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David Copperfield
Charles Dickens
The Art of Charles Dickens as a novelist

Introduction:

According to David Cecil, Dickens is "the most representative of Victorian

novelists. Some will contend that he is also the greatest. No doubt he lacks the
profundity of George Eliot, the consuming passion of the Bronte sisters, and the
peculiar eclat of Thackeray, yet he surpasses them all in his basic humanity, a
childlike naivete, and an amazingly fecund imagination.

These qualities place him among the foremost of all English novelists. Dickens
achieved in his lifetime wide popularity among all sections of readers. Cambell, the
famous Lord Chief Justice, remarked that he would have been prouder of having
written Pickwick Papers than of all the honours he had earned at the Bar. Dickens'
popularity overstepped the frontiers of his country and spread in most countries
of Europe, as also across the Atlantic. While he was in America, he received a
hero's welcome everywhere. Children festooned him as if some sort of Santa Claus
had come. Even in Russia Dickens found a wonderful response. And when he died, an
Italian newspaper bore very characteristically for its headline the news: "Our
Charles Dickens is dead." Indeed, Dickens was not of his country alone but of all he
world. He will be read as long as books are read. This "forecast" is based on the
fact that up to today, about a century and a quarter after his death (1870), there
has been no time when his popularity suffered any noticeable decline, whereas all
these years too many literary reputations have been made and marred.

Dickens and Social Reform:

It must be understood at the very outset that Dickens' art is art with a purpose.
In the Victorian age even poetry-perhaps the most "aesthetic" department of
literature-was approached by many writers as handmaiden of social reform.
Tennyson's is atypical case. The Pre-Raphaelites and some others, no doubt, did not
let their Muse soil her wings by allowing her to fly too close to the earth. But the
Pre-Raphaelites were not typical Victorians. They represented a revolt rather than

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a tradition. Dickens did not shut himself up in an ivory tower of such a kind as
"aesthetic culture" or "Gothicism." In his novels he strikes from first to last a loud
and clear note of humanitarianism. which is the most attractive note in the
Dickensian orchestra. He can be called one of the greatest social reformers of his
time. That he works in earnest is unquestionable-but he does not let himself fly
into tantrums or slide into the quagmire of cynicism of which the work of such
social reformers as Ruskin is not altogether innocent. Many a novel of Dickens
seems to have been built around a particular social theme. For instance, Bleak
House attacks "the law's delays"; Nicholas Nickleby, the abuses of charity schools
and the sadism of school-masters; Hard Times, the pet concepts of the then
current "political economy" which was also attacked by Ruskin and Carlyle; Little
Dornit, the inhumanities to which poor debtors are often subjected; and so forth.
But above all such social criticism is the basic lesson of humanness and charity
which almost all Dickens' novels teach implicitly or explicitly. And then there is the
most ebullient, convivial optimism of Dickens, which, even though-rrof altogether
acceptable as the last word on the philosophical exploration of life and the
universe is yet acceptable for its basic good humour and throbbing humanity. An
opinion runs : "Despite its many evils—the Hardness of heart and-the selfishness
of those in high places-the greed and hypocrisy which were so prevalent-the
wicked class prejudices which divided man from man-the world was still for Dickens
a very good world to live in." Nowhere does Dickens say that "all is right with the
world," but nowhere does he say either that "al 1 is wrong with the world." He is a
realist no less than an optimist.

Characterisation:

The fertility of Dickens' creative imagination is simply amazing. His first novel,
Pickwick Papers, had a swarming mass of finely delineated characters, and he kept
up the pace of supply for all the subsequent novels. One very peculiar feature of
Dickens' work as a novelist is that his novels, when joined together, create a world
of their own, somewhat different no doubt from our world and even the real world
of his own day but none-the-less akin to both in many ways. We cannot exactly talk
of the world of Thackeray's or George Eliot's novels, but we can talk of the world
of Dickens' novels which has very recognizable contours and peculiarities and which
is full of characters whom we know better than even bur aunts and uncles. Take
any character from Dickens. He seems every inch a denizen of Dickens' world. We
generally find it difficult to recall to which novel he belongs, but we do not find it

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difficult to say to which world he belongs. Asa painter of the life ofhis day Dickens
works on a very crowded canvas, and very often he uses colours which are too
blazing to be compatible with reality. This brings us to the oft-repeated charge
that he gives not characters but caricatures. There is some substance in the
charge. But all his characters are not caricatures. After Compton-Rickett we can
divide Dickens' characters into various groups as shown below:

Dickens's Characters

(1) The normal (2) The abnormal

(i) Satirical portraits (ii) The grotesques (iii) The villains

(drawn for a special purpose)

The abnormal characters do not embody "normal" reality, but they are not
essentially unrealistic. It is curious that Dickens succeeds better with the
abnormal than with the normal characters. Normality does not attract him on
account of being dull and "ordinary."

Dickens is more successful with characters drawn from the middle and lower
classes of his society. As a child and young man he had seen and even experienced
the life of these classes. It was in his blood even after he had become a high-hat
with his thumping success in the field of fiction. He is much less successful with
the bigwigs and aristocracy. There ate some set types which make their
appearance much too often in Dickens' novels. Some of them, according to a critic,
are:

(i) "the innocent little child, like Oliver, Joe, Paul, Tiny Tim, and little Nell,
appealing powerfully to the child love in every human heart";

(ii) "the horrible or grotesque foil, like Squeer, Fagin, Quilp, Uriah Heep, and
Bill Sykes";

(iii) "the grandiloquent or broadly humorous fellow, the fun master, like
Micawber and Sam Walter";

(iv) "and fourth, a tenderly or powerfully drawn figure like Lady Dedlock of
Bleak House, and Sydney Carton of A Tale of Two Cities, which rise to the dignity
of true characters."

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Applying E. M. Forster's distinction between "flat" and "round" characters to the

characters of Dickens' novels, we find that almost all of them are flat, not round.
A Dickens character is usually built, like a Jonsonian "humour," around a single
quality, and is incapable of surprising us in a convincing way. Dickens' characters do
not "develop," and they do not surprise. But in spite of their lack of development
and their numerous oddities, they are "living" beings, being the effusions of a
tremendously vital imagination.

Plot-Construction:

On the strictly structural side of his art, Dickens can boast only of modest
success. Several of his novels mock the very ideal of structure, or even any other
principle of pattern. It was only in his latest novels-Bleak House, A Tale of Two
Cities, and Our Mutual Friend-thai he was able to offer somewhat coherent plots.
For the rest, they all exhibit a gross neglect of all architectonic principles. For one
thing, he is always more interested in individual episodes and individual characters
than in the job of integrating them into a well-proportioned pattern. Many
characters—and, some of them, most interesting-serve no structural function; but
they are there all the same, and we too wish them to be there in spite of their
egregious structural irrelevance. Among such characters may be mentioned Mrs.
Gamp, Mr. Micawber, Mr. Crummels, and Flora Pinching. As a novelist, Dickens is a
traditionalist, as he accepts the formal pattern of the novel handed over to him by
Richardson, Fielding, and Smollett-his love from childhood. Some of his novels
depict the career of the hero from his infancy till manhood. This naturally involves
him in the handling of a mass of vicissitudes as variegated as life itself. To impose
even a passable unity on the sprawling episodes representing these vicissitudes is
definitely beyond him.

One of the very important reasons for the weakness of the structural unity of
Dickens' novels is to be sought in the mode of their original publication: they were
published serially in newspapers. Now, the serial mode of publication asks for a
particular kind of discipline on the part of the author, but it is also excessively
detrimental to the structural pattern of the novels so published. From month to
month or week to week or fortnight to fortnight (as the case may be) the author
goes on and on without having a clear idea as to what he is heading for. He receives
letters from fans asking him to give this or that turn to the events-to kill a
character, to make someone rich or poor, to arrange a marriage, and so on. And he

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obliges some. In every instalment there has to be some "kick." Between one
instalment and the next, organic development naturally suffers, because the author
sends one instalment and goes about whistling till the time for the next compels
him to take pen in hand once again. It is natural, therefore, for Dickens' novels to
be ill-constructed. "Very often", observes David Cecil, "he leaves a great many
threads loose till the last chapter; and then finds there is not enough [Link] tie
them up neatly. The main strands are knotted roughly together the minor wisps are
left hanging forlornly."

Humour:

But we readily excuse Dickens architectonic deficiency the moment we take

congnizance of his humour. Humour is the very soul of his work. It presents his
novels from becoming tiresome and itself is not tiresome. He is never a bore, as
Thackeray is sometimes, and George Eliot not unoften. Dickens' humour arises
from a deep human sympathy and is ever fresh and refreshing. It is customary to
compare him with such great humorists before him as Chaucer, Shakespeare, and
Fielding. Sometimes his humour is corrective and satiric-but it always has the
quality of geniality, charity, and tolerance. Humour with him is not only an
occasional mood but a consistent point of view, and even a "philosophy of life." His
comic fertility is indeed amazing. We have above referred to Dickens "world." This
world is peopled by a vast number of humorous characters. Dickens is at his best in
what is called the humour of character. We meet with few Falstaffs in his novels,
but his "comic fecundity" is greater than Shakespeare's.

It must be admitted that Dickens' humour is not very subtle. As a humorist he

does not rise to the subtlety even of Fielding and Thackeray. Fielding was often as
coarse and farcical as Dickens-and sometimes even surpassed him; however, that
profundity of sustained ironical attitude which we find in his Jonathan Wilde lies
obviously beyond the capability of Dickens. Dickens' humour is superficial rather
than profound. Very often it is of the nature of full-blooded farce or caricature.
In most of his characters we find a persistent reiteration of one particular note
which becomes comic simply because of the number of times it is flaunted for our
attention-very like the comic snatch of a circus buffoon, which is greeted with
uproarious laughter when it comes after, say, the third time. Mr. Micawber always
waiting for something to "turn up", Barkis who is always "willing", Mrs. Gummidge

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always complaining that things are going contrary with her-all are abundantly comic
figures; but they lack any subtle or profound touch.

Pathos:

But in one way, at least, Dickens' humour rises above being a flashy, superficial
affair, and that is its prorximity to pathos. Like Lamb's, Dickens' laughter is never
far from tears. He makes us smile sometimes through our tears. It will be unfair to
say that he is entirely superficial, even though splendidly superficial, and ignorant
of the tragic facets of life. Life he views as a tragi-comedy, and if he laughs and
laughs, he does so not because he is unaware of the tragic part of it, but because
his attitude is "healthy" and untainted by morbidity. In such novels as Hard Times
he manifests a surprisingly profound nowledge of and concern for some
fundamental problems of the machine age which his England had begun to take
congnizance of. And his treatment of these problems is far from frivolous.

Dickens was as considerably influenced by Goldsmith and Steme as by Fielding and

Smollet. Sterne's sentimentalism and rather hypersensitive human sympathy as
also Goldsmith's fundamental sweetness and fellow-feeling often make themselves
felt in Dickens' work. The earliest attempt made by Dickens at the delineation of
the pathetic is to be found in his very first novel Pickwick Papers-the death of the
Chancery prisoners. He is wonderfully successful in delineating the pathos of child
life. As a child, he himself had suffered much, and his accounts of such life are
always redolent of his personal experiences. Little Dorrit, Great Expectations,
David Copperfield, and many more novels are rich in pathetic accounts of the lives
of their heroes in childhood. What is more, pathos in them mingles and merges with
humour, creating very peculiar effects.

Autobiographic Touches:

A peculiar feature of Dickens' art as novelist is his tendency to be autobiographic.

He constantly draws upon his own experience, and the sympathies and antipathies
which we find so persistenly manifested by him in his work very often have their
origin in the years of his adolescence. Many of his novels are the records of his
own life-though modified by subjection to the canons of art. Thus David
Copperfield is, in essentials, Dickens' autobiography. Oliver Twist uses a lot of
material supplied by his own experience of the low life of London in his tender

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years. In Bleak House he draws substantially upon his early knowledge of law courts
and legal affairs. He recollects his school days in Nicholas Nickleby. And so forth.

Conclusion:

In spite of the formidable number of flaws and limitations from which Dickens' art
as a novelist suffers, he is a great novelist. His humour, basic human sympathy, and
his rich, vitalising imagination are his basic assets, even though he is deficient in
the architectural skill as well as other formal and "technical" qualifications as a
novelist. He may be coarse and superficial, but we must remember that he is never
a bore. And when that is said, much is!

Charles Dickens-Victorian Novelist

When Charles John Huffham Dickens was born on February 7, 1812, the great
nineteenth century of political, social and literary change was only beginning. The
Victorian Age, when Dickens was to reach his greatness as a novelist lay ahead; and
in the year of his birth, Napoleonic France received its first setback at the gates
of Moscow, which was followed in 1817, 1830 and 1848 with the liberal movements
that overthrew some of the revolutionary message, of the French Revolution.

But France remained nonetheless continually in men’s minds throughout his life. In
1837, Thomas Carlyle’s History of the French Revolution had a profound impact on
English thought and made a specially deep impression upon Dickens, and it is on this
dramatic episode that his A Tale of Two Cities came to be written.

The Tale of Two Cities—London and Paris—shifts, as its name suggests, from
England to France, arid back again settling down finally in France. In its English
episodes, Dickens tells us something of the condition of England at the time of
George III: the squalor of everyday life—which grew considerably worse in
Victorian England as the industrial revolution gathered momentum—the conduct of
justice—and injustice—as administered in the London courts; the close-packed,
haphazard, drunken London of old times. Through one of his characters in this
novel, Jerry Cruncher the bank messenger and ‘Resurrectionist’, Dickens even gives
a glimpse of the illicit violation of the hallowed churchyards and sale of dead
bodies for the dissection table of the doctor. Dickens does not bring out the

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sordidness of Victorian England to the extent he does in Oliver Twist and David
Copperfield but he does tell us something of the life and times in the first half of
the nineteenth century in England when the industrial revolution began to make its
impact on the lives of ordinary men and women.

But it is with France and the French Revolution that the main theme of the story is
concerned. It is the first five years of the Revolution, 1789-1794, when the Terror
was at its height and thousands were executed or guillotined, that forms the
backdrop of A Tale of Two Cities; subsequent events when ‘the Revolution ended
and the Republic began’, are mentioned en passant but do not form the core of the
novel. But it is important to remember that while Dickens wrote a historical novel
there are some deviations from the actual course of events and a historian would
not take it as an accurate picture of how the revolution developed its elan and then
petered away. A Tale of Two Cities must therefore be read as a novel where the
novelist’s imagination is stretched to its limits and allowed full play.

