The Mystery of Edwin Drood

“Not only is the day waning, but the year.”

This quote introduces the fall and winter setting in which the initial action of the plot occurs (up until Edwin’s disappearance). The time of the year in which the action unfolds contributes to a dark, cold, and dreary atmosphere, and may also reflect Dickens’s own mood as he experienced aging and waning health.

“Your life is not laid down to scale, and lined and dotted out for you, like a surveyor’s plan.”

Edwin complains here to Jasper that Jasper cannot fully understand the frustration Edwin feels. This quote shows that Edwin is unhappy with the extent to which his life has been predetermined, especially his impending marriage to Rosa. Edwin uses a simile that reflects his training and future career direction as an engineer.

“You know now, don’t you, that even a poor monotonous chorister and grinder of music—in his niche—may be troubled with some stray sort of ambition, aspiration, restlessness, dissatisfaction.”

Jasper confides a surprising secret to Edwin: He is unhappy, and he nurses a sense of thwarted ambition and frustration. The quote adds complexity to Jasper’s character and deepens the impression that he is someone who can be very secretive and good at concealing his inner reality.