Copperfield Text / Essays & Tools / Dickens Resources / Forum / Creative Writing  | Donate

SEBASTIAN LEHNER
David Copperfield as an example of the Victorian socio-critical novel

IN PRINT

 

Page 20

As a consequence the Micawbers start selling furniture and old family heritage, just to raise enough money to supply at least the children with food and clothes. And to add bad to worse Mr Micawber has big problems with his parents-in-law, which doesn’t make the whole situation any easier.

All in all the Micawbers have to struggle with a financially and personally bad social standing, with finding a proper accomodation and with unemployment. This is reality, however, the way Mr Micawber sees himself is a very different one. And an almost comical component evolves, as is depicted in the novel, how Mr Micawber and his family describe themselves.
Mrs Micawber is of the opinion that her husband is a very talented man with lots of positive qualities, for whom “the great prizes are waiting round the next corner(…)”[21].

This point of view goes hand in hand with an almost ridiculous optimism that all the problems will dissolve virtually by themselves and that it is just a matter of time until the great opportunity to flee this misery will present itself automatically to the Micawbers. And furthermore, Mr Micawber is always of the opinion that it is a good solution, to pay depts by making other depts, however, he does not see that this does not solve the problem, but just shifts it to another creditor. And so he claims that “an entry in a little notebook is as good as cash down”[22].

[21] Priestley, J.B., Readings On Charles Dickens, p.119    [22] Priestley, J.B., Readings On Charles Dickens, p.120

Previous Page / First / Next