I’m a Dickens fan, though some of his books could use a trim! He can put a reader into someone’s house – with the clutter and stuff of life – and into a character’s mind. Dickens allows for differences in characterization, e.g., not all poor characters (or all rich characters for that matter) are described a certain stereotypical way – most are a complex mix of good and bad, lucky and unlucky, endearing and frustrating. I already discussed A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations. Here are some other stories that I enjoyed.
A Christmas Carol is a wonderful classic story about the importance of generosity of both resources and of spirit. Of course, we all know the basic premise of this brief but powerful tale that shares the message that we should all keep kindness and generosity in our hearts and in our daily lives. The visitiation of the ghosts of Christmases past, present and future has become a common trope in movies, TV and other media, and yet it is almost always enjoyable and worthwhile. That speaks to the universality of the message of this story. It is a gem and quite short for Dickens!
David Copperfield is somewhat predictable, but few authors handle poverty as well as Dickens and understand the mindset of people who are poor. The cast of characters in David Copperfield provides a range of personalities. There were some characters that were too good to be true (Agnes and Mr. Peggotty, for example), but I think the villains were well done. Like David, I hated Uriah Heep! If he talked about being “umble” one more time I’d have hit him. This sociopath made my skin crawl, but sadly, I could see him succeeding at that time and in modern times. He may have updated his schtick to fit in today or perhaps he would have kept the false humility … maybe that would still work. Mr. and Miss Murdstone were just awful characters; they are also sadly still around, abusing and controlling people while presenting a self-righteous image to the world. The Murdstones and Heep were sort of vampires sucking people dry.
Many of the characters and the overall story struck me as modern in some ways. The non-traditional conceptualizations of “family” living under the same roof were interesting. The Peggottys (uncle, non-sibling nephew and niece) and Mrs. Gummidge, brother and sister Murdstone (and their victims), Betsey Trotwood and Mr. Dick, and Mrs. Steerforth and her ward Rosa Dartle all are interesting in their relationships. I think it’s tempting to assume that “creating” our own version of family is something new, but people have been figuring out ways of coping with life long before our times. That was nice to see, particularly with regard to how much these people seemed to appreciate and care for each other.
This book could have been called “And They Lived Happily Ever After”, as those we loved found happiness and most of those we loathed ended up getting what they deserved. I was so happy to see people succeed in ways that were important to them. Even the quirky Micawbers and poor Mr. Mell ended up doing well in Australia. The Murdstones were the exception in that they didn’t pay for their misuse of people, though I am imagining some sort of payback for them – in this world or the next! It was an enjoyable and engaging story, perhaps a little too predictable but this is the kind of book I’d like to revisit when I need to restore my faith in human nature.
The Pickwick Papers is an enjoyable read. Mr. Pickwick is an amiable old wealthy guy who sees himself as a bit of a scholar, so he forms a club with a few of his friends – Mr. Snodgrass, Mr. Tupman and Mr. Winkle. Then he employs a servant/protector/(eventual) best friend named Sam Weller. Between the five of them, they get into all kinds of crazy situations – from visiting a town divided up like the Hatfields and McCoys (in this case, the Blues and the Buffs) – to going to jail because of a dispute over a marriage proposal misunderstanding.
The Victorian era social mores combined with the bumbling nature of Pickwick et al. led to entertaining vignettes, though not much in the way of a plot. Pickwick and Sam were particularly memorable characters. Sam is loyal – even getting arrested so that he can take care of Pickwick in prison. Pickwick is one of those bemused and somewhat oblivious characters who seems to bring out the best of everyone in whatever situation he finds himself. Though a bit stubborn, he shares his life and his wealth with others. Somewhere along the line, I thought I’d like to end up like Pickwick – not in jail, but with enough money to do what I want and enough friends to make the time entertaining.
This novel, the first Dickens wrote, doesn’t have the heft of his later novels, but there are similarities. Pickwick is the forerunner of post-ghostly visitation Scrooge, who children and paupers loved. The description of the prison where Pickwick was briefly incarcerated evoked other Dickens prisons, orphanages, workhouses and poorhouses – the reader can see, smell, and feel these dirty, dingy and often hopeless places. The characters are a mix of strengths and flaws, though in this case, only the male characters have that depth – the female characters are largely one-dimensional as either pretty/sweet young things or conniving old widows. The problems with the novel were forgivable because there was such mirth – the book just made me giggle.
Oliver Twist was the first book (read at about age 12) that made me think about poverty and social issues, and how society and government need to intervene to protect the most vulnerable. The depiction of abuse of orphans by those charge with their protection was sad and depressing – what would happen to those children? Probably not much that is good. Then the depiction of orphans falling in with the criminal element was again depressing, as was the appalling selfishness and greed of those who could bully children and use them for their own gain.
The characters were drawn with the needed shades of gray – they were flawed, but most were not archetypes – they represented both positive and negaitve qualities and were often trying to make the best of a bad situation. Of course, the story was not all gloomy – there are heros and hope, even in the bleakest situations. Oliver landed on his feet, but largely through luck rather than through the system set up to protect him and prepare him for life. This was the book that taught me that things could always be worse, but in the darkest hour, there was hope and a place for people to be kind and generous.