The book, written in 1859, has in fact been regarded as one of Dickens’ most
mature works and differs from his earlier novels in three noticeable points. First,
it has an elaborately constructed plot: his characters are carefully delineated and
are not allowed to run away without any aim or purpose. Second, in the semi-
historical nature of his theme, the descriptions of courts of justice, the French
Bastille, the old aristocracy in Britain and France are as close to the actual
conditions as possible. In fact, the bulk of the background information for A Tale
was drawn from Thomas Carlyle’s The French Revolution and from “about two cart
loads” of books that Carlyle sent Dickens while he was writing the novel! Third,
Dickens’ description of “the topmost stratum of the social world in England and
France” and the lowest layer of all, “the uncultured, the poor, the quaint, the
ruffianly, the oppressed” are so true that social historians have used the material
in A Tale as source material for a social history of the times. Dickens was to say
later that he regarded A Tale of Two Cities as perhaps his best work (he was
equally fond of David Copperfield) for which he Lad to do an enormous amount of
research, quite apart from using Thomas Carlyle’s The French Revolution as a basic
guide to the momentous events of the Revolution

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THE STRUCTURE OF THE STORY

The story opens in 1775 when the troubles were just beginning in France. Dr
Manette, an old Bastille prisoner, long believed to be dead is brought away from
Paris. It continues in 1780 when the troubles had begun to reach a boiling point
with the trial in London, on false charges of treason, of one ‘Charles Darnay’ who
was believed to be a member of the French aristocratic family which had
imprisoned Dr Manette. Meanwhile ‘Darnay’ had married two years later the
Doctor’s daughter and had two children. The Revolution in 1789 brings to the
surface all the pent up emotions of the poor and the oppressed who storm the
Bastille and unearth an old confession of Dr Manette in one of the prison cells.
Darnay, in the meantime, goes to France to rescue an old friend and is immediately
arrested by the French revolutionary council as a member of the French
aristocracy. The year is now 1793 and the beginning of the Reign of Terror. Darnay
is tried, acquitted, and then re-arrested and condemned to death. Darnay is
rescued from the guillotine much against his wishes by his friend and look-alike,
Sidney Carton who sacrifices his life for Darnay and his family, and above all for
his love for Lucie Manette.

But A Tale is considered a great novel not merely for the story that Dickens
weaved with the French Revolution in the background. It is remembered for the
array of characters that Dickens brings into play in the drama of terror and for
the self-sacrifice of Sidney Carton, a drunken and dissolute advocate.

Summary

Charles Dickens' David Copperfield relates the story of a young boy's growth and
development into maturity. It is written from the point of view of the mature adult
who recounts his own obstacles and the obstacles of those around him and how it
all shaped his life and his beliefs.

The story starts with an account of the birth and childhood of David Copperfield
at his home, Blunderstone Rookery. He was born six months after the death of his
father and under circumstances which one of the nurses claimed would cause him

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to lead an unlucky life. He is raised by his mother Clara and his nurse Peggotty, who
give him a happy childhood. He remembers his mother as carefree and recalls the
relaxed atmosphere that the three of them had together. He frequently says that
this is one of the happiest times in his life.

Everything changes once his mother meets the dark but handsome Mr. Murdstone.
Peggotty immediately takes a disliking to him and often fights with Clara about
him, but Clara refuses to heed her advice. Peggotty and David visit Yarmouth,
Peggotty's hometown, for a week, which is when David first meets Mr. Barkis, the
carrier driver, Mr. Peggotty, Peggotty's brother, Ham, and Little Em'ly. When
David and Peggotty return, however, his mother and Mr. Murdstone have been
married, and their former life disappears forever. Mr. Murdstone is a very
controlling man who forces the principle of firmness on Clara with the help of his
sister, Miss Murdstone.

After David bites Mr. Murdstone while being beaten by him, David is sent away to
Salem House, a boarding school for boys. There he meets Steerforth, a handsome,
cultured boy whom he admires dearly, and Traddles, an overweight but jovial and
kind-hearted boy. He learns a lot at the school and has one more good day with his
mother, but he soon receives the bad news that his mother has passed away. He
returns home for the funeral and never goes back to Salem House. Peggotty is
fired by Mr. Murdstone and marries Mr. Barkis, and although she writes to David
and sees him from time to time, she can no longer be there for him the way she
was before.

David is constantly neglected before he is finally sent away to London to work in

one of Mr. Murdstone's warehouses, which he does not like at all, despite the
respect he earns. He does get to meet the Micawbers, a kind yet financially
troubled family. They are eventually forced to move away to evade all of their
debts, and once they move, David decides to leave as well and to find his aunt, Miss
Betsey, who abandoned him and his mother at his birth because he was not a girl.
After a difficult journey, he finds the home of his aunt in Dover, and after a rude

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encounter with the Murdstones, she decides to let him stay, along with her other
houseguest, Mr. Dick.

David begins attending school in Canterbury and does well, He quickly rises to the
top of his class. He lives with family friends Mr. Wakefield and his daughter,
Agnes. Agnes is around David's age and will continue to be a significant influence in
David's life. He also meets Uriah Heep, Mr. Wickfield's servant to whom David
takes an immediate disliking, Dr. Strong, the master of his school, and Dr. Strong's
wife Annie.

After he graduates, Miss Betsey and David decide that he should take some time
to decide what he wants to do. He decides to go visit Peggotty, and along the way
he runs into Steerforth, who takes him to his home. There, David meets his
mother, Mrs. Steerforth, and Miss Dartle, Steerforth's cousin (who was scarred
on the lip by Steerforth when they were younger). David and Steerforth go to
Yarmouth and spend some time there, arriving just in time to hear the
announcement of Little Em'ly's and Ham's engagement, which Steerforth is not
entirely happy about.

After conferring with his aunt, David decides to pursue the career of a proctor.
He moves into Doctors' Commons in London and works at the offices of Spenlow
and Jorkins. He even gets his own apartment with a landlady named Mrs. Crupp. He
encounters old friends of his, including Tommy Traddles from Salem House, who is
studying to be a lawyer and is working to save money for his wedding to his fiancee,
and Mr. Micawber. Soon, however, Mr. Micawber is forced to leave once again due
to financial issues. David meets Mr. Spenlow's daughter, Dora, a very beautiful but
childish girl with whom he falls completely in love.

David returns to Yarmouth when he hears that Mr. Barkis is about to die, and he
remains there to settle Peggotty's affairs for some time afterwards. During this
time, Little Em'ly runs away with Steerforth, and Mr. Peggotty begins his quest to
find her and to bring her back home to her family. Meanwhile, Miss Betsey shows
up at David's door, having lost her fortune due to Uriah Heep's scheming. He has

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weaseled his way into a partnership with Mr. Wickfield. Although David is poor, he
is determined to work hard so that his marriage with Dora can work out. However,
Mr. Spenlow soon finds out about the affair and forbids it, only to die in a carriage
accident later that day, leaving Dora distraught and unwilling to see David.
Eventually, though, the two marry and lead a happy life, although Dora is very bad
at keeping house and is very childlike in many ways. Her premature death is a
serious blow to David, and it is mainly Agnes' support that keeps him afloat.

Dr. Strong and Annie go through some difficult times when Uriah hints that Annie
may be having an affair with her cousin, Jack Maldon. However, Mr. Dick reconciles
the two, and they go back to being very affectionate. This episode only deepens
the disliking of Uriah, and soon he is exposed as a fraud and taken down by Mr.
Micawber (who was working for him) and Traddles.

Meanwhile, Mr. Peggotty and David hear from Littimer, Steerforth's servant, that
Little Em'ly has run away from Steerforth. They ask her friend Martha for help
finding her, and Martha eventually finds Little Em'ly and leads Mr. Peggotty to her.
He decides to move to Australia, where Little Em'ly can start a new life, as does
the Micawber family. Steerforth dies in a storm just outside of Yarmouth, and
Ham dies trying to rescue him.

David moves away to recover from all that he has been through. During this time,
he discovers that he truly loves Agnes. Not long after he returns to London, the
two get married and live happily with three children as well as Miss Betsey,
Peggotty, and Mr. Dick.

Character List

David Copperfield

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The novel's protagonist and a representation, more or less, of Charles Dickens

himself. David was born in Blunderstone Rookery, Suffolk, later his childhood home.
He was born six months after his father passed away, a detail that certainly
affected him growing up. He claims to have a very detailed memory like that of a
child.

Peggotty

The loyal and trusted household servant to David and his mother when he was a
young boy. David describes her as having "no shape at all, and eyes so dark that
they seemed to darken their whole neighborhood in her face, and cheeks and arms
so hard and red..." She is a large woman, and one of her defining traits is that
whenever she hugs someone, buttons pop off of her dress, with the number of
buttons lost corresponding to the strength of her hug. She is the aunt of Ham and
Emily Peggotty and the sister of Daniel Peggotty. Together she and her brother
are "Peggotty and Mr. Peggotty."

Agnes Wickfield

Daughter of Mr. Wickfield and a family friend of Miss Betsey. She is very close to
David and gives him advice about many issues. She is known for her calm and
soothing demeanor. She eventually marries David.

Steerforth

A classmate of David's at Salem House. James Steerforth is a haughty, cocky boy

consumed with his upper-class status. He receives much admiration from David
because of his class and confidence.

Uriah Heep

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The slimy, sneaky servant of Mr. Wickfield who tricks his way into a partnership
with his employer. He steals from and cheats many people, including the Micawbers
and Miss Betsey, but he is eventually exposed and forced to give back what he
took. He ends up in jail for defrauding the Bank of England.

Little Em'ly

The niece of Peggotty and Daniel Peggotty. Emily is David's love interest when
David visits Yarmouth for the first time. Her father Tom is the brother-in-law of
Mr. Peggotty and Peggotty, and he, too, drowned at sea. Because of this, even from
a young age, Emily has had a fear of the ocean.

Dora Spenlow

Daughter of Mr. Spenlow, David's employer. She is David's first wife, and he often
calls her his "child-wife." She is very beautiful but young and childish, not at all
competent at household chores. She also is constantly accompanied by a dog named
Jip.

Ham

The nephew of Peggotty and her brother Daniel. Ham was present at David's birth
but did not actually meet him until David visited Yarmouth for the first time. He is
strong, broad, and six feet tall. He has a boyish face and is very boyish in nature.
His father is actually Joe Peggotty, Mr. Peggotty's and Peggotty's brother, who
drowned at sea.

Clara Copperfield

David's mother, who was widowed when David's father died six months before she
gave birth. She is consistently described as being very pretty, like a "wax doll."
She married David's father when she was very young, and as a result, she was
slightly naive and lacking in some of the knowledge necessary to be a successful

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housewife. Still, she loves her son very much and gives him a fun, healthy
atmosphere to grow up in until she marries Mr. Murdstone.

Mr. Murdstone

The man whom Clara marries while David visits Peggotty's family in Yarmouth.
Edward Murdstone, often referred to as Mr. Murdstone, is a tall, intimidating man
with a dark handsomeness. He has very black, thick hair and black eyes. He is a
very controlling husband and stepfather to the Copperfields.

Jane Murdstone

Mr. Murdstone's sister, who comes to help the family shortly after her brother's
marriage to Clara. Jane, often referred to as Miss Murdstone, is nearly as dark,
intimidating, and firm as her brother. She is often associated with metallic objects
and images, especially images of jail cells.

Mr. Barkis

The carrier driver who drives David and Peggotty to Yarmouth near the beginning
of the novel and who also drives David to Yarmouth to be sent to boarding school.
Mr. Barkis takes a fancy to Peggotty after trying one of the cakes she made for
David's journey to London. He tells David to write to Peggotty the message,
"Barkis is willin'," which sparks the relationship between the two.

Miss Betsey

The unusual sister of David's late father. Miss Betsey, or Miss Trotwood,
disapproved of the marriage between David's parents because of their significant
age difference. She herself had a disastrous marriage with a man younger than she
was, and after their mutual separation, she moved to a small house near the sea
with one servant and lived a secluded life. She storms out of David's house when
he is born, upset that he is not a girl.

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Mr. and Mrs. Micawber

The couple with whom David stays when he is first sent to work at Mr.
Murdstone's warehouse. David becomes very close friends with them and their
family. They are constantly in financial strife but are good-spirited nonetheless.
Mr. Micawber is very emotional and eloquent, especially in his writing.

Traddles

Tommy Traddles, one of David's classmates from Salem House. He is quite good-
natured. He gets closer to David after they leave school and live near one another
in London.

Dr. Strong and Annie

The married couple whom David meets during his stay with Mr. Wickfield. Dr.
Strong is the master of David's school and is much older than Annie. They
encounter difficulties when Uriah accuses Annie of having an affair with her
younger cousin, but thanks to Mr. Dick, the two reconcile and remain a very
affectionate couple.

Mr. Dick

Miss Betsey's odd, simple boarder.

Themes

Social Class

Social status and class are ubiquitous as issues throughout the novel. In fact, the
novel can be viewed in large measure as a commentary on social status and class-
based wealth.

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Favoritism and undeserved respect are shown constantly for those of a higher
class. For example, in the case of Steerforth, it is obvious that he is treated much
better than David and the other students at Salem House. Furthermore, he is
highly regarded by David and even by Mr. Peggotty and Ham, both of whom are of a
lower class, when in fact Steerforth is the one who should be respecting them for
their moral character. He constantly puts down those below him in status, such as
Mr. Mell and Ham once he gets engaged to Little Em'ly.

The striving for social status can also be seen through David's and Dora's
courtship and marriage. David's first thought after hearing of Miss Betsey's
financial downfall is shame at being poor, and Dora cries at the thought of David
being poor and of having to do her own housework. David is constantly striving to
make money so that he can live and provide Dora with a life of wealth. Little Em'ly
also expresses unhappiness at her low social status and longs to be a "lady," which
is why she runs off with Steerforth in the first place.

True Happiness

Many times throughout the novel, the search for true happiness takes prominence.
The narrator notes in particular the innocent joy David had as a child before his
mother married Mr. Murdstone. The plot in general focuses on David's search for
true happiness, and it is up to the reader to judge whether or not he has
succeeded.

All of the characters find or try to find their own routes to happiness. Some, such
as David and the Peggottys, find true happiness through their families and spouses.
Others, such as the Micawbers and Uriah, believe that money will bring them great
happiness, although the Micawbers are also happy just remaining with one another.
Still others, such as Dora, find happiness in simple, frivolous pleasures. Dickens
appears to question whether any of these characters can ever find true happiness,
for each of these methods of reaching happiness has its pros and cons.

Good vs. Evil

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Dickens makes the symbols of good and evil very easy to distinguish in the novel,
although one must note that these concepts are more complex than they might
seem, not least because they are embodied as fairly complex characters. The
theme of good versus evil is prevalent especially as a symbolic battle for David's
soul between Agnes Wickfield and Steerforth. Agnes represents David's "good
angel," as he calls her. She is his voice of reason and is the person who is able to
calm him and give him the advice that he needs. Steerforth, in contrast, is his "bad
angel," as Agnes says. He is the one who feeds David's desire for upper-class,
shallow wealth and leads him to do things like get very drunk and embarrass
himself in public.

Uriah also is very commonly a symbol of evil. He is eventually defeated by Agnes,

Miss Betsey, Mr. Micawber, and Traddles, all of whom are symbols of good. Yet,
there are times when the evil wins out, namely in the case of David's mother Clara
and the Murdstones. The evil duo overpower her and contribute to her death.

The "Undisciplined Heart"

David's "undisciplined heart" is his tendency to fall victim to passion. He falls very
quickly and very strongly for girls. This is especially the case regarding Dora, with
whom he falls in love even before he has had the chance to say one word to her. He
learns that she does not like to work around the house and is unwilling to learn
about keeping a house, but he still decides to marry her.

