David Copperfield

Background on Dickens

1. From the same generation as Bronte, and his pen name was "Boz"
2. Dickens's personal history was very similar to David's: he labored as a boy, his dad was imprisoned for debt, and he was a self-made man
3. Serialization: the book was published as three chapters a month, and the serialization resulted in lots of characters; it also allowed Dickens to respond to his readers' responses
4. To help his readers remember the characters from month to month, Dickens created character driven "types": Micawber said "in short" often, Uriah was famous for his "umbleness," and Gummidge classified herself as a "lone lorn creature"
5. Dickens was one of the greatest writers of realism because he encompassed the whole world. He plays off of fears and values of the time period to help readers relate. Some of these characters are larger than life, like Peggotty and her buttons. This inflation is similar to the characters in "The Office"
6. It's a bildungsroman like Harry Potter; the protagonist is destitute, the chosen one, and is friendless in his own home

Themes

1. Firmness=Murdstones enforce firmness of character, and david has to grow up a lot; similar to Jane Eyre because the childhood trauma affected David a lot (in this novel, David goes away to school branded with the placard denouncing his behavior, and in Jane Eyre, Jane goes to school with the fear that no one will like her because her aunt branded her as a bad child)
2. Class=overcoming class status; doesn't matter what class you're from, you can still be very generous; men are expected to be gentlemen (educated, foppish, effortless), and for some men, like Steerforth, this comes naturally, but for Micawber it is entirely unnatural
3. Gender=Betsey Trotwood always compares David to his imaginary sister; men are often dominated by women, and the men fulfill stereotypes (fool, ass, crazy); the women are strong but very eccentric, and they serve as vehicles for emotion
4. Domesticity=Anges is the "angel in the house," the domestic and sensible housewife
5. Fallen woman=very popular in Victorian period; these women wanted to increase their statuses; Emily runs off with Steerforth because he's attractive, and she is subsequently ruined; Steerforth is the rake, and Ham is the good guy stereotype
6. Self-improvement=hard-work doesn't always mean success, and this was a radical idea for Dickens's time; David tries to improve Dora, and Murdstones try to improve David's mother
7. Idealized love=David idealizes every woman he falls for, including Agnes; he makes her into a tool of his own self-improvement

Bodies

1. Miss Dartle is marked by her scar, and she represents a fallen woman
2. Dora is like a fairy (similar to Jane Eyre), and David gets rid of her body and idealizes her
3. Miss Mowcher says David should not disregard someone for his or her physical defects
4. Uriah Heep writhes, and he's ugly and slimy; he's trying to climb the social ladder, and perhaps Dickens is insinuating that people shouldn't try to escape their class
5. David is a symbol of immaturity, and his young face and his nickname, Daisy, further this image
6. Martha is connected to the river because it comes innocently from the country and becomes polluted in the city
7. Dora's body becomes a martyr
8. Steerforth's mother becomes just a moaning shell

Values

1. Simplicity=Traddles, despite becoming successful, remains humble and simple
2. Strong moral character and sincerity/frankness
3. Character/personality vs status
4. Family (blood ties) - domesticity (simplicity)
5. New beginnings=Micawber goes to Australia (where criminals are sent)

Last few notes:

1. Dickens emphasizes emotional intensity through characters. Micawber loses his senses when he accuses Uriah Heep, and his face turns purple. Miss Dartle loses her temper when Steerforth dies, and she accuses the mother. What does this say about society when self-control is so valued? When some of the upper class can't express their emotions in the same way that the lower class can, their emotions spurt out as super intense.
2. Women faint a lot in the novel, and that's a comedic tool that Dickens uses, just like Peggotty's buttons popping off and Uriah's writhing. It's also important to note that Dickens isn't very familiar with the female perspective, and he doesn't do a great job of expressing their internal emotions.
3. At each stage of David's life, Dickens brings in characters in situations similar to David's to provide context