Dickensians! discussion
David Copperfield - Group Read 1
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May - June 2020: David Copperfield: chapters 30 - 44
Excellent comments and observations! I agree Rosa has revealed her true feelings for Steerforth during her ranting. Didn’t Steerforth once say he was “half afraid” of Rosa? Something like “she’s like a goblin to me”? (Chapter 21, if I could find it) Anyway, after Rosa’s display, I think Steerforth had a point. Just because he’s been a cad with Em’ly doesn’t mean he’s wrong about Rosa. I’m thinking Em’ly is the girl Steerforth would choose to marry if he could but knows that’s not possible. All the same, he must have her. His regrets about not having a strict father shows that he knows he is too weak to stop himself from becoming involved with Em’ly. So, it’s full steam ahead even though he knows his plans will ruin Em’ly and possibly hurt his mother. And that’s my take.
Thanks, Jean. I remember reading that, which pointed to Steerforth talking with her about Emily, but didn't hone in on it more than that.
It was nice to see Miss Mowcher again, the mixture of comedy and tragedy appears again with the description of her battling with her umbrella and then her distress at Steerforth's actions.Miss Mowcher thought it was David who had designs on Emily - ironic that his innocence (blushing etc) served to help conceal Steerforth's plans and give her the wrong idea.
Debra - I'm sure we will see Emily again (or at least hear of her) and her story will be resolved. But given the Victorian morality, I don't think David will love her again except as a friend
Pamela wrote: "........Debra - I'm sure we will see Emily again (or at least hear of her) and her story will be resolved. But given the Victorian morality, I don't think David will love her again except as a friend."Poor Emily. She so wants to be a lady, she cannot see anything else. Right now, for me, the story is more about Emily and what will happen to her. I feel settled about David, that he will be okay.
Lori. Yes, I kept thinking that Steerforth must love Emily and would like to marry her. As bad as Steerforth is, I do not think he would just take Emily away to ruin her.
Mod
Throughout the tragic events David's romantic thoughts remain true:
"If I may so express it, I was steeped in Dora. I was not merely over head and ears in love with her, but I was saturated through and through."
He spends a lot of time gazing up at the house where she lives, and thinking extravagant thoughts. He also takes Peggotty to see the London sights, and confides his feelings for Dora to her.
David continues his probate work on Peggotty's behalf, and one day they are both startled to see Mr Murdstone come into the Doctors Commons, for a marriage licence. David is conscious that this is mot the place to taker Mr Murdstone to task for everything, but Peggotty is more straightforward and says what she thinks of him. The three part remaining civil, but barely polite, and each of them is aware of the others' opinion. Mr Spenlow and the clerks around also notice the encounter, but say it is not unusual to find family disagreements in such a place. He explains that Mr Murdstone is to marry a young woman, as soon as she comes of age. She is beautiful and wealthy.
"‘Lord deliver her!’ said Peggotty. So very emphatically and unexpectedly, that we were all three discomposed;"
The narrator now begins a long sarcastic diatribe against the vagaries of the law, and in particular the "Prerogative Office". He begins by quoting a case in point, where a client managed to annul his marriage by the simple expedient of only stating part of his name in the marriage ceremony, and then claiming that he was a different person, when he applied for an annulment using his full name. Moving on to the "Prerogative Office" the young David (merging with the older narrator) roundly criticises them for forcing people to store their wills there, charging them high fees for so doing, occupying premises for which they are not designed; being a fire hazard and not large enough for the storage, and providing sinecures for staff rather than address these and more problems. He refers to the Prerogative Office as "a pestilent job, and ... a pernicious absurdity" thinking that it should have "been turned completely inside out, and upside down, long ago".
Mr Spenlow tolerates David's views, but believes things should remain as they are, as the system works well enough, even though it is not perfect. He goes on to invite David to his house for Dora's birthday, when they plan to go on a picnic.
David makes "absurd" preparations, buying a new cravat and even tighter boots, sending ahead a hamper and taking a bouquet. He rides to Norwood on an elegant grey horse. Dora is seated in the garden under a lilac tree, looking beautiful. Acting as her chaperone is a dear friend Miss Julia Mills, who at twenty, David thinks to be wise and experienced, as she has been disappointed in love.