Minor examples of David's undisciplined heart include his feelings for Miss
Shepherd, a brief crush on a person he barely knew, and his impractical crush on
another woman much older than he. It is not until the very end of the novel that he
learns to control or understand his undisciplined heart, and it is then that he
finally realizes that Agnes is the person whom he truly loves maturely.

Children and Their Treatment

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Dickens apparently is fascinated with children, and this novel examines in detail
how children are treated. The narrator mentions near the beginning of the novel
how impressive it is that children can remember so many details so clearly, and he
claims that he is proud to have such a childlike memory himself.

Furthermore, the simpler, more childlike characters are among the sweetest in the
novel. For example, Tommy Traddles is very simple and sweet in demeanor, and he
goes on to be a successful lawyer, engaged to a beautiful, generous woman. Dora
Spenlow may not know how to do household chores, but her devotion to David is
extremely touching and admirable, and it wins David's heart. Finally, Mr. Dick, very
simple-minded, is perhaps the best-liked character in the novel.

Childlike simplicity and innocence thus are valued in the moral world of the novel.
When Dickens writes scenes that show cruelty to children, he most likely is
demonstrating an evil to raise readers’ passions against such cruelty.

Female Empowerment

The novel explores feminine power to some degree, seeming to favor strong,
powerful women, such as Peggotty and Miss Betsey. In contrast, women who do not
hold much power or who simply exist in their marriages, such as Clara Copperfield,
do not fare very well. Miss Betsey, an admired character throughout the novel,
fights against her husband and manages to acquire a divorce, a feat that was not
simple for women at the time (although he continues to bother her for money some
time afterward). Mr. and Mrs. Micawber, however, are a good example of a married
couple in which each spouse holds almost an equal amount of power, and they are a
very happy couple, even though they are broke. Thus, Dickens seems to be a
proponent of feminine power in the sense of basic equality in institutions such as
marriage.

The Role of the Father

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The role of the father figure is one of the first issues that comes up in the novel,
for David is born six months after his father dies. Dickens is apparently suggesting
that a father figure is essential for happiness and developing a good character.
Still, not all fathers or father figures fit the norm or are even beneficial. Peggotty
seems to be David's father figure growing up, for he describes her as large and
"hard." Thus, he has a disciplinary figure along with his warm, loving mother to give
him a balanced childhood. Little Em'ly and Ham have Mr. Peggotty, and both turn
out to be very good people, especially Ham. Little Em'ly is simply seduced by
Steerforth, who, as it turns out, never had a father figure and even admits that he
regrets that and wishes that he could have had a father figure so that he could be
a better person. Uriah has no father mentioned either, and he is one of the most
evil characters in the novel.

Motifs

Mothers and Mother Figures

Mothers and mother figures have an essential influence on the identity of the
characters in David Copperfield. Almost invariably, good mother figures produce
good children while bad mothers yield sinister offspring. This moral connection
between mothers and children indicates Dickens’s belief that mothers have an all-
important role in shaping their children’s characters and destinies.

The success of mother figures in the novel hinges on their ability to care for their
children without coddling them. Miss Betsey, the aunt who raises David, clearly
adores him but does not dote on him. She encourages him to be strong in
everything he does and to be fair at all times. She corrects him when she thinks he
is making a mistake, as with his marriage to Dora, and her ability to see faults in
him helps him to mature into a balanced adult. Although Miss Betsey raises David
to deal with the difficulties of the world, she does not block those hardships.
Instead, she forces David to confront them himself. In contrast, Uriah’s mother,
Mrs. Heep, dotes on her son and allows him to dominate her. As a result, Uriah
develops a vain, inflated self-regard that breeds cruel behavior. On the whole,

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Dickens’s treatment of mother-child relationships in the novel is intended to teach

a lesson. He warns mothers to love their children only in moderation and to correct
their faults while they can still be fixed.

Accented Speech

Dickens gives his characters different accents to indicate their social class. Uriah
Heep and Mr. Peggotty are two notable examples of such characters whose speech
indicates their social standing. Uriah, in an attempt to appear poor and of good
character, consistently drops the “h” in “humble” every time a group of Mr.
Wickfield’s friends confront him. Uriah drops this accent as soon as his fraud is
revealed: he is not the urchin-child he portrays himself to be, who grew up hard
and fell into his current character because of the cruelty of the world. Rather,
Uriah is a conniving, double-crossing social climber who views himself as superior to
the wealthy and who exploits everyone he can. Mr. Peggotty’s lower-class accent,
on the other hand, indicates genuine humility and poverty. Dickens uses accent in
both cases to advance his assertion that class and personal integrity are unrelated
and that it is misleading to make any connection between the two.

Physical Beauty

In David Copperfield, physical beauty corresponds to moral good. Those who are
physically beautiful, like David’s mother, are good and noble, while those who are
ugly, like Uriah Heep, Mr. Creakle, and Mr. Murdstone, are evil, violent, and ill-
tempered. Dickens suggests that internal characteristics, much like physical
appearance, cannot be disguised permanently. Rather, circumstances will eventually
reveal the moral value of characters whose good goes unrecognized or whose evil
goes unpunished. In David Copperfield, even the most carefully buried
characteristics eventually come to light and expose elusive individuals for what
they really are. Although Steerforth, for example, initially appears harmless but
annoying, he cannot hide his true treachery for years. In this manner, for almost
all the characters in the novel, physical beauty corresponds to personal worth.

Symbols

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The Sea

The sea represents an unknown and powerful force in the lives of the characters in
David Copperfield, and it is almost always connected with death. The sea took
Little Em’ly’s father in an unfortunate accident over which she had no control.
Likewise, the sea takes both Ham and Steerforth. The sea washes Steerforth up
on the shore—a moment that symbolizes Steerforth’s moral emptiness, as the sea
treats him like flotsam and jetsam. The storm in the concluding chapters of the
novel alerts us to the danger of ignoring the sea’s power and indicates that the
novel’s conflicts have reached an uncontrollable level. Like death, the force of the
sea is beyond human control. Humans must try to live in harmony with the sea’s
mystical power and take precautions to avoid untimely death.

Flowers

Flowers represent simplicity and innocence in David Copperfield. For example,

Steerforth nicknames David “Daisy” because David is naïve. David brings Dora
flowers on her birthday. Dora forever paints flowers on her little canvas. When
David returns to the Wickfields’ house and the Heeps leave, he discovers that the
old flowers are in the room, which indicates that the room has been returned to its
previous state of simplicity and innocence. In each of these cases, flowers stand as
images of rebirth and health—a significance that points to a springlike quality in
characters associated with their blossoms. Flowers indicate fresh perspective and
thought and often recall moments of frivolity and release.

Mr. Dick’s Kite

Mr. Dick’s enormous kite represents his separation from society. Just as the kite
soars above the other characters, Mr. Dick, whom the characters believe to be
insane, stands apart from the rest of society. Because Mr. Dick is not a part of the
social hierarchies that bind the rest of the characters, he is able to mend the
disagreement between Doctor and Mrs. Strong, which none of the other
characters can fix. The kite’s carefree simplicity mirrors Mr. Dick’s own childish

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innocence, and the pleasure the kite offers resembles the honest, unpretentious
joy Mr. Dick brings to those around him.

Dickens’ Autobiographical Elements in ‘David Copperfield’

Charles Dickens’ novels consequently, seem autobiographical and David Copperfield

is the most autobiographical. It is also said that Dickens often dipped his pen in his
own blood. this is true to a large extent that David Copperfield’s experiences are
Dickens’ experiences to a large extent. About this book David Copperfield, Dickens
himself wrote:

“I have in my heart of hearts a favourite child. And his name is David Copperfield,”
and “my interest in it was so recent and strong that I was in danger of wearying
the reaseer with personal confidence and private emotions.”

The first factor that makes a novel autobiographical is the identity of the persons
who people it. That David, the hero is Dickens himself is manifest from many
incidents and feelings. It is characteristic that he begins this novel as a narration
in the first person.

Moreover, the suffering, struggles and achievements of David and situations and
incidents surrounding him can be traced in many ways to those of Dickens himself.

The novel has the personal experiences of Dickens himself. In a word, David is
Dickens. Mr. Micawber is drawn after his father. The headmaster of Salem House,
Creakle very much resembles the cruel and inefficient headmaster of the
Willington House Academy where Dickens was sent when he was fifteen. Critics
have also felt the autobiographical elements predominates in this novel. This is
what Huge Walker has to say about it:

“The pen that wrote David Copperfield was often dipped in his (i.e. Charles
Dickens) own blood.”

Dora is drawn after his forst love. The idealized memories of Mary Hogarth and of
his sister. Gerogry together help to create Agnes. Of all these the most brilliant
and true is his portrayal of Mr. and Mrs. Micawber, drawn very much after his own
parents. Mr. Micawber is a pompous, financially weak and irresponsible person like

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John Dickens. John Dickens, as we find Micawber, was pompous in suppch. Angry
creditors demanding payment forced themselves into the passage and John
Dickens oscillated between despair and hope. He was imprisoned in the Marshalsea
like Micawber in the King’s Bench Prison.

Many of the conditions and incidents in David Copperfield are traceable to the
happenings of Dickens’ own life. The childhood of David is almost autobiographical.
David’s wicked step–father, Murdstone put him to work, at the age of ten, at a
place where he suffered from the degradation of having to mix with boys who,
though of his own age, were disgusting to him.

These were the sufferings of Dickens as a child. When Dickens describes

childhood he writes his own story of childhood.

David’s going to work at ten has autobiographical background. When Dickens was of
eleven, he himself had to earn his own living by labeling and blackening pots in a
warehouse.

Micawber’s ordeal in the prison is the story of Dickens; father. Mrs. Micawber
males ineffectual plans to establish a girls’ school. She is drawn from Dickens’
mother; Elizabeth Dickens transfers to David his experiences as a shorthand-
writer and as a successful novelist.

The love incidents of David, first with Dore and then with Agnes, represent the
two phases of Dickens’s love. David’s love for Dora Spenlow is Dickens’ own love for
Maria. The struggles of youth described in David Copperfield are variations of
Dickens; own struggles. The major events are based upon his infatuation for Maria
Beadnell. They show us the emotions and anguish of Dickens’ heart.

Dickens did not, however, put down things as they were or had been. He was an
artist and put things in the most effective manner. He was conscious all the time
that he was writing a novel and not as autobiography. So he made use of the
material form his own life as best suited his purpose. He touched up fact with his
imagination so that it had the charm of fiction too.

He drew from his own experience and observation nut he presented it with the
help of his imagination. He idealized some incidents of his love and sentimentalized
some. He used his personality with his art so that his novels are autobiographical as
well as social documents.

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Now, it can be said that while much of the story of David Copperfield is
autobiographical it is not the mere and true story of his life. It is all fiction
coloured with Dickens’ personal experience and feeling. With the reference to
David Copperfield, Baker rightly remarks:

‘’It happens to be in large part his autobiography; and even the reader who is
unware of this feels the warmth and movement and buoyancy.... for it is his life as
he would fain have reconstructed it, not exactly the life of fact.’’

Character Analysis of David Copperfield

Although David narrates his story as an adult, he relays the impressions he had
from a youthful point of view. We see how David’s perception of the world deepens
as he comes of age. We see David’s initial innocence in the contrast between his
interpretation of events and our own understanding of them. Although David is
ignorant of Steerforth’s treachery, we are aware from the moment we meet
Steerforth that he doesn’t deserve the adulation David feels toward him. David
doesn’t understand why he hates Uriah or why he trusts a boy with a donkey cart
who steals his money and leaves him in the road, but we can sense Uriah’s devious
nature and the boy’s treacherous intentions. In David’s first-person narration,
Dickens conveys the wisdom of the older man implicitly, through the eyes of a
child.

David’s complex character allows for contradiction and development over the
course of the novel. Though David is trusting and kind, he also has moments of
cruelty, like the scene in which he intentionally distresses Mr. Dick by explaining
Miss Betsey’s dire situation to him. David also displays great tenderness, as in the
moment when he realizes his love for Agnes for the first time. David, especially as
a young man in love, can be foolish and romantic. As he grows up, however, he
develops a more mature point of view and searches for a lover who will challenge
him and help him grow. David fully matures as an adult when he expresses the
sentiment that he values Agnes’s calm tranquility over all else in his life.

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Chapter Wise Summary And Analysis

Summary and Analysis of Chapters 1-5

The novel is narrated in the voice of David Copperfield, Jr., who begins by
describing the circumstances of his birth. He was born in Blunderstone Rookery,
the name of his house, in Suffolk on a Friday, and he let out his first cry just as
the clock struck midnight. A nurse present at his birth claimed that, because of
these circumstances, David was destined to be unlucky in life and to have the gift
of seeing ghosts (the latter prophecy has yet to come true). Furthermore, he was
born with a caul, which his mother, Clara Copperfield, tried unsuccessfully to sell
and was later auctioned off for a low five shillings.

On the day that he was born, David's mother was surprised by a visit from David's
aunt, Betsey Trotwood, known as either Miss Betsey or Miss Trotwood. She is a
strong, eccentric woman who has had troubles with marriage. Miss Trotwood had
been completely against the marriage of David's father to his mother because of
the enormous age difference between the two. However, she supports Clara
because she wants a chance to help raise a girl, even asking if she could name her
future niece Betsey Trotwood Copperfield. Miss Trotwood storms out in a huff as
soon as the doctor tells her that the baby is a boy, and she disappears from
David's life for quite a while.

David now discusses his earliest memories. These are the youthful shape and
beauty of his mother and the stronger, larger figure of Peggotty, technically the
family's maid but more like a member of their family. He turns to the happy
memories of his youth: one of the three of them sitting in front of the fire in the
parlor, and one of Peggotty intently listening as David reads to her from a book
about crocodiles.

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These happy memories are interrupted by the appearance of a tall, dark, handsome
man to whom David takes an immediate disliking. Although young David does not
appear to understand immediately what is going on, it is clear that Clara has
become romantically interested in this new stranger. Peggotty and Clara have
several arguments that end in tears all around. Peggotty obviously doubts the
intentions of the man. A trip that David takes with this man, Mr. Murdstone,
proves that her doubts certainly have a foundation. During the trip, Mr. Murdstone
and his companions speak of his "bewitching the pretty widow," and they even laugh
at David's naivete. David repeats what he has heard to his mother, but she refuses
to believe him,. The relationship between Clara and Mr. Murdstone grows stronger.

One day, Peggotty suggests to David that they go visit her family for a week in
Yarmouth, and he eagerly agrees, although he is concerned about what his mother
will do in the meantime. He quickly accepts Peggotty's obviously fake excuse that
she will be staying with their neighbor, Mrs. Grayper, and the two leave. After a
long, slow carriage ride, directed by a slouched-over, passive carrier, the pair are
met in Yarmouth by Ham, Peggotty's nephew, who had been present as a young boy
at David's funeral. He has now grown into a strong young man with a youthful face,
and he takes them to the house of Peggotty's brother, who is called Mr. Peggotty.
The house is actually a beached black boat that has been refurnished to serve as a
home. Also living in the home are Mrs. Gummidge, Mr. Peggotty's sister-in-law, who
tends to experience bouts of depression, and little Em'ly, Mr. Peggotty's beautiful
niece, who is around David's age. Although she is shy at first, she and David very
quickly fall in love with one another and spend many afternoons taking long walks on
the beach and collecting shells. David learns that the fathers of both Ham and
little Em'ly drowned at sea, as did Mrs. Grummidge's husband, and Mr. Peggotty
generously took them in, although he hates to admit the generosity of his actions.
David enjoys his stay immensely and has trouble parting with everyone, especially
little Em'ly. Still, the closer he gets to Blunderstone Rookery, the more excited he
is to go back home.

