In the bal­lad “Lost Mr. Blake” from The Bab Bal­lads, we meet Mr. Blake, a noto­ri­ous sin­ner far removed from the norms of respectable Chris­tian­i­ty. His week­ly rou­tines flaunt con­ven­tion­al piety, includ­ing indulging in tobac­co and alco­hol on Sun­days. Despite his dis­re­gard for eccle­si­as­ti­cal pro­pri­ety, such as mock­ing the dis­putes over cler­i­cal vest­ments and show­ing dis­dain for char­i­ty that does not involve direct giv­ing, Blake lives by a code unique­ly his own, ignor­ing soci­etal and reli­gious expec­ta­tions.

Remark­ably, the wid­owed Mrs. Big­gs, a paragon of virtue, respectabil­i­ty, and thrift, becomes the object of Blake’s affec­tions. Con­trary to soci­etal norms, she rec­i­p­ro­cates, dri­ven by a mis­sion to reform the “poor benight­ed soul” despite his sub­stan­tial wealth and less-than-respectable lifestyle. Their courtship and sub­se­quent mar­riage offer a curi­ous study of con­trasts and com­pro­mis­es, as Blake engages with her prac­tices in church atten­dance and char­i­ta­ble giv­ing, albeit through his skewed lens of com­mit­ment and sar­casm.

Mr. Blake’s strat­e­gy for engag­ing with Mrs. Big­gs’ reli­gious fer­vor involves a metic­u­lous plan to attend mul­ti­ple ser­vices across dif­fer­ent church­es each week, turn­ing her devout prac­tice into a near-end­less eccle­si­as­ti­cal marathon. Addi­tion­al­ly, he clev­er­ly manip­u­lates their char­i­ta­ble dona­tions to reflect their social stand­ing, yet ensures these are deduct­ed from their house­hold and per­son­al expens­es, high­light­ing the ten­sion between char­i­ty and per­son­al lux­u­ry in their domes­tic econ­o­my.

This bal­lad por­trays a satir­i­cal nar­ra­tive that jux­ta­pos­es reli­gious devo­tion with world­ly cyn­i­cism through the unlike­ly rela­tion­ship between Mr. Blake and Mrs. Big­gs. The sto­ry dances around themes of moral­i­ty, social expec­ta­tions, and the com­plex inter­play between gen­uine faith and the per­for­mance of piety. Through its wit­ty verse and car­i­ca­tured char­ac­ters, “Lost Mr. Blake” offers a humor­ous yet insight­ful com­men­tary on Vic­to­ri­an soci­ety, its val­ues, and the often blurred lines between the sacred and the pro­fane.