David and Dora under the lilac tree
Dora explains that Miss Murdstone has gone to her brother’s marriage, and would be away for at least three weeks. Julia appears to know exactly what Miss Murdstone is like, smiles on the couple with "an air of superior wisdom and benevolence", and they have a pleasant afternoon, with only the growling of Jip to bother them.
They have a phaeton to travel to the picnic, and David rides alongside on his gallant grey.
"Miss Mills understood me. Miss Mills alone could enter into my feelings thoroughly."
The picnic is not a success, as a man with red whiskers seems also to have his eye on Dora. In a fit of jealousy, David flirts with another "young creature in pink, with little eyes". But Miss Mills intervenes, and brings the two closer again.
On the way home Mr Spenlow falls asleep, and David is able to talk to Dora through the carriage window, from his horse. During this time, Miss Mills calls him across to her side of the phaeton, and tells him that Dora is going home with her the day after next. If David would like to call, she is sure her papa would be happy to see him. David goes to sleep that night:
"as enraptured a young noodle as ever was carried out of his five wits by love."
David calls at the Mills's house, and Julia Mills tactfully leaves then alone for a while. After a little hesitation, and complaints by Dora that David had paid attention to another, David bursts out, enraptured with his feelings for her:
"I had loved her every minute, day and night, since I first saw her. I loved her at that minute to distraction. I should always love her, every minute, to distraction."
By the end of the day they are engaged, however much Jip barks. For the next few weeks, they are both deliriously happy with their love. They write each other every day, aided by Miss Mills, and David commissions a ring of forget-me-nots for Dora from a jeweller. But their engagement is kept a secret from Mr Spenlow.
Mod
Personally though, I forgive Dickens's self-indulgence as is so funny - and I love the adorable pair of "noodles" :)
I particularly enjoyed the episode with Mr Murdstone, who from David's point of view:
"was very little changed. His hair looked as thick, and was certainly as black, as ever; and his glance was as little to be trusted as of old ... He smiled, and shot as evil a glance at me as could come from his dark eyes."
He's such a great pantomime villain, and should have long black moustachios he could curl at us! But Charles Dickens gives us more. When Peggotty boldly says:
"I have not worrited and frightened any sweet creetur to an early grave!’, notice how
He eyed her gloomily—remorsefully I thought—for an instant; and said, turning his head towards me, but looking at my feet instead of my face"
He can't even meet David's eyes. I personally think he feels sadness and some guilt for what has happened, and that in his heart, he did love his wife, but in his own "firm" way.
Nevertheless it does not bode well for the next innocent creature he seem to have lined up ...
A great complex character, even though we're invited to despise him. I'd love to read a novel written from his point of view.
I was shocked to see Mr. Murdstone! And I think he was looking at Davids shoes in order to give himself a moment to come up with something evil to say to David. David and Dora, sitting in a tree.... Ah, what is to become of that young love.
" ...so associated in my remembrance with Dora’s hand, that yesterday, when I saw such another, by chance, on the finger of my own daughter, there was a momentary stirring in my heart, like pain!"
Mod
I guess Dora and David won´t get together, and we have a further look ahead to David´s own family.
I'm glad that Dora has Miss Mills for a friend, otherwise the two love-birds might not have gotten together.
Debra, that quote stood out for me, too. It bodes unwell for Dora and David. Ah....young, doomed love. Did Murdstone seem a bit remorseful at his possible part in Clara's death? I thought he might be.
If so, that bodes somewhat better for his new bride; perhaps he'll be more lenient to individuality and person. If not, woe to the new bride.
I wonder who she might be. I'm sure we'll meet her.
And what about that marriage loophole?!!!!!
A man can deliberately change his name in a minor way and....lo & behold....instant annulment, should he so wish it to be! That's worse than what Steerforth is doing to Emily! A man who takes advantage of this loophole can "legally" ruin a woman, then toss her away. That woman would be taken totally by surprise as she married in good faith. At least a situation such as Emily's is entered into with slightly wider eyes.