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Unfortunately, David returns to a home that has completely changed. He finds

that, while he was gone, Clara and Mr. Murdstone were married. This completely
changed the atmosphere of the house. Mr. Murdstone is a controlling, emotionally
and mentally abusive husband. He stresses to Clara the idea of firmness, and he
makes it clear to David that if he does not act the way Mr. Murdstone expects, he
will be beaten. He takes away most of Clara's authority, and any authority she has
left disappears when Mr. Murdstone's sister, Jane, comes to live with them. Jane
takes the house keys away from Clara, and when she tries to fight against this
action, the Murdstones team up to make her look rude and ungrateful and thus
reduce her to tears. After this, Clara does not fight anymore. She is no longer the
fun, affectionate mother David once knew. She sneaks in hugs and loving comments
only when she knows the Murdstones are not around.

The Murdstones also put David through strenuous lessons, giving him massive
amounts of information to memorize. His mother is his apparent tutor, but both of
the Murdstones are always present during his recitations. This puts much pressure
on David, leading to poor performance. One day after a particularly bad lesson, Mr.
Murdstone takes David up to his room to beat him. Out of instinct, David bites him,
leading to a beating more terrible than he has ever experienced. After a month of
seclusion as punishment, it is decided that David should be sent to boarding school
in London.

David goes by coach to Yarmouth, where he will be met by another coach to take
him to London. After tasting one of Peggotty's cakes, which she sneaked to David
after he had gone about half a mile from the house, the carrier, Mr. Barkis, asks
David to send Peggotty the message, "Barkis is willin'." David does so. David starts
the uncomfortable coach ride to London. When he arrives, he is picked up by a
master of Salem House, Mr. Mell. When they arrive at the school, David finds out
that he has arrived during a break and the other boys are gone. David also learns
that he must wear a sign on his back that says, "Take Care of Him. He Bites." He
spends the week of vacation studying with Mr. Mell, being yelled at by the gate
guard (a man with a wooden leg), and wondering what the other boys will do when
they see his sign when they get back.

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Analysis

The start of the first chapter foreshadows the morose tone of the rest of the
novel. According to narrative convention, it is obvious that David’s life will be full
of sadness and misfortune because a nurse has predicted it. At the same time,
being born with a caul is a symbol of good fortune. One relevant belief is that
babies born with a caul are safe from drowning, a very prevalent form of death in
this novel. Cauls are also said to indicate psychic ability, although, as David
mentions, he has yet to see any such thing.

In the beginning chapters, David is setting a standard of true happiness. He finds

his childhood to be the time of his fondest memories, as can be seen by the
beautiful scenes with him, his mother, and Peggotty sitting and laughing by the
fire. David Copperfield is often read as a narrative on the pursuit of happiness; in
this reading, these childhood memories can be seen as constituting the kind of true
happiness David seeks to recover throughout the novel after he loses it to his
mother's marriage to the dark, controlling Mr. Murdstone. This happiness is
characterized by love, family, freedom from care, comfortable leisure, and wonder
(reading the book about crocodiles).

It is also clear from these beginning chapters that Dickens does not think very
highly of fathers, or he at least shows resentment about his own father. He
portrays the family in a bright, happy way when there is no father figure present.
As soon as Mr. Murdstone steps in as a stepfather, however, things become awful
in Blunderstone Rookery.

Mr. Murdstone does not represent fathers or males in general, however; Mr.
Murdstone is uncharacteristically distasteful and controlling in the family. With
Jane, he usurps power in the household and leaves David’s own mother with

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practically no power or rights in the house. Murdstone’s name suggests his muddy,
crappy (merde) personality and his stone-cold treatment of Clara, unlike a father
and husband in a truly happy family. It is no wonder that he causes stress and
anxiety in David’s life, and when he goes too far, no wonder that David fights back.
David’s severe and prolonged punishment, seclusion and then banishment to a
boarding school, is another example of Mudstone’s personal failures as a father
figure.

Even so, Dickens suggests that there is something wrong with a society in which
children who are deemed to be problems can be swept away into a boarding school
and forced to wear signs warning others to beware. The warning that David “bites”
is a stigma much like that of the “A” worn by the adulteress in The Scarlet Letter.

Another interesting instance of foreshadowing can be found in David and

Peggotty's visit to Yarmouth. It is there that readers first see the ocean and,
through the stories of Ham, Little Em'ly, and Mrs. Grummidge, are introduced to
drowning, a mode of death that will become prominent throughout the rest of the
novel.

Finally, it is important to look at how David handles the anticipation of the arrival
of the other boys to Salem House. He is particularly concerned about his sign; he
will need allies against teasing. David will immediately pick out Steerforth as one of
the strong ones, foreshadowing the control and respect that Steerforth will
command throughout the novel. David has been thrust into an unfamiliar world, and
his anticipation shows that the way his first extended stay away from home
develops will either give him hope or push him to a point of despair from which he
may not recover.

Summary and Analysis of Chapters 6-10

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After about a month of living alone at the boarding school, the man with the
wooden stump begins cleaning the rooms of the buildings, signaling the return of
the boys and teachers. Mr. Mell informs David that he is to meet Mr. Creakle, the
school's headmaster, who seems intimidating. Mr. Creakle emphasizes that he is a
very strict and harsh man, even hinting that he once banished his own son for
challenging him. When David dares to ask if he can remove the sign before the
boys return, Mr. Creakle begins to laugh madly, scaring David so much that he runs
out of the room.

David meets Tommy Traddles, a large, good-natured boy who finds David's sign
hilarious, although not in a mean way. In fact, all of the boys, gloomy from having to
return, don't even pay much attention to the sign, to David's delight. David also
meets the much anticipated James Steerforth, whom he refers to as simply
Steerforth. The first thing that Steerforth does is take all seven shillings that
Peggotty and his mother gave David upon his departure--under the pretense of
"taking care of it." He convinces David to buy wine, biscuits, almond cakes, and
fruit for the whole room. As they are eating, the boys tell David that Mr. Creakle
is very brutal and will hit any boy in the school except for Steerforth--who says
that he would certainly hit Mr. Creakle back if it ever happened.

School begins the next day, and Mr. Creakle's brutality is in evidence. The one
good thing about the beatings is that the sign is removed from David's back, for it
gets in the way of Mr. Creakle's switch. Steerforth continues to be David's idol,
earning more of his respect than even the two masters of Salem House, Mr. Sharp
and Mr. Mell. David is even willing to wake up early to recite stories such as
Arabian Nights to the older boy at his request. The one thing David dislikes about
Steerforth is the way he treats Mr. Mell, who has been very kind to David.

One day, when Mr. Creakle is gone and the boys are being particularly rowdy, Mr.
Mell tells them to sit down but Steerforth defies him. Steerforth then makes fun
of him for having his mother in a poor house, which was revealed to him by David,

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who had been told when Mr. Mell picked him up. Mr. Creakle comes in and,
unsurprisingly, sides with Steerforth, resulting in Mr. Mell's departure. David feels
extremely guilty about the whole exchange but gets over it quickly, trusting in
Steerforth's judgment and not wanting to get on his bad side like Traddles, who
stands up for Mr. Mell and earns Steerforth's disfavor in return.

The only other event that stands out in David's mind from that year is his visit
from Ham and Mr. Peggotty, who brought him lobsters, crab, and shellfish. When
David learns he has visitors, he thinks it might be about his mother, which brings
him to tears until he learns who has come. He introduces them to Steerforth, and
they like him. Steerforth is acting in a very charming and heartening manner. David
almost tells him about little Em'ly but is too shy, afraid that Steerforth will laugh
at him.

Vacation finally comes, and David goes home. As Mr. Barkis, the carrier, is driving
him back, David lets him know that he gave Peggotty the message. However, Mr.
Barkis says that nothing has come of it. David arrives home to find both of the
Murdstones gone and only Peggotty, his mother, and her newborn baby. They spend
a happy afternoon together, sitting in front of the parlor just like old times. When
David asks about what Peggotty thought of Mr. Barkis' message, she scoffs and
says that she would never leave David and his mother, both of whom are relieved to
hear this. The only unhappy part of the evening is when Peggotty asks about
David's aunt, Miss Trotwood, and says that she would be more inclined to forgive
him now that he has a baby brother. This brings Clara to tears, and she accuses
Peggotty of being jealous of and rude to the Murdstones. The two make up,
however, for Clara does not wish to fight. The sound of a carriage signals an end to
the night.

David's stay at home becomes completely miserable, and the Murdstones, Miss
Murdstone in particular, do not hide their eagerness to have him leave. Miss
Murdstone even keeps a calendar and counts the days until he must return to
Salem House. David knows that simply his being in the room with the Murdstones
causes his mother great stress, so he tries to avoid them. This leads to them

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rebuking him for having a "sullen" attitude. Thus, he is forced to sit with them,
afraid of even moving for fear of being reproached or even beaten. The day of his
departure arrives none too soon. As he is driving away in the coach, he hears his
mother call to him. He looks back and sees her holding up his baby brother, not a
hair on her head even stirring. This is the last memory of her he will have.

David's birthday comes soon. He is called to the parlor, and he goes eagerly,
expecting a package, but instead Mrs. Creakle informs him that his mother has
died. He experiences the deepest, most sincere sorrow that he has ever known.
The only advantage is that he gets more respect from the boys as a result of this
tragedy. He goes home for the funeral and is taken to the funeral parlor by Mr.
Omer, a jolly, fat man whose family is quite happy and loving, so much so that David
can only look at them in wonder. It is there that he learns that the baby died as
well, making him despair even more. He is fitted for his mourning suit and then
brought back home, where he finds Mr. Murdstone in a melancholy, almost angry
mood, Miss Murdstone controlling and detached, and Peggotty, who has been
staying up with his mother's body all night, absolutely distraught.

After the funeral, David gratefully finds himself completely neglected by the
Murdstones and is happy to have permission to go to Yarmouth with Peggotty, who
has been given a month's notice of her release by Mr. Murdstone. On the carriage
ride, Mr. Barkis is constantly flirting with Peggotty, nudging her and asking if she
is "pretty comfortable." After he has dropped them off, Peggotty reveals to David
that she is thinking of marrying him, and David wholeheartedly approves. David is
excited to see everyone, especially Little Em'ly, who has grown much more into a
woman. She teases him and refuses to be as affectionate as she was before, which
pains him. It is only at the end of his trip that she agrees to let him kiss her and to
sit next to him in the parlor. Mr. Barkis visits every night and leaves little gifts for
Peggotty. One day, they announce that they are going on a holiday together with
David and Little Em'ly. On the trip they get married. The night before David
leaves, he stays in the couple's house, and Peggotty informs him that she will visit
him weekly and that he will always have a room in her house.

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David returns home to even more neglect than before. Although Peggotty does
come to visit him once a week, he is never allowed to visit her. One day, Mr.
Murdstone informs him that David will be sent to work for one of Mr. Murdstone's
friends, Mr. Quinion, in a counting house. He will have to work for his own food and
pocket money, and the Murdstones will provide for his lodging and laundry. David
leaves with Mr. Quinion the next day, taking only a little piece of luggage and
leaving his hometown behind.

Analysis

One thing that is very interesting to observe during David's stay at boarding
school is his intense admiration of James Steerforth. Steerforth does not do
anything to merit this respect; in fact, he steals David's money by tricking him into
thinking that he will keep it for him, then having it spent on food for everyone.
Steerforth also is cruel towards Mr. Mell, who has been the nicest to David of
everyone in the school, and has such a strong personality that even Mr. Creakle
apparently does not strike him. Steerforth’s name suggests his ability to lead or
“steer forth,” particularly in terms of leading David.

If it is difficult to understand why David, and even Mr. Peggotty and Ham, admire
Steerforth so much, it is helpful to see the situation in terms of social status. His
obviously high class background, as well as the confidence and arrogance that
Steerforth exudes, tend to awe people like David, Mr. Peggotty, and Ham. His
status draws admiration. This class separation is also what somehow permits
Steerforth's cruel treatment of Mr. Mell and what allows David to forgive this
behavior so quickly.

Another major part of these chapters emotionally is the abusive marriage of

David's mother and Mr. Murdstone. Although readers may blame Clara for not
protecting her son more, it is hard not to sympathize with her. Readers can now

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see just what Mr. Murdstone and his sister have done to the poor woman. She is no
longer joyous and carefree but is instead constantly afraid and beaten down. They
have convinced her that she is in need of so much change and that she is so weak
that it is rude to challenge their authority and decisions. She resists but only
weakly and out of motherly instinct; the only time that she can be affectionate
with her son is when the Murdstones have left for the day. Her only true support
is Peggotty, who sticks with her until the very end, acting as a mother figure and
taking care of both Clara and David. That Clara is motionless in David’s last memory
of her is a symbol of her loss of power, autonomy, and self. As for David, he has
been replaced by the new baby, and now to the Murdstones he is just in the way.

Peggotty's marriage to Mr. Barkis also produces mixed feelings for David if not
also for readers. Although it is good that she has found a good, loyal husband, it is
easy to sense that this will not bode well for David. Her attention has shifted away
from David, too. David wholeheartedly gives his blessings to Peggotty, but he knows
that this now means that he will not have Peggotty there all of the time like he did
before. Hope remains, and as usual, there is an advantage in the situation for
David. This marriage, which will lead to the departure of Peggotty and even to a
degree the death of David's mother, are spurs to David's independence, whether
he is ready for it or not, and his maturation.

His independence is forced upon him by his mother’s death and then his assignment
to Mr. Quinion. Like an adult, David must work to eat. He is not entirely on his own
in this social system, however, for some of his expenses are paid by Murdstone and
there is some expectation that Quinion’s counting house will contribute to his
development.

At this point, however, it is quite evident how innocent and naive David still is. He
has unquestioning admiration of Steerforth, and Dickens has done a wonderful job
of presenting David’s memories as those of a child. David also has much to learn
about romantic relationships, not having much to go on except Peggotty’s newfound
love as a model of a successful relationship. His interactions with Little Em'ly are
childlike. He expects everything to be the same as they were so long ago, not

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realizing that Little Em'ly has grown up into a young lady, albeit a somewhat spoiled
one. David has to learn quickly that she is no longer the little girl she was. David
may not be ready to venture into the world on his own, but he is going anyway.

Summary and Analysis of Chapters 11-15

David begins working at Murdstone's and Grinby's warehouse washing and

examining wine bottles. Three companions are working with him, two of whom go by
the names of Mick Walker and Mealy Potatoes. David is very upset because they
are not well-educated, and thus he has no hope of learning or becoming cultured
through their influence, and he often cries because of this lack of opportunity for
development. David also meets his new host, Mr. Micawber, who is not very wealthy
or high in status but takes great pains to seem rich and elegant. His family consists
of Mrs. Micawber, Master Micawber (age four), Miss Micawber (age three), and
two baby twins. The family is visited by creditors at all hours and clearly is in
financial strife. Nevertheless, they are generally cheerful.

