Dombey, Chapters 26 - 28

[Tristram]

Mark wrote: "This novel of Dickens isn't grabbing me -- Dombey himself is too hard to believe as a character, (and so is Florence). And since that basic tension between Dombey and Florence seems too unrealisti..."

Mark,

I can understand why you feel that way about the novel because when I read it last time I did not really like it too much, either. Now, however, I am absolutely enthusiastic about it, and I can hardly wait to start a new chapter. I'm curious if the same thing will happen with regard to my appreciation of David Copperfield, which I found really tedious at times.

I like the way Dickens describes Dombey, with hardly any sign of inner life at all, sitting in the dark, acting like the wooden figurehead of a ship that is bound to sink, and I think his behaviour was typical of Victorian men. I once read somewhere that they were so used to keeping a stiff upper lip in daily life that they gushed sentimental tears over books like The Old Curiosity Shop. By the way, I think Dickens even gives him a little history, i.e. by saying that he advanced from Son to Dombey in due course, and that is probably all there is to say about his own father-son-relationship.

As to Florence, I cannot understand why she would cling so much to a father who is cold and forbidding, instead of just stopping caring about him. But in the Chapter "The Study of a Loving Heart" the narrator gives an absolutely credible psychological account of her way of feeling and reasoning. Some people are like that. Apart from that, Dickens was a man of his time, and as such a one he would prefer a female ideal of forbearance, self-denial and submission instead of an independent and proud heroine.

[Everyman]

Tristram wrote: "And yet, Peter, it has not really become clear what he [Carker] is up to, i.e. if his motives are mercantile or simply bloody-minded."

Me either. Dickens is certainly hiding the ball.

[Everyman]

Tristram wrote: "I can understand why you feel that way about the novel because when I read it last time I did not really like it too much, either. Now, however, I am absolutely enthusiastic about it"

Which I'm sure is entirely attributable to all the wonderful comments shared by all the wise and insightful people on this site.

And there's Kim, too, of course.

[Tristram]

Everyman wrote: "Tristram wrote: "I can understand why you feel that way about the novel because when I read it last time I did not really like it too much, either. Now, however, I am absolutely enthusiastic about ..."

I would have thought it's also because I have grown older and maybe also more mature, which is the only good thing about growing older - apart from being entitled to look down your nose at all those new-fangled ideas.

[Kim]

Everyman wrote: "And there's Kim, too, of course."

Don't bother me, I'm trying to make a list of all the decorations I'll need to buy to decorate all the trees on your land on your island and how much money it is going to cost you when I come get there. Cash only, by the way.

[Mary Lou]

Tristram wrote: "accosted by the old fortune teller, whom I take to be none other than Good Mrs. Brown - what would a Dickens novel be without chance re-appearances of its characters?"

Interesting! This never occurred to me, but you're quite right that it's a typical ploy of Dickens. I look forward, as I read on, to seeing if you were right!