Debra wrote: "Lori. Yes, I kept thinking that Steerforth must love Emily and would like to marry her. As bad as Steerforth is, I do not think he would just take Emily away to ruin her."Funny, I don't see that AT ALL. Steerforth is not the marrying type, except for position or money. He would marry someone who would be an asset to a career or in society. I don't think he is capable of love, except for himself. He is infatuated with Emily, but barely knows her. He may tell himself in the moment that he could marry her, but for one thing, he wouldn't go against his mother and lose his inheritance, and for another, he would get tired of Emily, once the chase is over and pursue someone else. I guess I am pretty cynical!
I agree that Steerforth never intends to marry Emily, although he may have convinced himself that he loves her. He doesn't take her away "just to ruin her" but he knows that that is what will happen and he doesn't let that keep him from taking her away. So, no true defense for him. Self-love is the only kind Steerforth understands.
I hated seeing Murdstone resurface, although I suspected we were not through with him. I am fearful for his new bride and searched my mind to see if she could be someone we have already met. What David is feeling for Dora is infatuation. They do not know each other well enough for this to be love, and he is not mature enough to realize that love is more than beauty and charm and a winning smile. The quote Debra cited was both sad and not--we all have a first love that tugs at our hearts, an innocent time in life that makes us slightly sad; but most of us have the real thing that comes later and weathers the storms. The fact that David says "daughter" tells me he moves forward, as he should.
I wondered if Murdstone's new bride was someone we knew too. I guess I don't think Steerforth is quite as bad as most others do. I believe he really thinks he loves Emily. And wants to at least set up house with her.
Mod
Funny - I just clicked on this thread to add that word - and you and Robin have both used it LOL! (But I read all the comments first of course:) )
Glad to see that Petra is thinking of that word "remorseful" too ... but then will Mr Murdstone really change? He seems set on the same course with this new
I still think of Steerforth as a fallen angel, but wish David would grow up a bit! He makes instant judgements, and all his reactions are fired by emotion. When they aren't it's usually the older David talking. What does he really know of Dora, except that she has a pretty face? And why does Miss Mills encourage them so?
In fact David seemed to fall in love with her before he ever laid eyes on her, as he loved the Spenlow's garden! (This reminded me of when Elizabeth Bennet fell in love with Mr. Darcy, when she caught sight of Pemberley ... ) So we have him falling in love with the idea of being in love. And we have Uriah Heep, whom we despise because he also professes love for Dora. Why do we find this so despicable?
David and Dora remind me of how Betsey Trotwood described David's father and mother, as completely impractical. David has chosen the same sort of partner as his father did before him.
But that was a love match, and David has the advantage of having his sensible aunt, so perhaps things will work out OK.
Mod
This does not seem to bode well.
I guess I expect some wordiness from Victorian authors. So, other than Murdstone’s unexpected appearance I really enjoyed this chapter. I thought David and Dora’s romance very sweet and a nice contrast to Steerforth’s rather sleazy pursuit of Em’ly.
While I agree that David and Dora don’t know each other well, I think of their courtship as pretty normal for the time. Of course, maybe this is based on reading novels and not actual history.
I can’t imagine Steerforth not being expected to marry at some point. I just think Em’ly has qualities he does not see in girls of his own class. Besides, we know Em’ly is lovely, she’s the local beauty that the other girls are jealous of. He just doesn’t have the moral fiber to walk away from her. My thinking was that Em’ly is what he would like to find among his class but hasn’t. He knows his mother will never approve but he’s determined to have Em’ly, at least briefly, no matter the consequences. I’ll keep reading and see if I view things differently at the end.
Wow! A word of advice--don't fall behind! I did so, and it has taken me several days to catch up because of reading all the comments in addition to the chapters! :) I wasn't about to skip over all the insightful comments over what we've read so far. I knew from the minute Steerforth met Emily that she was doomed to be seduced by him, and have just been waiting for the ax to fall on poor Mr. Peggotty and Ham. I agree that the juxtaposition of Mrs. Steerforth's haughty, self-centered love and Mr. Peggotty's unconditional tenderness for his lost lamb was very striking. I think Steerforth does feel some slight pangs of remorse for the ruin he is knowingly bringing down on Emily's head. Not enough remorse to stop him, but I think it is there. Mrs. Steerforth acknowledges, in her impassioned rant, that she had "gratified [him] from a child in every wish," (393). He lacks the discipline and moral character to deny himself something he dearly wants. His character has been ruined by overindulgence.