David mainly lives on bread and butter. He keeps his own bread on a special shelf in
a particular cupboard in the Micawber house. Once in a while, he manages to get a
small amount of meat or ale. He often receives strange looks from shop owners,
being a small boy buying his meals on his own. Importantly, David is respected at
Grinby's because he never complains about his situation to anyone. Even in his
letters to Peggotty he never complains, earning him the nickname, "the little gent."

The Micawbers often tell David of their financial difficulties, and to help them out,
upon Mrs. Micawber's request, he helps them sell some of their possessions. Soon,
however, Mr. Micawber is arrested and thrown into jail, to be followed by his
family, who move in with him. David himself moves into a little room outside of the
institution. Mr. Micawber becomes very popular in the prison club, and many of the
inmates love to hear his petition read, for it is written in a very ornate, grand
style. When Mr. Micawber is released from jail, he decides to leave London to try
to find a job elsewhere. Mrs. Micawber grows frantic at the idea of staying behind,

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so the whole family is to leave together. Before they leave, Mr. Micawber advises
David not to overspend, for he equates overspending with misery and financial
prudence with happiness.

David decides that he does not want to stay around without the Micawbers, so he
decides to run away to find his Aunt Betsey. He writes to Peggotty asking where
she is, and Peggotty tells him promptly and sends half a guinea. In order to
preserve his high status at work, he stays on for one extra week to make up for
the advanced week's worth of payment he receives, after which he leaves.

The journey has a rocky start: his money and possessions are stolen by a boy he
pays to carry his things. He is forced to sell first his waistcoat for money, then his
jacket. In both situations, he is taken advantage of by the store owners. He is also
physically abused by some travelers. Finally, he makes it to his aunt's town and is
led to her house by Janet, his aunt's maid and protégée. His arrival takes Aunt
Betsey very much by surprise. She consults with her live-in companion, Mr. Dick,
and then bathes and feeds him.

Miss Betsey informs David the next day that she has contacted the Murdstones to
see what they would like to do with him. Although his aunt does not say whether or
not she will return him to them, David is terrified of having to go back to the
Murdstones. Meanwhile, she sends him to check on Mr. Dick, who is writing his
Memorials but has to constantly start over due to his digressions about King
Charles I. David learns from Miss Betsey that Mr. Dick's brother was about to put
him in an insane asylum and that she stepped in at the last minute to stop him.

The Murdstones send a letter saying that they will visit Miss Betsey, and the next
day they arrive, riding all over the grass, which Miss Betsey absolutely does not
allow. During their discussion, the Murdstones constantly call David the worst boy
and disrespect his mother. Miss Betsey takes great offense to this, for she

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believes that Clara was a sweet, loving girl. She asks David if he wants to go back
with them--he absolutely does not--and she agrees with Mr. Dick's advice to keep
him around. She sends the Murdstones away. She renames David as Trot, short for
Trotwood, and he starts his new life with her.

David and Mr. Dick become good friends, flying Mr. Dick's kite together, until one
day Miss Betsey suggests that David start school in Canterbury. They go to the
school and meet Mr. Wickfield, a lawyer and friend. They also meet Uriah Heep, a
strange, somewhat oily character, and Agnes, Mr. Wickfield's daughter, who is
about David's age and very beautiful. They decide to let David stay at Mr.
Wickfield's house and attend a school in Canterbury until a better situation is
arranged. Miss Betsey leaves David, giving him the advice to never be mean in
anything he does, to never be cruel, and to always be true.

Analysis

The subject of social class and standing comes up once again as David begins his
work in the warehouse. He is extremely unhappy with his situation because he is no
longer surrounded by highly educated and cultured people like his teachers or even
like Steerforth. We also see this longing for higher social status through Mr.
Micawber, who David says goes to great lengths to appear high class, although he
and his family are constantly in financial trouble and do not hide it from David.

This warehouse portion of David's life is based on the time when Dickens himself
worked in a warehouse called Warren's Blacking Factory. To Dickens, this was one
of the most humiliating and miserable experiences of his life, and he always
resented his parents for taking him out of school and making him work. In fact, Mr.
and Mrs. Micawber may be caricatures of Dickens' own parents, for they both
display traits that his parents are believed to have had.

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Nevertheless, the Micawbers decide to move to London, beginning the series of

frequent moves that they will undertake throughout the novel. David is buffeted
from one place to another by circumstances. He follows along with them at first,
but soon he realizes that he needs to escape once again. Taking matters into his
own hands for the first time to visit his aunt, David shows his greater
independence. He remains naïve, though, losing his possessions through theft and
bad deals. There are few people worthy of trust in David’s world, which continues
to be full of hardship and adversity.

The first ray of hope in this period came when Peggotty supported his escape to
Betsey. This hope is vindicated when he is received by his aunt so hospitably. This
gives readers further insight into her character and softens her, countering the
harsh exit described in the first chapter. We get to know her even better after
her encounter with the Murdstones, finding her to be a strong female figure, not
at all intimidated by the forbidding appearance of Mrs. Murdstone and her
brother. She seems trustworthy as a good protector of David. By the end of this
period, Miss Betsey has proven to be a loving and independent woman. Her female
empowerment is far in advance of what David has, and it should be seen as an
attempt to help him that Betsey sends him off to school once again. This time, he
is being sent as a good, developing young man rather than as a troublemaking biter.

Readers also meet Mr. Dick in this section. The fact that Miss Betsey asks for his
opinion on whether or not David should stay reveals just how much she values his
thoughts, despite his brother’s attempt to institutionalize him. We can certainly
see the difference between the vile, conniving Mr. Murdstone and the sweet,
simple Mr. Dick, who is a strong and friendly supporter of David’s development, as
revealed by his answer to Miss Betsey's question: "Mr. Dick considered, hesitated,
brightened, and rejoined, 'Have him measured for a suit of clothes directly.'"

In Chapter 15 we are introduced to some very important characters: Uriah Heep

and Agnes Wickfield. Plenty of foreshadowing is used to hint that Uriah will play an
evil role to come, with references to his "red hair" (a traditional symbol of fiery
evil) and his "slimy" appearance. He hides behind a facade of humility. Agnes, on

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the other hand, is beautiful, quiet, and already acquainted with household chores.
She is seemingly the epitome of the perfect Victorian woman.

Summary and Analysis of Chapters 16-20

David and Mr. Wickfield go the next day to meet Dr. Strong, who is the master of
David's new school. They also meet his wife, Annie, who is much younger than her
husband. During the visit, Mr. Wickfield and Dr. Strong discuss a cousin of Annie's,
Jack Maldon, and his new job. Dr. Strong wants him to get a job that sends him out
of the country, but he offers no particular reason why. Maldon goes to have dinner
with Mr. Wickfield later that evening and mentions that he does not find the
marriage between Dr. Strong and Annie fair due to the age difference. After that,
Mr. Wickfield appears disturbed and treats him civilly but very distantly. Soon
after, Maldon leaves for his new job, and as they are seeing him off, David notices
that he has Annie's red ribbon in his hand.

David is at first quite behind in his studies and very awkward with his fellow
classmates, for it has been a long time since he has interacted with other boys in a
school environment. But he soon becomes comfortable and rises to the top of his
class. He also finds more and more of a liking for Agnes and her devotion to her
father. He finds out that she is being educated at home so that she can stay with
him all of the time. Soon, he receives an invitation from Mr. Wickfield to stay with
the family permanently, which he gladly accepts. David loves everything about that
home except for Uriah, who disturbs him, especially with the way he writhes about
when something pleases him.

David soon finds out from Peggotty that Mr. and Miss Murdstone have sold all of
the furniture from Blunderstone Rookery and have put the house up for sale. He
tells this to his aunt, who visits him very often. Mr. Dick also visits very often and
becomes closer not only to David, but also to the boys in the school, Mr. Wickfield,
Agnes, and even Uriah. Mr. Dick tells David about a man who has been visiting Miss
Betsey and scaring her to the point where she is giving him money. David does not

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know what to make of this, and Mr. Dick makes him promise not to tell anyone that
he knows about the strange man.

One day, Uriah invites David to tea with his mother, and, after hearing about how
humble Uriah and his mother are and how pleased they would be to receive
attention from David, he agrees. Yet, they make him very uncomfortable, asking
about secrets regarding Agnes and Mr. Wickfield and their financial situation.
Luckily, David sees Mr. Micawber and is able to escape. Mr. Micawber takes him to
see Mrs. Micawber. They are both still in a serious financial situation, but although
they cry about it, they recover quickly over a meal. The next day, David receives a
letter from Mr. Micawber saying that, since they can no longer pay for their home,
the couple will be leaving. David sees them riding away and hopes that they will find
a release from their struggles.

David then reminisces about his school years. Despite his doubts, he is able to rise
to the top of his class. Along the way, he falls in love with two girls. The first, Miss
Shepherd, has blonde hair and a round face. She is a student at Nettingall's
establishment. The two like each other for a while and even kiss, but eventually
their attractions for one another die away. David also falls in love with the elder
Miss Larkins, a thirty-year-old woman with whom he dances. That crush also ends
after he finds out that she has married another man. David also recounts a fist
fight that he lost against a butcher who used to bully the other kids around.

After David graduates, he and his aunt have many talks to decide what career path
he should follow. They cannot come up with anything, and Miss Betsey suggests
that he go and visit Peggotty (whose name she dislikes immensely due to its pagan
nature) so that he can go out into the world and see what professions catch his
eye. David visits Agnes and Mr. Wickfield one more time before he leaves, and they
see Dr. Strong and Annie for tea. During this visit, David finds out that Jack
Maldon sent a letter to Dr. Strong saying that he is ill and needs to come home.
Then, Annie's mother reveals that Maldon sent a letter to Annie saying that he

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wants to come home because he misses her. David mentions that he trusts Annie
much less—especially compared with Agnes.

David then leaves to visit Peggotty in Yarmouth. Despite all of his attempts to look
honorable and respectable, he is often mocked and treated badly due to his youth.
He is forced to give up the seat of honor in his coach, the waiters make fun of his
youth, and the people at the inn at which he stays put him in the worst room
available. Fortunately, at the inn David runs into Steerforth, whom he has not seen
since Salem House, and he is immediately overwhelmed with joy. Steerforth is
studying at Oxford and is very well respected. He tells the people to give David
the nicer room, and, upon realizing that they are friends, the staff begins to treat
David with much more respect.

Steerforth insists that David come with him to visit his home and his mother.
Along the way, he gives David the nickname "Daisy," to which David does not
object; he accepts the name eagerly. Steerforth's house is huge and beautiful,
occupied by his mother and her companion, Miss Rosa Dartle, who is Steerforth's
orphaned cousin. Mrs. Steerforth constantly praises and indulges her son and is
like him in many ways. Miss Dartle is also dearly loved by her cousin and Mrs.
Steerforth. She has a scar on her lip that David learns was caused by Steerforth
when he was young—he threw a hammer that hit her. David has a portrait of her
without the scar hanging in the room where he sleeps, and for some reason this
greatly disturbs him, even entering his dreams.

Analysis

In Chapter 16 the readers are introduced to Dr. Strong and Annie, his much
younger wife. Dr. Strong is an extremely kind, trusting person and deeply in love
with his young, beautiful wife. But we begin to wonder if Dr. Strong is much too
trusting for his own good when we see the character of Jack Maldon. Maldon's
character does not have much depth, but we do see that he is clearly in love with
Annie and is attempting to seduce her into having an affair with him. Luckily for

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Dr. Strong, Maldon leaves for a job. However, this is not the last that we will see
of him, and Dr. Strong's trustworthiness will be called into question once more.

David's love of education and learning also becomes apparent in these chapters.
This is likely a reflection of Dickens' own belief in the importance of a good liberal
education. Education helps a person understand the world and rise in society. David
quickly rises to the top of his class despite the fact that he was behind to begin
with. He even falls in love twice along the way, and this is part of his education into
maturity as well. Thus, this education is portrayed as a very positive part of
David's life.

On the negative side, Uriah Heep is still in the picture, continuing to irritate David
with his sliminess and writhing. Foreshadowing continues to hint that Heep has
some evil deeds to come. We learn even more from the tea party to which David is
invited, during which Uriah and his mother ask uncomfortable questions about the
Wickfields' financial situation. This hints at Heep's enormous greed and desire for
wealth, which will certainly come back into play later in the novel.

In addition, we see Dickens' attention to social class once more with the
reintroduction of Steerforth. His characteristic arrogance is still in place, and he
gives David the nickname "Daisy" to mock his naiveté. David does not quite pick up
on this slight. Something else about Steerforth is noteworthy here: David is
extremely bothered by the scar on Rosa Dartle's lip, which was caused by
Steerforth's rage. The tale of the scar presents a whole new side of Steerforth
which David had never considered. It shows that Steerforth is capable of being
uncontrolled when angry, a trait that does not mesh with the classiness that David
had associated with high social standing. This revelation is enough to give David
pause, but it is not enough to separate Steerforth from David.

Finally, the selling of David's childhood home, Blunderstone Rookery, by the

Murdstones symbolizes the end of that part of David's life. He has been getting a
good education, he now lives in a healthy atmosphere, he has loving mentors, and he

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has even started having more or less serious relationships. By this time he has fully
separated himself from the Murdstones. Thus it is appropriate that the house be
sold to symbolize the end of the troubles associated with the Murdstones.

Summary and Analysis of Chapters 21-25

David stays with Steerforth for another week and meets Littimer, Steerforth's
servant, who carries himself with such an air of respectability and haughtiness
that it takes David by surprise. Once David's visit comes to an end, he convinces
Steerforth to go with him to Yarmouth to visit Peggotty. Thus, they leave Littimer
behind and separate, agreeing to meet at Peggotty's house. Along the way, David
stops by Mr. Omer’s shop to thank him for being so kind to him many years ago
after his mother died. He finds that Mr. Omer and his family are very happy, and
he also learns that Little Emily is working in the shop now. Unfortunately, her
desire to be a lady turned many of the girls against her, although Mr. Omer's
daughters like her very much.

David then goes to see Mr. Barkis and Peggotty, who does not recognize David right
away but begins to cry and laugh over him as soon as she does. Mr. Barkis, afflicted
with rheumatism, is very happy to see the boy as well, and he even goes to the
trouble of producing some of his precious money so that Peggotty can make him a
nice dinner. Steerforth joins them, and together they go over to Mr. Peggotty's
house, just in time to learn that Ham and Little Em'ly are getting married.
Everyone, even Mrs. Grummidge, is overjoyed. For the whole night at the house
everyone, especially Steerforth, feels very exuberant. But as he and David are
walking away from the house, Steerforth suddenly becomes sullen and remarks
that Ham is not good enough for Emily. Yet, the mood soon passes.

