David CopperfieldDickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by the English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to maturity. As such, it is typically categorized in the bildungsroman genre. It was published as a serial in 1849 and 1850 and then as a book in 1850.
David Copperfield is also a partially autobiographical novel: "a very complicated weaving of truth and invention", with events following Dickens's own life. Of the books he wrote, it was his favourite. It has been called "the triumph of the art of Dickens" and marks a turning point in his work, separating the novels of youth and those of maturity.
At first glance, the work is modelled on 18th-century "personal histories" that were very popular, like Henry Fielding's Joseph Andrews or Tom Jones, but David Copperfield is a more carefully structured work. It begins, like other novels by Dickens, with a bleak picture of childhood in Victorian England, followed by young Copperfield's slow social ascent, as he painfully provides for his aunt, while continuing his studies.
Dickens wrote without an outline, unlike his previous novel, Dombey and Son. Some aspects of the story were fixed in his mind from the start, but others were undecided until the serial publications were underway. The novel has a primary theme of growth and change, but Dickens also satirises many aspects of Victorian life. These include the plight of prostitutes, the status of women in marriage, class structure, the criminal justice system, legal record keeping, the quality of schools, and the employment of children in factories.
Plot summary
The story follows the life of David Copperfield from childhood to maturity. David was born in Blunderstone, Suffolk, England, six months after the death of his father. David spends his early years residing in a small house called the Rookery. His loving and childish mother, Clara Copperfield, and their kindly housekeeper, Clara Peggotty, bring him up here; they call him Davy. When he is seven years old, his mother surprises David by marrying Edward Murdstone while the boy is visiting Peggotty's family in Yarmouth. Her brother, a fisherman named Daniel Peggotty, lives in a beached barge, with his adopted niece and nephew Emily and Ham, and an elderly widow, Mrs Gummidge. "Little Em'ly" is somewhat spoiled by her fond foster father, and David is in love with her. Here he is known as “Master Copperfield.”
On his return, David discovers his mother has married and is immediately given good reason to dislike his stepfather, Murdstone, who believes exclusively in stern, harsh parenting, calling it "firmness". David has similar feelings for Murdstone's sister Jane, who moves into the house soon afterwards. Between them, they tyrannise David and his poor mother, making their lives miserable. When David falls behind in his studies, Murdstone thrashes him, and David bites his hand. In consequence, he is sent away to Salem House, a boarding school, under a ruthless headmaster named Mr Creakle. There he is befriended by two quite different older boys, James Steerforth and Tommy Traddles. He develops an impassioned admiration for Steerforth, perceiving him as someone noble, who could do great things if he would, and one who pays attention to him.
David goes home for the holidays to learn that his mother has given birth to a baby boy. Shortly after David returns to Salem House, his mother and her baby die, and David returns home immediately. Peggotty marries the local carrier, Mr Barkis. Murdstone sends David to work for a wine merchant in London – a business of which Murdstone is a joint owner. After some months, David's friendly but spendthrift landlord, Wilkins Micawber, is arrested for debt and sent to the King's Bench Prison, and the rest of Mr. Micawber's family soon moves to the Prison too. David visits the Micawbers regularly at the Prison and boards nearby. When Micawber's release is imminent, the Micawbers decide they will soon move to Plymouth. David realises that will leave him alone in London, where no one cares about him. He makes up his mind to run away to Dover to find his only known remaining relative, his eccentric and kind-hearted great-aunt Betsey Trotwood. She had come to Blunderstone at his birth, only to depart in ire upon learning that he was not a girl. However, she takes it upon herself to raise David, despite Murdstone's attempt to regain custody of him. She encourages him to 'be as like his sister, 'Betsey Trotwood' as he can be – that is, to meet the expectations she had for the girl who was never born. David's great-aunt renames him "Trotwood Copperfield" and addresses him as "Trot", one of several names others call David in the novel.
David's aunt sends him to a better school than the last he attended. It is run by kind Dr. Strong, whose methods inculcate honour and self-reliance in his pupils. During term, David lodges with the lawyer Mr Wickfield and his daughter Agnes, who becomes David's friend and confidante. Wickfield's clerk, Uriah Heep, also lives at the house.
By devious means, Uriah Heep gradually gains a complete ascendancy over the aging and alcoholic Wickfield, to Agnes's great sorrow. Heep, as he maliciously confides to David, aspires to marry Agnes. Ultimately with the aid of Micawber, who has been employed by Heep as a secretary, his fraudulent behaviour is revealed. (At the end of the book, David encounters him in prison, convicted of attempting to defraud the Bank of England.)
After completing school, David apprentices to be a proctor. During this time, due to Heep's fraudulent activities, his aunt's fortune has diminished. David toils to make a living. He works mornings and evenings for his former teacher Dr Strong as a secretary and also starts to learn shorthand, with the help of his old school-friend Traddles, upon completion reporting parliamentary debate for a newspaper. With considerable moral support from Agnes and his own great diligence and hard work, David ultimately finds fame and fortune as an author, writing fiction.