David's transports over Dora had me laughing! I remember all too well what that head-over-heels infatuation feels like! You feel as if you are literally consumed by that other person--you can think of nothing else! Thank God it doesn't last long. :) I'm pretty sure the intrigue of sneaking around didn't hurt, either!
I've been trying to think if Mr. Murdstone is about to marry someone we've met but have forgotten. There must be some reason why they would both reappear in David's life so suddenly! It would be so nice if Murdstone married someone who appeared to be meek and biddable and then became an absolute termagant after the ring was on her finger! :)
I'm enjoying the book very much and understand why so many people list it as their favorite Dickens'. Also, I know one thing--Uriah Heep must be stopped!! :( I also know I can't fall behind again!! (So, two things)!
I think Dickens married his wife pretty quickly. (Maybe too quickly, as it turned out.) Those of you reading the biography may know more. He was never supportive of the Victorian habit of prostitution, and you had to get married, or at least engaged, in order to have any kind of relationship with the opposite sex.
Mr. Murdstone showing up in the office was a surprise, but since we had seen his sister again, I knew it was a matter of time before we had him back. I feel like a rescue for the young lady should be in order, but it is already too late because Miss Murdstone has left for the wedding by the time we have the picnic.I liked how Dickens shows a young man in love, it is all about appearances and I think the excitement of doing it in Spenlow's back too. I feel like Dora is akin to Clara, it's like they say a girl falls in love with her father? well, I think what really attracts David to Dora is that she has a lot of the qualities and she physically looks like his mother; it didn't end well with Clara, we hope better for Dora.
Mod
Mod
We know David falls for every pretty face he sees - or rather he has done up to now. But there are two young women with whom he has been very close not merely infatuated with: Emily and Agnes. We also have two "villains", Steerforth and Uriah. Do you see where I am going here? Emily has been snatched by Steerforth, and Uriah is doing his utmost to claim Agnes.
I've been wondering why that is, that two characters from such diverse backgrounds are stealing away those he loves. Steerforth from a wealthy family, and Uriah a jumped-up nobody. Yet both seem jealous of David, and want to take "his" female confidante.
Steerforth intrigues me, because almost the first thing he asked David was whether he had a sister. He feminises David all the time, making him read stories (like Scheherazade in David/Dickens's favourite "Arabian nights") and calling him "Daisy". Is Emily both a substitute for David and also a way of conquering him? Oh, and just to complicate matters further, David falls for Dora just when Steerforth is not around for a while. We are getting into Freud-like territory here, I think.
With Uriah, the aim is clearer I think - to get his hands on the Spenlows' money and power. We think he is repulsive, with all his snake-like writhings, and yet we have been urged, through Miss Mowcher, to not judge by appearances.
So if we ignore Uriah's unfortunate appearance and demeanour, is it really so bad that he yearns for Agnes? Didn't David do exactly the same with Dora?
When David was invited by Mr Spenlow to visit his home, he was conscious of being singled out, and being the envy of all the other clerks - and that it was no bad thing that Mr Spenlow had a daughter. The when he saw the garden, (as I mentioned) eg., fanatasised about the daughter being in it, before he'd ever seen her. She could have been as ugly as sin!
So isn't David actually just as mercenary as Uriah?
Mod
I'm not sure what this is in response to - sorry if I've missed something.
Charles Dickens tried to help "fallen women" most famously with the establishment of Urania Cottage, and had great sympathy for prostitutes, eg., his portrait of Nancy in Oliver Twist, but he was a Christian and yes the sexual mores of that time are as you say.
But the Victorian age was one steeped in hypocrisy, and we must remember that his relationship with his mistress Nelly Ternan was well documented. There is some evidence that he may even have fathered a child by her in France. He took all but one of their children away from Catherine and would have divorced her if he had had the money (he did investigate it).
So sadly, Dickens wasn't the upright moral gentleman he professed to be.
France-Andrée - "I think what really attracts David to Dora is that she has a lot of the qualities and she physically looks like his mother" Yes, I agree.