During his stay, David visits all of the familiar places of his youth, including
Blunderstone Rookery. Seeing these places inspires mixed feelings of sadness and
happiness. He and Steerforth often go their separate ways during the day, so he
does not know what Steerforth is doing much of the time. One day, he encounters

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Steerforth sitting in front of Mr. Peggotty's fire, upset. He wishes that he could
have had a father and says he would have even preferred to be Ham than to have
grown up without a father figure. He also reveals that he bought a ship which Mr.
Peggotty will sail in his absence, and he named it "The Little Em'ly."

David and Steerforth then meet Miss Mowcher, a small but very loud lady who cuts
Steerforth's hair. They talk about Mr. Peggotty, Ham, and Little Emily, and
Steerforth reveals that he thinks Little Emily can do much better and find herself
a gentleman. He and David separate once more, and David heads to Peggotty's
house for the evening. There, he finds Ham and Little Emily with Martha, a girl
with whom Emily worked while she was at Mr. Omer's. Martha has encountered
very difficult times and is asking for Emily's help. After she leaves, Emily becomes
very distraught, saying that she isn't as good as she ought to be and that she
doesn't deserve Ham. David, Peggotty, and Ham comfort her, and soon she is back
to normal and acting very affectionately towards her fiancé.

The next morning, David decides not to tell Steerforth the events of the previous
evening, for he wants to keep Little Emily's confidence. However, as they are
leaving Yarmouth, he does tell him about a letter that he received from his aunt
saying that he should pursue the career of a proctor, and Steerforth agrees that
it would suit him. He meets up with Miss Betsey, who insists that she will help him
become a proctor despite his protests that it is too expensive. They leave for
Doctors' Commons, where proctors have offices, but along the way they run into a
man who David believes is a beggar. His aunt is very frightened by the man, and she
orders David to stay while she goes away with the man. When she returns, David
finds that she has given most of her money to him, but she asks that they never
speak of the incident again. They find David a job at the offices of Spenlow and
Jorkins and a nice house with a landlady named Mrs. Crupp.

Although David loves his new apartments, they get very lonely for him, and soon he
goes back to see Steerforth. Steerforth convinces David to host a dinner party

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for him and his two friends at his new apartment later that night. The four have a
good time and get drunk. They go to the theater, where David runs into Agnes, who
is horrified by David's very inebriated state. She makes him go home, and he wakes
up the next day hung over and absolutely mortified.

David then receives a letter from Agnes asking him to visit her, which he gladly
does. He apologizes for his behavior and calls Agnes his "good angel." She forgives
him but warns him about socializing with Steerforth, whom she calls David's "bad
angel." David does not agree to stop visiting him, but her words darken his
impression of his companion. Agnes also tells him that Uriah Heep has forced her
father into a partnership with him, which makes her very upset.

Later that evening, David sees Tommy Traddles, his old friend from Salem House,
and Uriah. Uriah attaches himself to David and invites himself to his house. Along
the way he mentions his intention to marry Agnes, which disgusts David. Uriah ends
up staying the night, which makes David very uncomfortable.

Analysis

These chapters are very important for the development of Steerforth's

character. Until now, we have mainly seen his cool, collected demeanor as well as
his haughtiness, with only Rosa Dartle's scar hinting at a darker side. Now,
however, we see that Steerforth is much more troubled than he normally lets on.
He obviously has missed the father whom he never had, even envying Ham, a man of
a much lower class than himself, for having Mr. Peggotty in his life. The degree of
his despair and envy indicates that he is much more affected by this lack than he
has shared before.

Steerforth also shows his soft side when he becomes enamored with Emily and
feels upset that she is engaged to Ham. Still, he denies it as first. His feelings for

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her seem to continue to grow in intensity as time goes on, for his moodiness
becomes more and more pronounced. Steerforth's moodiness may also be related
to the difficulties of feeling attracted to a girl of such a low class. In any case, we
will see later that class distinctions do not stop him from going after what he
wants.

The reintroduction of Emily reveals how much she has changed since we last left
her. She has fallen victim to the desire of climbing the social hierarchy, and this
yearning of hers to become a "lady" has turned the other girls of the town against
her. This could indicate that, having been intoxicated by her desire for social
status, Emily has developed some of the haughtiness that characterizes
Steerforth. Perhaps she is failing to realize just how lucky she is to marry a man as
loving as Ham. It is becoming clear that her engagement is on rocky ground.

It is also here that Agnes becomes characterized as David's "good angel," with
Steerforth somewhat predictably his "bad angel." David feels quite embarrassed
after running into her while drunk, which has brought questions of morality and
continence to the fore. The extent of his humiliation in being found drunk reveals
to us just how much esteem sweet Agnes holds in David's mind and how much David
aspires to be seen as good. She has enough sway over him to shake his faith in
Steerforth, who is sometimes the agent of his troubles.

Uriah's character continues to make David more and more uncomfortable, and
Uriah begins implementing his malicious plans by forcing Mr. Wickfield into
partnership with him. His revelation that he intends to marry Agnes simply adds to
his repulsiveness. We will see Uriah will become a larger and larger presence within
the novel.

Finally, note how frequently people visit one another’s homes. A good idea for
analyzing the interpersonal dynamics in this section is to consider what kinds of
events seem comfortable or uncomfortable, appropriate or not, given different

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groups of people in different homes. The presence of certain people tends to shape
the tenor of the conversation.

Summary and Analysis of Chapters 26-30

David's supervisor, Mr. Spenlow, invites David to his home for the weekend. David
meets Mr. Spenlow’s daughter there and instantly falls in love with Dora. He finds
her almost ethereal in nature and has fallen for her even before he has spoken to
her. David also is surprised to see Miss Murdstone, whom Mr. Spenlow hired to be
Dora's companion after her mother died. Miss Murdstone pulls David aside and
asks that they set aside their previous difficulties, and David agrees. After going
on a walk with Dora and her dog Jip, David falls more deeply in love with her. He
feels dismal every succeeding weekend on which he has no invitation to go to Mr.
Spenlow's house. Mrs. Crupp sees this pattern and realizes that he has fallen in
love. She advises him to go out and to think of other things.

David then decides to go visit his old schoolmate Tommy Traddles, who is studying
for the bar to become a lawyer. Traddles has a fiancée waiting for him to get a job
and make money for their marriage; he currently only has a few chairs and a table.
As they are talking, Traddles reveals that his downstairs neighbors are none other
than Mr. and Mrs. Micawber, who at that moment knock on his door and find David
there. The Micawbers are financially unstable once again, but they are still happy,
and Mrs. Micawber is pregnant once more.

David invites the three of them to come over to his house for a dinner party.
Although Mrs. Crupp refuses to cook at first, they eventually sit down to a nice,
happy meal. Littimer interrupts the meal and asks if David knows where Steerforth
has gone. David replies that he does not and, after the meal, Littimer leaves. As his
guests are leaving, David warns Traddles not to loan the Micawbers any money or
even his name. Tommy replies that he already has done so and that Mr. Micawber
has already taken care of it. However, Mr. Micawber later gives David a letter
saying that he has not taken care of it yet.

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Steerforth arrives just after everyone has left. He tells David that he has been
sailing outside of Yarmouth. He replies with disgust when David tells him that
Tommy was there, which David finds offensive. David soon forgets about this issue
because Steerforth gives him a letter from Peggotty saying that Mr. Barkis is
dying. David decides that he will visit them, but Steerforth convinces him to go to
his home first.

David spends the day with Mrs. Steerforth and Miss Dartle, who seems to believe
that he is the reason for Steerforth's long absence. Miss Dartle is disturbed to
learn that David had not seen Steerforth until the previous night. She also begins
to worry that Steerforth and his mother will start fighting which, due to their
similar stubbornness, would lead to a huge ordeal. However, Mrs. Steerforth says
that she and her son would never fight because they are too devoted to one
another. Finally, David takes his leave of the family. Steerforth makes him promise
that if anything happens, he will always remember Steerforth at his best. David's
last vision of him is his sleeping figure, and the adult David writes that he wishes
he could have kept Steerforth that way forever to prevent the following events
from happening.

When David first arrives at Yarmouth, he visits Mr. Omer once more, who tells him
that Little Emily has not been herself lately. She seems very unsettled, as though
she wants something more. He also mentions that Martha, Emily's friend, has gone
missing. David then goes to Peggotty's house, where he encounters Mr. Peggotty
and Emily in the kitchen, both very distraught. Mr. Peggotty claims that Mr. Barkis
will die with the receding tide. Just as David goes to see him, Mr. Barkis exclaims,
"Barkis is willin'!" With that, he fulfills Mr. Peggotty's prediction and dies with the
ebbing tide.

Analysis

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David's relationship with the childlike Dora begins in these chapters. It is a very
interesting period of David's life. For her part, Dora is a very free spirit who has
been pampered by her aunts and her father her entire life. In many ways, she is
very similar to David's mother. Her dog's name, Jip, is short for Gypsy, the
paragon of a free soul. David realizes that Dora may not be the best choice for him
in terms of commitment and marriage, but he has fallen madly in love with her.
Thus, we see David's "undisciplined heart."

In addition, the Micawbers reappear once again, alongside David's childhood friend
Traddles. The Micawbers, happy but still in financial straits, have been forced to
borrow money from Traddles and reveal to David that they may not be able to pay
him back. This signals the continuation of the Micawbers' unfortunate patterns and
possibly another move in the future. Traddles may have made a mistake in helping
them. Like David, he is another very simple, kind person getting a good education.
Traddles' character is another indication of Dickens' appreciation and reverence
for people with a childlike demeanor. Indeed, Traddles has remained likable from
the beginning.

David's time with Mrs. Steerforth and Miss Dartle gives more insight into
Steerforth's character because this time reveals the environment in which
Steerforth grew up. Mrs. Steerforth’s refusal to place the blame on her son for
his own disappearance indicates her slightly skewed perception of reality and her
idealistic view of her son, perhaps like most mothers with respect to their children.
Miss Dartle's very negative opinion that David was the cause of Steerforth's
disappearance, for her part, reflects her own negative spirit. It is easier to
understand the cause of Steerforth's internal troubles after seeing the role
models he had growing up. Note also the strong foreshadowing when Steerforth
asks David to remember him at his best, together with David's last image of him as
asleep.

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More foreshadowing occurs when Mr. Omer tells David that Little Emily is not
acting like herself. Her unsettled and unsatisfied demeanor indicates that she
wants something more and that she will not be happy until she gets it. A very big
hint about the next part of Emily’s story involves the news that her friend Martha
has gone missing. Martha, obviously distressed, went to Emily for help, and there is
no sign of Martha but Emily is looking distraught.

The negative tone of these chapters (with the significant exception of David’s
hopes for love, by no means sure) is reinforced with the death of Mr. Barkis. Death
is in the air, and this death in particular leaves Peggotty in the role of the single,
strong woman once again. He was a wonderful husband to her, and he even left her
some money. Despite the very negative situation, Peggotty will prove to be strong
enough to push through this trial. In the face of adversity, she will deserve
admiration for her strength and prove herself a good example of female
empowerment.

Summary and Analysis of Chapters 31-35

David stays to help Peggotty settle the affairs of her husband, and he finds that
the man’s hoarding paid off for his wife. She has a large inheritance. Ham arrives
alone, although he was expected to arrive with Little Em’ly. Ham tells everyone
that Little Em’ly has run away, leaving a letter begging everyone to forget her. The
letter also professes her love for her uncle and claims that she will not come back
unless the man she has run away with makes her a lady. Ham then tells David, upon
his request, that it was Steerforth who ran away with her. Ham repeatedly says,
however, that he does not blame David for the affair. Mr. Peggotty then swears
that he will go out, find Little Em’ly, and bring her back.

The next morning, Ham asks David to take care of Mr. Peggotty, who is still shaken
up by the whole situation. Shortly before David and Mr. Peggotty set off to find

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her, David has an encounter with Miss Mowcher, who is extremely remorseful. She
believes that she set off the whole chain of events leading to Emily’s
disappearance, for she delivered a letter from Steerforth to the girl, thinking it
was from David. She repeats that she is very sorry but hopes that David will not
trust her any less than he would trust a normal-sized woman. She then climbs down
from the stove from which she was speaking to David and leaves. David says that
his opinion of her has greatly changed.

Mr. Peggotty suggests that they go first to see Mrs. Steerforth, and David agrees.
Mrs. Steerforth rants on and on that the whole situation is Little Emily’s fault--
and Mr. Peggotty’s as well, for raising her. Miss Dartle also blames David because
he introduced Emily and Steerforth. Mr. Peggotty then decides to go off alone to
find Emily, and he tells David that if David should find her first, he should tell her
that he loves her and has forgiven her.

This whole time, David has continued to miss Dora dearly, especially walking
through her neighborhood. But he will not dare to visit her. He takes Peggotty to
Doctors’ Commons to settle her affairs at the office of Mr. Spenlow. There, they
run into Mr. Murdstone, who is getting his new marriage license. Peggotty shouts at
him, accusing him of causing the death of David’s mother, and it takes much of
David’s efforts to restrain her. As they are leaving, Mr. Spenlow invites David to
Dora’s birthday party.

David is very excited and happy to see Dora at the party, but another man is paying
special attention to her. David makes every effort not to appear jealous. Dora’s
friend, Miss Mills, reconciles David and Dora, and soon they are secretly engaged.
As an adult, David muses, this was the happiest he has ever been, and now seeing a
ring on his own daughter’s finger similar to the ring he gave Dora brings back
painful memories.

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David immediately writes to Agnes upon his engagement. The memory of her
beautiful eyes and calm demeanor soothes him to the point of tears.

He is soon cheered up by a surprise visit from Traddles, who tells him more about
his fiancée, Sophie. Sophie is the fourth of ten children and is the main caregiver
of the family. Traddles also tells David that the Micawbers are in financial
difficulties once more, to the point that Mr. Micawber had to change his name to
Mortimer. Traddles asks Peggotty to buy the Micawbers’ coffee table and flower
pot from the pawn shop so that Mr. Micawber is not overcharged when going back
for it. However, Traddles also swears not to loan any more money to the
Micawbers, for he is now devoted to his fiancée and to supporting her. When they
arrive home from the pawn shop, they find Miss Betsey at the door with all of her
things. She is very nice to Peggotty, whom she calls Barkis, but she reveals to
David that she has lost everything due to poor business decisions.

Upon hearing the news, David’s first emotion, although he knows it is selfish, is
sadness. David feels sad because he is now poor and will not be able to provide
Dora with everything she wants. Moreover, his aunt does not approve of his
devotion to her, telling him that this particular romance is pointless. After a
sleepless night during which he mulls over his aunt’s criticisms of Dora, David goes
to Mr. Spenlow and tries to cancel his apprenticeship. Mr. Spenlow, however, will
not refund any of the money that Miss Betsey paid to allow David to start.

On the way back home, David runs into Agnes, who has heard of Miss Betsey’s
troubles and comforts him. She also tells him that Uriah and his mother have
moved in with her and Mr. Wickfield and that the house has been miserable
because of it. She suggests that David get a job as a secretary for Dr. Strong, who
is looking for someone to help with his dictionary. Mr. Wickfield and Uriah then go
over to David’s household, where Uriah is poorly received and even scolded by Miss
Betsey.

Analysis

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Emily’s disappearance with Steerforth is one of the most significant events in the
novel. She has given up her stable, peaceful life with a loving fiancé. Apparently she
is attempting to increase her status and become a lady.

