Pete Yemc
Per 7
Finally, I have finished this unbelievably long book (boy, was it ever long!). David Copperfield through its serialized story has woven so many complex story lines that it was hard to keep track of them all. There were so many characters with so many problems, out of which only David Copperfield (or Trotwood Copperfield, if you like) managed to survive and grow. I guess this is supposed to illustrate how a maturing person who learns from their experiences will always survive in a world of people who fight their experiences. That may very well be one of the themes Charles Dickens was trying to push in this story (if he even thought about theme while writing this).
Throughout the story, everyone gets in trouble and comes running to David for help. Mr. Micawber, who is jail when little Dave leaves him, reenters Dave's life working for Uriah Heep. This job, under its foul boss, causes marital distress in the Micawber household, with Mrs. Micawber losing faith and trust in Mr. Micawber, whilst Mr. Micawber falls into depression because of his job. Dave assists him with this, only to have Mr. Micawber arrested again (and freed at the end). While this is happening, Mr. Wickfield is having his resources stolen by Heep (who is a major antagonist), and Agnes is falling in distress. Mr. Barkis dies, leaving Peggoty alone. Miss Trotwood is losing money due to bad investments. Mr. Peggoty is heartbroken by the loss of his niece, who is taken away by Mr. Steerforth. And to top it all off, Dave is getting married to a naive child of a women. This must have been done (to extend the serial for Dickens) to illustrate the point that when you are grown up "when it rains, it pours."
A second addition to this "when it rains, it pours" phenomenon in David Copperfield's life is how many people die during the course of 30 years. Here's the list: Mrs. Copperfield, Mr. Spenlow, Mr. Barkis, Ham Peggoty, Dora Spenlow, and Mr. Steerforth (I apologize to anyone that I left out). This frequency of death has got to mean something in Dickens' explanation of maturation. It probably has to do with the idea that once you have learned something and used it, the source of the information is no longer needed. The example for this is with Mr. Spenlow, who educated Dave at his profession. Once Dave had mastered what he had learned and moved on (marriage to Dora), the source of the info is eliminated. It is like school. You go there to learn the skills that you will need for the future, but once you have learned the skills, you do not need to go back. A second possible reasoning, and a more literary one, is that these characters were killed to eliminate a crisis or to create one. The death Dora or Mr. Steerforth are examples of elimination of a crisis, while the death of Dave's mother is an example of the creation of a crisis. Also, because the was originally a serial, the death of characters could have been used to maintain the readers' interest. Just as in a soap opera, where so and-so dies in a freak open elevator shaft accident, readers in Victorian England awe at the fact that Mr. Steerforth died in the storm.
Analysts of this book have always said that it is autobiographical of author Charles Dickens and I agree with them. Besides what I mentioned in the last journal entry (David Copperfield: The First 405 Pages) about the initials connection, the story of Dave's life is similar to that of Charles' life. When Dave lived with the Micawbers, Mr. Micawber was sent to debtors' prison, and Dave was left alone. The same thing happened to Charles Dickens' family. Dave was pulled out of school and made to work in the blacking factory, just as Dickens did when he was a kid. On page 573, Dave is a court reporter, a job which Dickens once did, and Dave is writing an account of his life, which he will publish (page 783, "all events until my book should be completed, which would be the work of several months,"), just as Dickens would be doing while actually writing David Copperfield. And lastly, Dickens had one wife from whom he was separate, although not by death.