Sorry, I wasn't clear. I know Dickens turned out to be a terrible husband and a hypocrite in appearing to his public as a wonderful family man, while having an affair (and maybe a child) with a much younger woman. Kind of like the Woody Allen or Bill Cosby cases in recent years, his image didn't match his private life. He also blamed his wife for everything and tried to turn others against her as you say (after she had borne 10 children!) So no excuses for him.What I was really trying to say was that if young people of this time wanted to have sex, they had to get married. So getting married fast had its advantages. Men could go to prostitutes but the health risks were great, and it does seem that Dickens felt sorry for the women forced into that work, so it wasn't part of his life.
Mod
I was surprised (and horrified!) to learn that a lot of the deaths of Victorian babies were officially put down to "inanition", a kind of weak or feebleness due to poor nutrition, but that this was almost always a consequence of one of the parents having syphilis. So many of the great Victorians we admire seemed to eventually die of syphilis or its consequent side effects (if not in, or after, childbirth, as we already discussed) including, I think, Nelly Ternan's father. Sometimes syphilis was not cited on the death certificate, but the combinations of other causes made it obvious.
Mod
David writes to Agnes, to tell her about Dora, and also about Emily's elopement. He does not mention Steerforth, but knows that Agnes will deduce his part in it. Writing to Agnes, who understands him so well, makes David feel much calmer, and she answers by return post.
Traddles had called at David's rooms when he was away, and met Peggotty, whereupon the two became friendly. Mrs Crupp still resents Peggotty's presence, and leaves all the domestic work to her, but still expects her salary for looking after David and his rooms. She complains about "spies, intruders, and informers", typically casting everything in a false light. She even puts jugs on the stairs, in the hope that Peggotty will trip over them, but David is too scared of Mrs Crupp to complain.
In the course of explaining where he had been, David and Traddles start to talk about their beaux, and David learns a little more about Sophy, Traddles's intended. She is the fourth of ten children, and looks after them all, because the mother is infirm, and the others cannot help for various reasons. Some of the reasons sound spurious, but David well knows Traddles's good heart. This is confirmed further when he learns that Traddles has put his name to not only one, but two of Mr Micawber's bills, and that as a consequence he has now lost the items he was saving for his marriage. Also, Mr Micawber is living elsewhere under the assumed name of "Mortimer", attempting to avoid his creditors:
"in consequence of his temporary embarrassments; and he don’t come out till after dark—and then in spectacles."
Traddles knows exactly where his items are, in a pawnbroker's shop at the top of Tottenham Court Road. But whenever the pawnbroker sees Traddles coming, he increases his price. Traddles has saved up and has a plan. As he explains it to David, it is evident by Traddles's delight, that he is very proud of his cunning. If David agrees, perhaps Peggotty could go on his behalf and buy them back.
This they all do, and Peggotty agrees a fair price. Traddles:
"carr[ies] the flower-pot affectionately in his arms, with one of the most delighted expressions of countenance I ever saw", because it is Sophy's.
My Aunt Astonishes Me - Phiz
One day David is surprised to see that the jugs have disappeared from the stairs, and Aunt Betsey and Mr Dick are waiting in his rooms. Aunt Betsey is sitting on a large trunk, with her birds and cat with her and Mr Dick has his kite with him. It transpires that this is now all they have left in the world, except for Aunt Betsey's cottage, which she has asked her maid Janet to let. Mrs Crupp, however does not know this, and grovels obsequiously to Betsey Trotwood as a person of consequence:
"‘Would you let me fetch another pat of butter, ma’am?’ said Mrs. Crupp. ‘Or would you be persuaded to try a new-laid hegg? or should I brile a rasher? Ain’t there nothing I could do for your dear aunt, Mr. Copperfull?’"
But Aunt Betsey will have none of this, and asks Peggotty, whom she now calls "Barkis", "in preference to that South-Sea island name" to pour out her tea.
In her own good time, Aunt Betsey reveals her predicament to David, who is shocked beyond measure. They find somewhere for Mr Dick to sleep, and Aunt Betsey stays in David's lodgings overnight:
‘We must meet reverses boldly, and not suffer them to frighten us, my dear. We must learn to act the play out. We must live misfortune down, Trot!’