The differences in the reactions of the two affected families reveal the moral
differences between the two. None of the Peggottys, not even Ham, blames David
or even Emily for the disappearance. The Steerforths, however, refuse to place
even a little blame on their own son, instead blaming David and Emily for almost
everything.

Miss Mowcher adds an interesting angle to the situation. As a rather unattractive

and abnormally short person, she does not have the beauty that other characters
such as Steerforth possess. This situation makes it even easier to dislike her for
passing that note to Emily. Miss Mowcher shows true remorse, however, and this
episode reveals her gentle soul.

On the positive side, we again have David’s and Dora’s relationship, which advances
to the next level during these chapters. Their getting engaged represents another
step towards happiness in David’s life. He even interrupts his story, looking back,
to say how happy he was during that time of his life. Sadly, he foreshadows the
unhappy ending of that marriage by saying how much it hurts him to remember it.
That is, despite the happiness he felt, the older David continues to recognize his
undisciplined heart. Perhaps he should have taken to heart the warnings of Miss
Betsey that their relationship was pointless. The younger David simply chooses to
ignore such warnings, instead focusing on how happy he feels with his fiancée.

David tells Agnes the news as soon as he is engaged, and the younger David is
troubled by bittersweet memories as well. The fact that her memory brings him to
tears shows just how much he cares for her, although he has not realized the
extent of his feelings for her yet. Soon, she continues to care for him by
comforting him upon hearing of the financial troubles of his aunt and by suggesting
a job for him with Dr. Strong. But her news that the Heeps have moved in with her

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and her father is very unsettling, showing the growing strength of Uriah’s
character.

For his part, Traddles is back once more with his fiancée. This is another indication
of just how happy and content his character is. Due to his engagement, he has
become more financially responsible, at least in that he stops lending money to the
Micawbers. Such investments in them, everybody ought to know by now, are for
nought. The Micawbers are in such dire straits that they have had to change their
last name. This name change is more than just an escape from creditors and an
indication that they are running away from their problems; it is also a symbol of
their becoming further distanced from reality.

Summary and Analysis of Chapters 36-45

David goes the next day to see Dr. Strong about the position. Along the way, he
decides that he will use this time to prove to Dora that he is willing to work hard
and take care of her. He dreams of having earned a beautiful house for Dora and
Jip to play in. Dr. Strong happily receives David and is excited to have help with
the dictionary. David works hard but enjoys it because he feels that he is proving
himself worthy of Dora. Mr. Dick also wants to help with Miss Betsey’s financial
situation, so he begins to work copying legal documents for Traddles.

One day, Jack Maldon arrives at Dr. Strong’s house and asks if he can take Annie
to the opera. Dr. Strong encourages her to go, and she agrees, despite the fact
that she obviously does not want to. Meanwhile, David receives a letter from Mr.
Micawber saying that he is going to move once more. David and Traddles have
dinner with the Micawbers, who reveal that Mr. Micawber is going to work for
Uriah--which both companions find very unsettling.

All this time, Dora has no idea of David’s dreadful financial state, so he goes to
Miss Mills’ home to let her know. At first, she does not believe him when he says
that he is ruined. When she finally comes around, she begins crying, for she

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obviously does not want to live poor. She becomes even more hysterical at the
thought that she might have to keep house. David feels awful for making her cry so
much. Miss Mills manages to comfort her but makes clear to David that he cannot
expect Dora to be able to handle these things. He then has tea with Dora, and they
play the guitar together before he has to leave for work, despite Dora’s pleas that
he not do so.

David is content at this point, working hard for Dora and having debates with Mr.
Dick. However, Mr. Spenlow soon uncovers his affair with Dora (with help from
Miss Murdstone) and forbids David from seeing her again. David refuses and
leaves. Later, he finds out that Mr. Spenlow has died in a coach accident. Dora will
not see him, for she thinks it is disrespectful to her father’s memory. David’s only
connection to her is now through Miss Mills, who reads him her diary entries about
Dora.

To get his mind off of Dora, David’s aunt sends him to check on her house in Dover.
He then goes to Canterbury to visit the Wickfields, where he discovers that Mr.
Micawber has moved in. David senses, from a strained conversation that the two of
them have, that something has changed between them. Nevertheless, he is happy
to see Agnes and talk to her about his situation, and she advises him to write to
Dora’s aunts to ask permission to see her. They are unable to speak alone after
that because of Mrs. Heep’s constant presence. David later finds out from Uriah
that he had his mother follow them; Uriah loves Agnes and plans to marry her.
Uriah pronounces his love that night, after he has gotten Mr. Wickfield extremely
drunk. The latter grows angry and begins shouting at Uriah, while Uriah warns him
not to threaten him because he knows his secret. This whole time, he is also
constantly proclaiming his humbleness.

The next day David leaves, after a heartfelt goodbye with Agnes and a much more
uncomfortable one with Uriah. David writes the letter to Dora’s aunts and hopes
for the best. One night he runs into Mr. Peggotty, who tells him that he has been
searching for Emily all across continental Europe. He has come close to finding her
several times, and she has written three letters to the house in Yarmouth, in which
she included money. David also learns that Ham continues to work hard but is

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deeply wounded by the whole affair. While Mr. Peggotty is talking, David sees
someone listening at the door, but the figure leaves before he can talk to her. Mr.
Peggotty then continues his journey, vowing to search for his niece until he drops
dead.

David finally receives a reply from Dora’s aunts, who agree to meet with him to
discuss his relationship with Dora. David brings Traddles along to help him convince
the aunts to let him see Dora again. They are successful. After some lecturing,
Dora’s aunts, Clarissa and Lavinia, agree to let David see Dora at dinner every
Sunday at 3:00--and at tea, but no more than twice a week. These arrangements
make David very happy. She is very opposed to meeting Traddles or even Miss
Betsey, although eventually she comes around. The only thing that displeases David
is the way that Dora’s aunts treat her like a doll, similar to the way that she treats
Jip. He even finds himself treating her that way sometimes. She does not want to
discuss such things with him because she knows he will get upset. Likewise, to
prevent her from getting upset, he does not say anything and continues to play and
sing with her.

The older David starts the next chapter by proclaiming that he has worked all of
his life to try to do everything well, and there is no fulfillment on this earth
without perseverance--talent and opportunity are not enough. He then describes a
visit from the Wickfields to Dr. Strong’s house. Unfortunately, Uriah accompanies
them, which the younger David does not like at all. However, he is very happy to
see that Dora takes a liking to Agnes. Dora even wonders how David could have
fallen in love with her, having grown up with a lady as good as Agnes. Agnes,
meanwhile, reassures David that everything at the Wickfield home has remained
the same and that she will never marry Uriah.

As David is about to retire to bed, he is pulled into Dr. Strong’s study by Uriah,
who is already there with Dr. Strong and Mr. Wickfield. Uriah makes them tell the
doctor about their suspicions concerning Annie and Jack Maldon. Dr. Strong
refuses to believe them and leaves after a good deal of tension. David strikes
Uriah for doing such an awful thing, but instead of striking him back, Uriah

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forgives him, something which incenses David even more. He also receives a letter
from Mrs. Micawber, saying that that her husband has become a greedy, evil man
and is no longer the jovial person he used to be.

The older David now remembers his wedding to Dora. His memories are very
beautiful, recollecting the beauty of his wife and the happy, loving presence of
friends and family. He even remembers Dora using a cookbook that he gave her to
teach Jip tricks. He remembers the tricks as rather adorable, too.

Although Dora is a very bad housekeeper and David is no better, the two of them
are happy. They have their domestic struggles, especially with the maids, who
often rob them. Dora tries to be a good wife by trying to make dinner and trying to
balance their finances, although she loses focus not long into these tasks. She
hates to annoy David but is very devoted to him, even staying up late to watch him
write. She wishes that she could have stayed with Agnes for a year before they
married so that she could have learned from her. Despite his wife’s faults,
however, David is happy as long as Dora is happy. Upon her request, he begins to
think of her as his "child-wife," and even Miss Betsey becomes devoted to her and
does anything she can to make her happy.

Meanwhile, the marriage of Annie and Dr. Strong remains turbulent. The only
person who appreciates this is Annie’s mother, Mrs. Markelham, whom Miss Betsey
and David refer to as the "Old Soldier." Dr. Strong has been sending Annie out
frequently to plays and other activities, and he often sends Mrs. Markelham along
for company. But Annie is not enjoying these things, knowing that Dr. Strong
doubts her fidelity.

One night, Mr. Dick asks David if he is weak in intelligence. He is happy when David
says yes, for he believes that because of this, he can reconcile Dr. Strong and
Annie. That is, Mr. Dick thinks that more intelligent friends would not be able to do

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so because they are too polite. Mr. Dick brings Annie to Dr. Strong, and she
proclaims her faithfulness to him in front of David, Miss Betsey, and Mrs.
Markelham, who is the only one who does not seem touched by the display. Miss
Betsey kisses Mr. Dick and calls him a good man for his actions. Annie’s emotional
display both pleases and troubles David, but he cannot explain why.

Analysis

David remains enamored with Dora and works very hard in order to be able to
provide for her. He is cognizant of his undisciplined heart, and he ought to know
that she is not ready to maintain a household or to live a life that is less than
luxurious. That much can be seen by her hysterical reaction to David’s newfound
poverty. Yet, he is refusing to acknowledge the inherent problems in their
relationship, still in the honeymoon period of love and marriage.

David’s memories of his marriage to Dora are so beautiful that it is impossible to

doubt that he is truly in love with her. Dora’s childish mind is further revealed by
the fact that everyone, including David, is scared to treat her normally for fear of
hurting or scaring her. Her childlike devotion to David and juvenile wishing that she
could be a better wife make her character endearing. She is easy to love, and it is
not so surprising that David is so madly in love with her. Despite the fact that his
"child-wife" is too much like a doll to perform any of the typical duties of a
Victorian housewife, he deeply loves her. This romantic marriage could be Dickens’
way of reminding readers that the happiness of a marriage does not solely depend
on the domestic skills of the wife, providing a way for wives to break out of the
traditional Victorian mold.

Meanwhile, David is enjoying his employment with Dr. Strong. Dickens again uses
foreshadowing when Jack Maldon returns once more to take Annie to the opera.
Trouble with that relationship is on the horizon again, although Dr. Strong seems
too trusting to see anything coming.

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As the signs in previous chapters correctly suggested, the Micawbers’ situation has
become so dire that they must move on again. That Mr. Micawber must take a job
under Uriah must feel especially unsettling. This circumstance reveals that Uriah’s
character is becoming stronger and stronger; he now can hire someone to work
under him. Mr. Micawber’s relationship with David changes after the move as well,
suggesting that Uriah has corrupted him.

Uriah’s character becomes even more sinister after David finds out that he had
Mrs. Heep follow David and Agnes while they were talking. He has even gained the
courage to tell Mr. Wickfield to his face that he is intending to marry Agnes, still
maintaining the facade of humility. All of this makes clear that Uriah’s inevitable
betrayal is coming in the near future.

More foreshadowing occurs when Dora meets Agnes and wonders how David could
ever love her with Agnes around. So long as David is enamored with his child-wife,
he will be blind to the feelings that remain for his childhood friend. Importantly,
however, he feels very relieved to find out that she has no plans to marry Uriah in
the future. This does not mean, however, that Uriah is becoming any less
influential.

As for Mr. Micawber, according to a letter from Mrs. Micawber, he has become
evil and greedy while working for Uriah. This change is completely out of character.
Furthermore, Uriah willingly decides to cause trouble between Dr. Strong and
Annie by bringing up the issue with Jack Maldon, forcing David and Mr. Wickfield
to reveal their doubts about Annie. Throughout the entire charade, he keeps his
mask of innocence and piety, even forgiving David for hitting him. Indeed, it
becomes clear that Uriah has become dangerously bold and influential.

Finally, the Strong marriage is saved by Mr. Dick, whose simple mind is able to
remind the couple just how much they love each other. By designing this entire
situation, Dickens has not only revealed Uriah’s increasing power, but he has also
shown again how beneficial a childlike mind can be. David’s confused emotions upon
seeing Annie’s emotional outburst could be a combination of the joy of seeing the

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couple back together and apprehension or surprise that Uriah Heep was so able to
hurt someone.

Summary and Analysis of Chapters 51-55

Mr. Peggotty visits David and Miss Betsey to tell them Little Em’ly’s story.
Apparently she escaped from Littimer in a delirium but was rescued and nursed
back to health by a woman whose husband was a sailor. Mr. Peggotty gets very
overcome when talking about this woman, feeling so grateful to her for helping
Emily. Little Em’ly then continued traveling through France and England. She
remained afraid, however, that her family would turn her away. Thus, she never
made it to Yarmouth but turned around and ended up in London.

Mr. Peggotty reveals that he has decided to take Little Em’ly to Australia, where
she can start over without anybody knowing her. He and David go to Yarmouth to
say goodbye to Ham. While he is there, David visits Mr. Omer, who is becoming
more and more ill but remains quite jovial and happy. Ham asks David to tell Emily
that he loves her and that he is sorry to have scared her away with his powerful
feelings for her. Mrs. Grummidge decides to go with Mr. Peggotty and Little Em’ly,
and she makes the trip back to London happily, much unlike her former, depressed
self.

Mr. Micawber, Agnes, David, Traddles, and Miss Betsey all meet at an inn,
preparing to confront Uriah Heep about his crimes. They go to his home, where Mr.
Micawber reads a long list of all of the crimes he has committed. These include
forcing Mr. Wickfield into business deals when he was not capable of making them,
forging signatures, fudging numbers in accounts, and so on. As Mr. Micawber is
reading this list, Uriah finally abandons his humble demeanor and begins insulting
everyone, especially David, saying that David always acted proud and conceited
toward Uriah. Uriah’s lack of power in the present situation, combined with his
mother’s pleas for him to “be ’umble,” finally force Uriah to comply with their
demands to get their property back. Miss Betsey also reveals that Uriah caused

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her own financial ruin, and she gets her property back as well. With the issue of
Uriah Heep now settled, Mr. and Mrs. Micawber reconcile. They decide to go to
Australia after fixing their relationship with Mrs. Micawber’s family.

The older David again lingers on his memories, recalling the circumstances of his
child-wife’s death. He recalls how he and Dora used to talk about what they would
do when she got better and all of the places from their time of courtship that they
would revisit. Sadly, however, one day Dora asks to see Agnes. She reveals to David
that she knows that she will not get better. He refuses to say it himself, but he
knows that it is true. The last time he speaks to Dora, she tells him that she was
too young to marry him but that she loves him very much for loving her the way he
has. Agnes finally goes up to be with Dora while David sits downstairs with Jip, who
is whining to go upstairs. Suddenly, Jip dies at David’s feet, and soon after, Agnes
comes down to let him know that Dora has passed away as well.

David moves past the sorrowful memories with difficulty. He goes on to recount
the meeting of Miss Betsey, Agnes, and Traddles in Canterbury. Traddles discovers
that he can regain all of Miss Betsey’s property as well as Mr. Wickfield’s money,
and Agnes decides to rent the house and open a school to keep her and her father
financially stable. David, meanwhile, decides that he will go abroad after his wife’s
death, but before he leaves, Miss Betsey takes him to a hospital and a funeral. She
reveals that her husband, who has been dragging money out of her, has finall died
and will no longer be a problem. Thus, David can leave the country with peace of
mind on this issue.

