What is the name of the wealthy dustman in Our Mutual Friend?

The wealthy dustman in Our Mutual Friend is Nicodemus Boffin. Nicknamed the “Golden Dustman,” Boffin becomes rich after the presumed death of John Harmon, whose inheritance passes temporarily to Boffin and his wife.

Boffin made his original fortune from London’s dust-heaps. In Victorian England, “dust” commonly referred to household waste, especially ash from coal fires, which could be sorted for valuable materials. Dickens uses this unusual occupation to connect money, rubbish, social class and moral value.

Boffin is initially generous and kindly, taking Bella Wilfer into his household and employing Silas Wegg to read aloud to him. Later, he appears to become a miser obsessed with wealth and biographies of misers. This behaviour is ultimately revealed as a deliberate performance designed to test Bella’s motives. A common mix-up is confusing Boffin with Silas Wegg, the one-legged ballad seller who tries to exploit him, or Mr Venus, an articulator of bones.