Mod
And what hope is there for Traddles, who still does not see how he is taken advantage of, but thinks all the better of Mr Micawber, for not saying that the next bill is "provided for", but that it will be. Traddles's view is that "there is something very fair and honest about that!" Will we ever met "Mr Mortimer" again?
Even more than Daisy David, Traddles is an innocent, who thinks the best of everyone. I do wish David would grow a little backbone though, and have it out with Mrs Crupp!
It was hard to stop reading last night with the cliffhanger that Betsey Trotwood's fortune was gone. She was so generous in providing for Mr Dick and David. I hope we will soon find out the identity of the strange man that visits her.
I was shocked by Aunt Betsey´s loss of her belongings, and am curious how this came about. Did I understand right that she still had the house though, or was it taken care of to sell? I wonder if she had to pay more money for keeping Mr. Dick with her?Traddles is too good-natured, and David will hopefully grow into meeting all the challenges in his life.
Mod
And what's more, it was actually the end of an installment, of three chapters in March 1850, so those poor readers had to wait for a whole month to find out! I can barely wait until tomorrow.
I can just imagine them all, chatting on street corners, or in an Inn, about what Mr Dickens was going to come up with as an answer (assuming he doesn't just go on to another of his characters ;) )
Mod
Bionic Jean wrote: "Michaela - it's to let. Janet is there (it's in my summary)."Okay, sorry, read about Janet, and wasn´t sure what she was doing there.
Mod
Sorry Michaela - perhaps "to let" doesn't translate well - it means "to rent". Many of the characters in this novel are either renting their homes (like Mr Micawber) or living in rented rooms. Aunt Betsey owns her cottage, so can rent it out if she is not living there.
I do hope that Sophy and Traddles get married before the end of the book. She sounds like a female Traddles-generous and giving (maybe to a fault?)I hope that Aunt Betsy finds suitable accomodation near David so that she can keep on an eye on Mrs. Crupp.
Will David ever be strong enough to stand up to his dishonest landlady?
This will be a true test for David, because he will now have the responsibility of Aunt Betsey and Mr. Dick to some extent. She may have some resources, but they will be thin and David will have to fend for himself and perhaps contribute to the upkeep of these two. This also changes his status in terms of how Spenlow might accept his suit for Dora...after all, he is no longer the heir of a rich widow.
I loved Peggotty going to buy Traddles' treasures back. Poor man, he's paid twice for them now and he is still backing a bill for Mr Micawber. He's not financially savvy at all. But nothing gets him down, he's just delighted to reclaim the flower pot! Traddles is one of my favourite Dickens characters ever.
Traddles is an amazing character. Despite all, he always finds a way of "rising" up. Micawber put him in an awful position of owing 25 pounds and he lost everything. Yet now, he's in a position to buy his property back. He manages well with money......but his generosity to others keeps him slipping back. That second bill will cause him another setback, I predict. Poor Aunt Betsey. That mysterious man has taken her monthly living expense money, but thankfully not the cottage. This means there's a chance of getting her life back in order.
David is in a bad position now. His lifestyle was financed by Aunt Betsey; he's not drawing wages yet. There could be a lot of changes now, including (as Sara mentioned), Dora.
Traddles is very naive with his acquaintances, thinks the best of everyone even if they have already siphoned him dry. I wonder how that translates in his career since a lawyer has to be a little more quick than he is, is it that he can completely disassociate the two parts of his life? He has a lot of growing up to do, it is maybe a good thing that he has not the money to get married for now.Aunt Betsey predicament is a little surprising. Is she the victim of a fraud? She wouldn't be the first elder lady or the last to be taken advantage of financially. I think we will have some answers tomorrow. Poor contemporary readers, a month?!
Mod
What a good point! He's certainly going to have be more sharp!
"Poor contemporary readers, a month?!" Yes, so since those installments were usually 3 chapters each, that means we're reading it ten times faster than they did!
Bionic Jean wrote: "A little more ...Interestingly for us now, is the fiction that smoking was good for complaints such as asthma. This belief was held by doctors until the middle of the 20th century. Most of the ci..."