Before he leaves, David travels to Yarmouth to deliver a letter from Little Em’ly to
Ham. He cannot find Ham at his house, and he begins to feel very uneasy at Ham’s
absence. As he was entering the town, a storm rolled in. Soon a ship in the distance
is wrecked. All of the sailors appear to be dead except one in a red cap, who is
waving for help. Ham comes out of nowhere and ties a rope around his own waist,
insisting that he go out and try to save the man. He almost succeeds, but a large
wave comes crashing down on him and kills him before he can reach the sailor. As
David is mourning Ham’s loss, a fisherman calls him out to the shore once more,

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where he sees the body of Steerforth lying in the same position that he had slept
in during his days at Salem House.

Analysis

Little Emily finally finds peace after her long trial, and now she is heading to
Australia where she can start over. She has faced her troubles and gotten over
them with the help of her family, and now she is ready to move on. An interesting
detail in her story is the fact that she was nursed back to health by the wife of a
sailor. This calls to mind the sea, which has taken away many lives and will take
more. The sea, in a sense, is giving her another chance.

Meanwhile, the situation with Uriah finally comes to a head. When confronted by
everyone whom he has defrauded, Uriah shows his true colors. He drops his
humility act and begins cursing everybody until he finally realizes that he has no
power anymore, for nobody believes him any longer. The power of the assembled
group has overcome his individual manipulative power, and in a sense the community
has restored justice. The whole situation ends well, and everyone gets what is
rightfully theirs.

The Micawbers, finally having a chance to escape their misery, expect to fix their
problems in England, both financially and with Mrs. Micawber’s family. They will
head for Australia, which suggests an entirely new life and identity, hopefully one
that is successful. In being made whole again, they can fully return to reality, yet
they would rather leave England behind and start over more fully.

When Dora finally passes away, of course the scene is profoundly sad. In her final
encounter with David, she finally seems to grow out of her childish frame of mind,
admitting that she was too young to marry him. The prospect of death makes
people mature quickly. In a rather bald moment of parallelism, Jip dies at the same

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moment as Dora. This is more than a melodramatic coincidence, because Jip’s death
symbolizes the death of Dora’s free spirit as well as her body.

In addition, Jip’s death reminds us of the deep heartache involved in the death of
a best friend or family member. The memory of Dora’s death is very difficult for
the older David, which reveals how much he still loved her in spite of everything.
Indeed, David’s grief at the time remains strong and eventually drives him out of
the country. He too needs a change of scene.

Another death of a spouse is noted in this section, but it has a completely

different feel, and the spouse reacts very differently. Miss Betsey’s ex-husband
has died, but he was already dead to her and had been a particular thorn in her
side. She survived the persecution and financial difficulties that he caused her,
and having done so, she is now truly a free woman. Among all the characters who
find themselves alone or unencumbered, Miss Betsey’s freedom is probably the
most satisfying. Her story is a triumphant endorsement of the strength of women,
who do not necessarily need men in order to be happy and successful.

There are still more deaths in this section, which emphasize other themes. The
death of Steerforth calls into question the role of the sea as a mystical force,
seemingly with the power to give life and, especially, to take away lives. In terms of
poetic justice, Dickens chooses to have Steerforth die perhaps as punishment for
his haughtiness or his stealing away of Emily. In addition, the eerie position of his
body reminds David of his promise to only remember Steerforth at his best. As for
Ham, his death might also be a kind of poetic justice; Dickens might be killing him
off because he has attempted to interfere with what the novel needs to be done.
Ham’s death might also be a result of his willingness to risk his life because he
might see little left to live for himself, considering the extent of the emotional
damage inflicted on him by the elopement of his fiancée.

Summary and Analysis of Chapters 56-64

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David goes to Steerforth’s house to let Mrs. Steerforth know of her son’s fate.
The poor woman is now handicapped and spends her days lying in her son’s old room.
She never recovers from the shock of David’s news. Miss Dartle lashes out at her
just as she did with Little Em’ly. She claims that Mrs. Steerforth raised her son to
be the cruel, insensitive boy that he was and, therefore, has no right to be sad at
his death. Miss Dartle is hysterical at this point, declaring how much she loved poor
Steerforth. David takes his leave of the house, followed only by Mrs. Steerforth’s
sad moans.

All of the people who are headed to Australia meet one last time with those who
are staying behind. David does not tell Mr. Peggotty or Emily about the deaths of
Steerforth and Ham but pretends that everything is well. Mr. and Mrs. Micawber,
reunited with their children, hope for success in the new land. Before the boat
departs, David asks about Martha, and Mr. Peggotty reveals that she is going with
them to Australia. The boat sails away, and David watches Mr. Peggotty, with Emily
by his side, moving gradually out of sight.

David finally leaves, too, and travels around continental Europe, eventually settling
in Switzerland. For the first time, his true sorrow regarding the deaths of
Steerforth, Ham, and Dora hit him, and he is in a constant state of misery. His only
bright spot is Agnes, and he recalls how much he loves her. He finds himself very
weak in comparison to her and does not believe that he is worthy of her. In fact,
he opines that she will never be his.

David returns to London in autumn and first goes to visit Traddles, who has
married his fiancée at last. Although he is not a famous lawyer quite yet, he is very
happy in his current situation. David also runs into Mr. Chillip from his youth, who
mentions that he is now living next door to Mr. and Miss Murdstone, who have
already driven Mr. Murdstone’s second wife to death. David then returns to Miss
Betsey’s home, where Mr. Dick and Peggotty live as well. He asks about Agnes and

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if she is seeing anyone, and his aunt replies that she only has one true love--but will
not say who it is.

The next day, David goes to visit Agnes. He sees that Mr. Wickfield has been
nursed back to health and that his house is calm and peaceful once more. David
confides his true feelings to Agnes, but these declarations seem to disturb her.

David and Traddles later receive invitations from Mr. Creakle, the former master
of Salem House and current prison magistrate, to visit the prison in which he
works. The first inmate they encounter is Uriah Heep, who was thrown in jail for
trying to cheat the Bank of England. Uriah actually is happy with his stay in prison
and says that it has worked so well in changing him that he wishes everyone could
go to prison for correction. They also encounter Littimer, who attempted robbery
but was caught, surprisingly, by Miss Mowcher.

Agnes and David remain very close, but David is constantly tormented by the
knowledge that she truly loves someone else. When he finally confronts her, she
breaks down, and he realizes that he is the person whom she loves. The two get
married very quickly and have three children. They are visited by Mr. Peggotty,
who informs them that everyone in Australia is doing well. Mr. Micawber is even a
magistrate. After this visit, however, they never see Mr. Peggotty again.

The last chapter of the novel is a summary of the present time, giving news about
all the characters as David is penning the novel. Miss Betsey, Peggotty, and Mr.
Dick all live with him, old but still doing well. Mr. Dick continues to work on his
Memorials. Dr. Strong and Annie are happily married, as are Traddles and his wife.
Traddles is now a successful lawyer. Mrs. Steerforth and Miss Dartle still fight all
the time. Finally, David and Agnes are very happily married, with David very loyal
and devoted to the woman who has been his source of strength for almost his
entire life.

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Analysis

Upon the death of Steerforth, we see a final breakdown of all of those who have
represented the highest class of society. Mrs. Steerforth is consumed by shock,
and Miss Dartle is consumed by her rage, again throwing the responsibility at
everybody but her beloved cousin. We have seen a big difference in how the upper
class Steerforths and the lower class Peggottys have handled loss. This is Dickens’
lesson that those of the upper class are not necessarily better off, morally or
emotionally, than those of a lower class.

The scene in which the Peggottys, Martha, and the Micawbers depart for Australia
is an interesting one, again invoking the sea as a vehicle for change. This time the
characters are being borne off to another world, where they all will have a second
chance at living their lives. Australia is emblematic of freedom, a wild place very
far away. In a way, these characters are receiving life or being reborn.

Although it takes a few more years, David finally recognizes his love for Agnes,
who finally admits that he is the one she loves. Thus, David finally reaches the
happiness he has been striving for during just about his entire life. This is the
positive side of poetic justice. Indeed, in the end, all of the characters receive
their just rewards. Uriah, for example, ends up in jail but is happy with the moral
changes that being there has made in him. His victims have already been made
whole. Littimer, Steerforth’s arrogant servant, also has been prosecuted for
stealing after being caught by none other than Miss Mowcher, who now gets to be a
hero. On the negative side, Mrs. Steerforth and Miss Dartle constantly make one
another miserable.

Other good characters are rewarded, as well. Traddles, for example, marries his
fiancée and earns a successful career. Miss Betsey, Peggotty, and Mr. Dick get
peaceful lives with the ones they love, and David and Agnes marry. Mr. Peggotty,
Emily, and the Micawbers have made the most out of their lives in Australia. It is
the happiest ending that Dickens could produce.

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There has been much sadness and anxiety in this novel, but Dickens has made
everything right in the end. The memories of pain, even if they do not seem strong
in the others, remain strong in the older David as he writes, despite his happiness
with his new family. David tells a story that seems very reliable, pain and all. In
writing, he has purged himself of some of the sorrow he has experienced in his
life; his memoir is complete. Perhaps Dickens benefited in a similar way.

Quotes and Analysis

I was not considered as being formally received into the school, however, until J.
Steerforth arrived.

David Copperfield (as narrator)

David has been at school for a month, and he has been wearing the placard that
reads, "Take care of him. He bites." It seems that the adults are in charge of the
school. But in an important way, the social patterns of the school are under the
control of J. Steerforth, the boy who cuts his name most frequently and most
deeply into the old playground door. Steerforth is the one who will "take care of"
David and his seven shillings.

They and the men generally spoke of me as 'the little gent,' or 'the young
Suffolker.'

David Copperfield (as narrator)

In significant ways, David is on his own as he works at Murdstone and Grinby's.

Unlike the other boys, he matures quickly. He acts like an adult or "gentleman" and
even buys his own beer. If he really is living the life of an adult, the working
situation and life situation here are so terrible that adulthood is not something to
look forward to. In any case, David is an unusual boy.

I half believed it was an imposture to come there as an ordinary little schoolboy.

David Copperfield (as narrator)

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David has started school again and, while he has received a gentlemanly welcome,
he knows that he is still among boys. The boys have not matured through adversity,
like David has, and he is not very well described as the "new boy" at his new school.
Truth be told, he knows less of school learning than the other boys, despite his
greater worldly knowledge. Yet, he is starting over with a new life, and perhaps he
will be able to recapture something of his already-lost youth.

Talent, Mr. Micawber has; capital, Mr. Micawber has not.

Mrs. Micawber

This is the Micawbers' problem throughout almost the entire novel. Mr. and Mrs.
Micawber are constantly in financial strife, needing money or capital for their
various endeavors. Still, they usually show that they are good-spirited. They keep
making efforts to stay afloat. Yet, how much talent can Mr. Micawber have if he
keeps failing and keeps needing money? Maybe they spend too much time hoping
and asking for money, and not enough time working on ways to earn it and keep it
from those who would take it away.

Yes, Agnes, my good Angel! Always my good Angel!

David Copperfield

Agnes is someone who deeply cares for David; she is someone he can trust and
someone he eventually marries. She accepts the role of good angel, warning David
against Steerforth, his "bad angel." In the previous scene, Agnes saw David drunk-
-it was partly Steerforth's fault. Although David trusts Steerforth anyway, he is
very happy to think of Agnes as his good angel.

I was a captive and a slave. I loved Dora Spenlow to distraction! She was more than
human to me. She was a Fairy, a Sylph, I don't know what she was--anything that
no one ever saw, and everything that everybody ever wanted.

David Copperfield (as narrator)

Here David meets Dora for the first time. He is gushing with emotion. He is
trapped by her beautiful image, and his undisciplined heart is partly to blame.
Indeed she is nothing more than an image, an ideal with no real substance. To his
mind she is some kind of magical being, some kind of fairy, but nothing specific.
She is everything he wants--he imagines, on first sight--yet she is not someone

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who David truly "saw" for who she really was. The language of captivity and slavery
foreshadows a bad end to the eventual relationship.

It's a stupid name ... Child-wife.

Dora Spenlow

Dora is childish and doll-like, immature and not really ready to be David's wife. She
realizes this problem and understands that it causes trouble in their marriage.
Thus, she asks David to think of her as not a mature wife but a child-wife, so that
he will be somewhat more forgiving of her faults. David is willing to oblige, for the
name fits, and she is too childlike and sweet for him to say no. Like the financial
accounts that Dora tries but fails to keep up with, this marriage does not "add up."

Whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with all my heart to do well; that
whatever I have devoted myself to, I have devoted myself to completely; that in
great aims and in small, I have always been thoroughly in earnest. I have never
believed it possible that any natural or improved ability can claim immunity from
the companionship of the steady, plain, hard-working qualities, and hope to gain its
end.

David Copperfield (as narrator)

David here identifies a character trait that we have seen throughout the novel.
David has told his story as someone who perseveres, and readers are inclined to
believe him. Indeed perseverance is one of his strongest qualities, and it is a major
theme in the novel; David honors and values those who work hard even in difficult
circumstances. David is also demonstrating integrity and consistency. He asserts
that ability alone is not enough; to succeed one must also work and exercise that
ability towards a goal. In this context, he describes his perseverance in terms of
trying to win marriage with Dora, but he also attributes some of his understanding
about the value of perseverance to what he learned from Agnes.

He repaid her by breaking her fortune, and nearly breaking her heart. So she put
all that sort of sentiment, once and for ever, in a grave, and filled it up, and
flattened it down.

Miss Betsey Trotwood

David's aunt, speaking about herself in the third person in order to give herself
emotional distance from her sorrow, finally reveals a dark secret in her past: she

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was once married to a man who treated her badly. The husband "nearly" broke her
heart, but she left him before her heart was ruined. Of course, though the
husband is in a sense dead to her, he is living, reappearing every so often, and she
gives him money to go away. He is no longer part of her life, and she wants it that
way. She put her romantic love, her heart, in a grave--compartmentalized, so to
speak. Those feelings are gone and buried--they have not disappeared, but she
does not want to exhume them. When the husband appears, he must be like some
sort of ghost. David, in on the secret, also must bury it, as though the whole thing
never happened. Leaving her husband before it was too late has made her stronger,
however, and she has been able to go on with her life independent of her former
husband.

Theer's been kiender a blessing fell upon us ... and we've done nowt but prosper.
That is, in the long run. If not yesterday, why then today. If not today, why then
tomorrow.

Mr. Peggotty

It is ten years after David's marriage to Agnes, and readers might wonder how
everyone in Australia fared. So does David, and the good news is that Australia
met their expectations and they are generally happy and successful. Indeed
Australia has been a blessing, but Mr. Peggotty (and, it turns out, Mr. Micawber as
well) has worked hard to make the most of the opportunity. He is another
character with hope and perseverance; eventually the hard work will pay off.
Likewise, David is happy and accomplished now, too.

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