Why does Jos Sedley have to die? Why does no one rescue him? Why does no one care about him in the end? He wasn’t a great man – kind of selfish and cowardly – but he tries to look after his sister, he sends money to his parents and supports them when his father loses all their money, he cares about them and helps even though they don’t have much respect for him. He’s soft hearted and genuinely wants to help Becky when he visits her in those lodgings in Europe.
But when Becky basically imprisons him and he TELLS Dobbin he’s scared of her Dobbin just walks away and leaves him to die. It would have taken very little effort from Dobbin to save Jos – why doesn’t he? Why does Becky get to kill him? And for so little money!? His life is only worth about £2000 in the end. And she faces no consequences for this!
And why does the book treat it as such a throwaway? He dies mysteriously after everyone else gets their happy endings. Is it just to illustrate that you can literally kill a guy and all anyone will care about is your parentage, your company and any scandals surrounding your marriage? Cos Becky definitely gets more criticism for being a flirt than she does for capturing and killing Jos.
Joseph Sedley deserved better.
by DeliciousStranger985