I found this quite sad, because Dickens himself is believed to have suffered from asthma, and he smoked a lot, which as we now know would not have helped at all. And I shudder to think what impurities would have been in the cigarettes that Victorians smoked.
Oh my!! .....beyond that, I have nothing to add.
Oh, dear! This is an unexpected turn of events. Sara: I am thinking you are right. I have viewed Mr Dick as Aunt Betsey’s ward and I don’t think of David as being firmly established at this point. So, this is getting interesting...
Mod
David arranges for Mr Dick to stay in the small room over the candlemaker's in Hungerford Market (at Charing Cross), where the Micawbers used to live. It is tiny, but Mr Dick does not mind. In fact he seems so like his normal cheery self, that David feels he does not understand what has happened to Aunt Betsey. He explains, that when Aunt Betsey uses the word "ruin" it means distress, want, and starvation, whereupon Mr Dick becomes desolate, and remains so for the rest of the day, trying to think of ways to save money, such as hiding food crumbs in his pocket. Aunt Betsey makes her own sacrifice, asking for ale instead of her customary wine, for supper.
While they talk, Aunt Betsey questions David about Dora, suspecting that she might be silly or lightheaded, ideas which David had not considered before. But he does not resent her speculations, as she is so nice about it:
"She asked me this so kindly, and with such a gentle air, half playful and half sorrowful, that I was quite touched."
From her descriptions, Aunt Betsey views this as having all happened before, with his father and mother. She would prefer him to have found someone more earnest, but says there is time for anything to happen.
David has another sleepless night, feeling guilty that what bothers him most is that he will not be the prosperous gallant young man he thinks Dora deserves. Aunt Betsey too has a disturbed night, partly because of her old fears of a fire in London. At one point, she is convinced that Westminster Abbey is burning, because of the light in the sky.
To rid himself of all these worrying thoughts, David decides to have a dip in the Roman Bath in the Strand on his way to work at Doctor's Commons. He then goes for a walk on Hampstead Heath (North London) buying his breakfast there too. He still arrives at work early, feeling better able to face the day, as he has made a decision.
When Mr Spenlow arrives at Doctor's Commons, David asks to see him privately. He explains that Betsey Trotwood has lost all her money and asks if he can be released from his articles. He understands, he assures Mr Spenlow, that some of the money she had paid would be forfeit, of course.
Mr Spenlow is dubious:
"It is not a professional course of proceeding" and says he fears that Mr Jorkins will never allow this.
David decides to be bold and asks if he can see Mr Jorkins.
When he finally meets Mr Jorkins, he finds that he "was not by any means the awful creature one might have expected, but a large, mild, smooth-faced man of sixty". After a confusing exchange with this mild-mannered man, David leaves feeling bewildered, but sure:
"that there was obduracy somewhere in the firm, and that the recovery of my aunt’s thousand pounds was out of the question."
On the way home, a carriage pulls up beside him, and out steps the person he most wishes to see in the world at that moment: Agnes. She had received a note from Betsey Trotwood, but all she could deduce from the note was that she "had fallen into adversity, and was leaving Dover for good". Agnes has come to London with her father, and Uriah Heep, who was now a full partner:
"if any fraud or treachery is practising against him, I hope that simple love and truth will be strong in the end. I hope that real love and truth are stronger in the end than any evil or misfortune in the world."
Agnes warns David that things have changed for the worse, and that both Heeps now live with them. David admires her bright smile and optimism, more than ever.
When they arrive back at David's lodgings, it is clear that things are coming to a head between Aunt Betsey (who always speaks her mind), and Mrs Crupp, who has threatened Aunt Betsey with coming before a "British Judy" (jury).
Aunt Betsey explains how she is circumstanced to both David and Agnes. Because she felt that her financial advisor was not such a good man of business as he used to be, she had made her own investments for the past few years. Each one had turned out not to be a sound investment, until the final one "tumbled into space, for what I know", and she is now left with nothing. Agnes look surprisingly relieved at the end of this tale, and David realises it is because she had feared her father to be the cause of the bad investments, and not Aunt Betsey herself.
