Chastened villain in Dickens is surrounded by silence (8)
I believe the answer is:
sheepish
'chastened' is the definition.
'villain in dickens is surrounded by silence' is the wordplay.
'villain in dickens' becomes 'heep' (Uriah Heep, villain in Dickens' David Copperfield).
'surrounded by' is an insertion indicator.
'silence' becomes 'sh' (I've seen this in other clues).
'heep'+'is'='heepis'
'heepis' placed into 'sh' is 'SHEEPISH'.
(Other definitions for sheepish that I've seen before include "Ashamed" , "Shy, embarrassed" , "Shyly embarrassed" , "Shamefaced, embarrassed" , "Embarrassed -- like ewe!" .)