely man had secured his hat and headed back into town.

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Literary Analysis

In the ending of The Mystery of Edwin Drood, several truths come to light. The first of these is that Datchery is in fact Edwin Drood. Popular theories for Datchery’s identity have been noted over time. Neville and Helena are two prime candidates. Unfortunately, both siblings are being heavily watched during the time Datchery comes into the story. The novel explains that “Neville’s movements are really watched, and…the purpose really is to isolate him from all friends and acquaintance and wear his daily life out grain by grain” (Dickens). Datchery also seems to take a particular interest in Jasper. While being shown where the Tope’s building is, he is pointed also to where Jasper resides. Datchery’s response to hearing the name of a supposed stranger is “a second look of some interest” (Dickens). Upon meeting Jasper and the Mayor, Datchery does not waste time in inquiring after “the gentleman of whom I have heard in the neighbourhood as being much afflicted by the loss of a nephew, and concentrating his life on avenging the loss” (Dickens). His focus is oddly on Jasper, and not the recently murdered individual. Drood also has an interesting reaction to Edwin’s name when spoken by Princess Puffer, similar to the reaction had by Edwin during their initial conversation. The circumstances surrounding Edwin Drood’s disappearance are a mystery and what better character than a detective-type to personify that mystery.

Secondly, in this passage, readers learn that it was John Jasper who attempted to take the life of his own nephew. There is much textual evidence to support this ending. Jasper’s motive for killing Edwin is quite plainly his love and obsession with Rosa, Drood’s fiancee. In a conversation with Rosa, Jasper admits that “no one should come between us” and that he would pursue her “to the death” (Dickens). Perhaps he is not speaking of his or her death, but of the fact that he is willing to kill to obtain her. Another obvious clue is when Princess Puffer comments on the dangers of having a name like “Ned”. When he hears this, Edwin dismisses her as the only individual who calls him Ned is his uncle. Jasper also admits to Princess Puffer that he has done horrible things in his dreams and even fears that he might have committed such an act in real life. Finally, a third major piece of evidence to support Jasper’s guilty verdict is the man’s reaction to specific news. After Edwin disappears, Mr. Grewgious reveals to Jasper that Rosa and Edwin had agreed to not marry and think of each other as brother and sister instead. Jasper’s response to this is to promptly faint. It is evident that Jasper has just realized that he has killed his nephew without having needed to.

The most important element of this ending, though, is the fact that the truth of the events remains a mystery of everyone save Edwin and the readers. Jasper perishes thinking he murdered his nephew in a drug-induced rage. Neville is killed when he confronts Jasper over suspicion of the older man framing him. He too dies believing Edwin to be dead. Edwin can neither fix his mistakes or even let the people cares for that are left alive to know that he is living too. He is left, alone. The mystery never being solved is a very purposeful element of the work. The title itself declares that this is going to remain a mystery. The consideration of Edwin’s surname also aids in this deduction. The name Drood is uncanningly similar to the word Druid. The fact the Druids mysteriously disappeared and the reasoning why having never been found is more than a coincidence. There is an obvious Christ reference taking place as well. The cathedral plays a major part in this story. Also, Edwin is betrayed by someone incredibly close to him. Finally, Edwin is “killed”, and then returns, just as Christ rose again from the dead.

While writing this novel, Dickens was aware that he was dying. Each of his stories have somehow reflected his personal life or thoughts. The only social commentaries involved are merely there because they happen to involve Dickens himself, not because Dickens was a humanist or social rights activist or anything of the sort. He waited until the very end to solve the murder itself because the story wasn’t about the attempted murder. It wasn’t about the death. Death is something no one can fully understand. It cannot be rationalized. Therefore, Dickens examined what he could understand. He was dying and desired to understand if his legacy would truly mean anything after he was gone. He wanted to examine the effects the death of an individual have on those around that person.

Another theme of this work is that of moving forward from the past. In the ending, Edwin does this by throwing the ring he was meant to give to Rosa into the river. The ring was what tied him to his old life. It is all that is left of it. Though alive, Edwin must accept his “death” and move onto whatever new life he is to live out next. Jasper and Neville were both unable to reconcile the past and the future, and therefore did not survive. On the other hand, Helena and Rosa decided to leave their town that was stuck in the past, and strike out on their own. They moved forward without looking back, and are probably all the more healthier and happier for it.

Perhaps there was a sentimental side of Dickens that was urging his readers and his loved ones to move on after his death. Or perhaps he was attempting to make amends and move forward from his own past before his left this earth. Though we now know the ending of the story, these are things Dickens will keep buried in his grave.