Aunt Betsey summarises, saying that the rent from her cottage will yield £70 a year, and Mr Dick has a hundred pound a year - but that his income should be for himself. David tells his aunt how he had attempted to glean back some of her financial outlay on him, but she say this would not have made her happy, as he should be a proctor. He is determined to gain work somehow.
Agnes suggests that he might like to become a secretary for Dr Strong, who needs some help in writing his dictionary. David considers this to be an excellent idea, immediately writing to Dr Strong, and posting the letter. In the meantime, Agnes has set his room to rights, including displaying the few belongings of Aunt Betsey, in her calm way:
"You are always my good angel. I told you so. I never think of you in any other light."
As a result, Aunt Betsey even admires the river Thames, although she still does not like the London smoke, which, "peppered everything".
Agnes and Mr Wickfield - Sol Etynge
The arrival of Mr Wickfield and Uriah Heep shocks David, both because Mr Wickfield looks so old and careworn, but also that his demeanour now is deferential, almost subservient, to Uriah Heep.
"The thing that struck me most, was, that ... he should submit himself to that crawling impersonation of meanness, Uriah Heep."
Uriah is confident, at his most obsequious, and Agnes shrinks from him. Betsey Trotwood reacts honestly, and as Uriah's fawning and writhing continues, she loses her patience:
"‘Deuce take the man!’ said my aunt, sternly, ‘what’s he about? Don’t be galvanic, sir!’ ... If you’re an eel, sir, conduct yourself like one. If you’re a man, control your limbs, sir! Good God!’ said my aunt, with great indignation, ‘I am not going to be serpentined and corkscrewed out of my senses!’"
Betsey Trotwood, Uriah Heep and David Copperfield
The conversation continues, and Mr Wickfield concurs with everything Uriah Heep says.
"‘Uriah Heep is a great relief to me,’ said Mr. Wickfield, in the same dull voice. ‘It’s a load off my mind, Trotwood, to have such a partner.’
The red fox made him say all this, I knew"
and once the balance of power is clear, Uriah Heep leaves: "leering at us like a mask".
Everyone relaxes a little after Uriah Heep has left, and they talk of old times, and about Dora.
The narrator's voice comes in with strong foreboding at the close of the chapter:
"Oh, Agnes, sister of my boyhood, if I had known then, what I knew long afterwards— ...‘Blind! Blind! Blind!’"
Mod
In the previous chapter we saw Betsey Trotwood's first meeting with Peggotty, whom she likes despite herself, and her we see her first encounter with Uriah Heep—and her candour is very entertaining. It's not really very fair of her though, considering (as noted in the earlier thread) that Uriah Heep probably had the rather painful neurological condition of dystonia. It is characterised by: "twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures and relentless [and]... involuntary muscle movements".
We also have a welcome indication that David might be maturing, and developing a sense of responsibility, in respect to his Aunt Betsey:
"What I had to do, was, to show my aunt that her past goodness to me had not been thrown away on an insensible, ungrateful object."
Mod
Another suspicion Charles Dickens had cleverly set for us, was that Betsey Trotwood's debts might have been due to Mr Wickfield's mishandling of her affairs, while he was the worse for drink. That fear at least has now been allayed, but it looks as if we have plenty of doom and gloom ahead.
Mod
Also, Mr Dick's great literary enterprise of "the Memoir", and Dr Strong's of "the Dictionary" are both undertaken by naive, gentle and kind men. Both are absent-minded characters, albeit one is far more eccentric than the other, but it does make me wonder if there's a prototype for this in Dickens's own life. Certainly the theme of recording information, and producing great mounds of paper (and consequent problems of what to do with it all) is a recurring one in several of his novels.
Dickensians!
Books mentioned in this topic
Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen: Annotated (other topics)Middlemarch (other topics)
The Vampyre (other topics)
David Copperfield (other topics)
Oliver Twist (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
John Mullen (other topics)Catherine Thomson Dickens (other topics)
Charles Dickens (other topics)
John William Polidori (other topics)
Jane Austen (other topics)
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"What’s that game at forfeits? I love my love with an E, because she’s enticing; I hate her with an E, because she’s engaged. I took her to the sign of the exquisite, and treated her with an elopement, her name’s Emily, and she lives in the east? Ha! ha! ha! Mr. Copperfield, ain’t I volatile?’"