David's romantic but self-serving school friend, Steerforth, also re-acquainted with David, goes on to seduce and dishonour Emily, offering to marry her off to his manservant Littimer before deserting her in Europe. Her uncle Dan Peggotty manages to find her with the help of Martha, who had grown up in their part of England and then settled in London. Ham, who had been engaged to marry Emily before the tragedy, dies in a fierce storm off the coast while rescuing shipwreck victims. Steerforth was aboard the ship and also dies. Mr Peggotty takes Emily to a new life in Australia, accompanied by Mrs Gummidge and the Micawbers, where all eventually find security and happiness.
Meanwhile, David has fallen in love with Dora Spenlow, and marries her. Their marriage proves troublesome for David in the sense of everyday practical affairs, but he never stops loving her. Dora dies early in their marriage after a miscarriage. After Dora's death, Agnes encourages David to return to normal life and his profession of writing. While living in Switzerland to dispel his grief over so many losses, David realises that he loves Agnes. Upon returning to Britain, after a failed attempt to conceal his feelings, David finds that Agnes loves him too. They quickly marry, and in this marriage he finds true happiness. David and Agnes then have at least five children, including a daughter named after his great-aunt, Betsey Trotwood.
Characters
David Copperfield – The narrator and protagonist of the novel. David's father, David Sr, dies six months before he is born, and he is raised by his mother and nursemaid Peggotty until his mother remarries. David's stepfather, Mr Murdstone, sends David away to a boarding school. While attending school, David learns his mother has died, on his ninth birthday. He is sent to work at a factory until he runs away to find his aunt. David Copperfield is characterised in the book as trusting, goal-oriented, but as yet immature. He marries Dora Spenlow and later Agnes Wickfield. Clara Copperfield – David's affectionate and beautiful mother, described as being innocently childish. She is married to David Copperfield Sr until his death, and gives birth six months later to the central character of the novel. She loves and coddles young David with the help of Peggotty. Years later she remarries, to Mr Murdstone. She dies a couple of months after the birth of her second son, who dies a day or so later, while David is away at Salem House boarding school. Clara Peggotty – The faithful servant of the Copperfield family and a lifelong companion to David – she is called by her surname Peggotty within David's family, as her given name is Clara, the same as David's mother; she is also referred to at times as Barkis after her marriage to Mr Barkis. After her husband's death, Peggotty helps to put in order David's rooms in London and then returns to Yarmouth to keep house for her nephew, Ham Peggotty. Following Ham's death, she keeps house for David's great-aunt, Betsey Trotwood. Betsey Trotwood – David's eccentric and temperamental yet kind-hearted great-aunt; she becomes his guardian after he runs away from the Murdstone and Grinby warehouse in Blackfriars, London. She is present on the night of David's birth but leaves after hearing that Clara Copperfield's child is a boy instead of a girl, and is not seen again until David flees to her house in Dover from London. She is portrayed as affectionate towards David, and defends him and his late mother when Mr Murdstone arrives to take custody of David: she confronts the man and rebukes him for his abuse of David and his mother, then threatens him and drives him off the premises. Universally believed to be a widow, she conceals the existence of her ne'er-do-well husband who occasionally bleeds her for money. Dr Edward Chillip – A shy doctor who assists at David's birth and faces the wrath and anger of Betsey Trotwood after he informs her that Clara's baby is a boy instead of the girl Betsey wanted. David meets this doctor each time he returns to the neighbourhood of his birth. Mr Chillip, met in London when David Copperfield returns from Switzerland, tells David of the fate of Murdstone's second wife, which is much the same as the fate of David's mother. Mr Barkis – An aloof carter who declares his intention to marry Peggotty after eating her handmade pastries. He says to David: "Tell her, 'Barkis is willin'!' Just so." Peggotty marries him after Clara Copperfield's death. He is a miser, keeping an unexpected amount of wealth in a plain box labelled "Old Clothes". He bequeaths two-thirds of his money to his wife from his savings of £3,000 () when he dies after about ten years of marriage. He leaves annuities for Mr Daniel Peggotty, Little Emily, and David from the rest. Edward Murdstone – The main antagonist of the first half of the novel, he is Young David's cruel stepfather who beats him for falling behind in his studies and emotionally torments Clara. David reacts by biting Mr Murdstone, and is sent to Salem House – a private school owned by Mr Murdstone's friend Mr Creakle – in retribution. After David's mother dies, he sends David to work at his factory in London. He appears at Betsey Trotwood's Dover house after David runs away. Mr Murdstone appears to show signs of repentance when confronted by Copperfield's aunt about his treatment of Clara and David, but when David works at Doctors' Commons years later, he meets Murdstone taking out a marriage licence for his next young and trusting wife.