These two paintings depict a Dickensian pre-occupation with people living at the margins of society, in misery, in poverty, in dire straits.
The Outcast depicts a very sad scene, unthinkable in our more tolerant times. A middle class family, fairly well off, are together in a comfortable living room but all is not well. The eldest daughter is being sent away from these warm surroundings into the cold night. You can almost hear the words, "Never darken my door again". She is clutching her baby and her father is at the door angrily pointing the way. The rest of the family are distraught and a young sister is pleading with the father to relent. The baby is not newborn so some other event has triggered the father's rage. On the floor is an open letter. Perhaps this gives the name of the baby's father maybe a sworn enemy of the family or an unsuitable match in status.