David Copperfield (novel)
David Copperfield , original title David Copperfield or The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery (Which He Never Meant to Publish on Any Account) , is an autobiographical educational novel by the English writer Charles Dickens from 1849 / 1850. The novel was first, like most Dickens works, 1848-1850 as a monthly serial story with illustrations by Hablot Knight Browne , known as "Phiz", and in 1850 published as a book. The first German translation by Julius Seybt appeared in 1849/1850.
overview
Looking back, David Copperfield tells his life story from childhood to becoming a successful writer with family. The four stages are: childhood, training, work and marriage with Dora, and a new beginning with Agnes. Associated with this are several parallel plots, some of which are tragic, with characters from the novel who repeatedly cross his path and influence his life in individual phases. B. his close confidante Agnes Wickfield, his school friends Tommy Traddle and James Steerforth, his aunt Betsey Trotwood, or other friends with him like Daniel Paggotty, Emily or Wilkins and Emma Micawber, in whose fate he takes part. These novelists support each other and protect David from the people who make life difficult for him, e.g. B. his stepfather Murdstone or the headmaster Creakle. In part, the narrator describes the event from the limited perspective of the child, in part comments or analyzes his behavior, e.g. B. his inexperience and naivete, which is easy to exploit.
action
Childhood and adolescence (Kp. 1–22)
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Childhood in Blunderstone and holidays in Yarmouth
David was born six months after the death of his father of the same name in Blunderstone, Suffolk , in the Krähenhorst house and was lovingly cared for by his child mother Clara and her housekeeper Clara Peggotty (cp. 1). After a while, Edward Murdstone, a handsome businessman, woos the "lovely little widow" (Kp. 2). At first he appears friendly and reserved. B. David on his horse on a trip to the sea in Lowestoft and makes an impression on Clara, although the experienced Peggotty warns her mistress: "Mr. Copperfield would not have liked someone like this". But Clara disagrees. She feels flattered and seeks a hold in the worthy man with the good manners. The wedding is arranged quickly, but David is not supposed to be there and will only be informed about it later. Therefore he is allowed to vacation with Peggotty for 14 days in Yarmouth (cp. 3). They live close to the sea in an old ship belonging to Peggotty's brother Daniel (Dan) that has been converted into a house. David spends happy holidays on the beach with Dan's niece Emily, whom he falls in love with, and his nephew Ham, two orphans whose fathers drowned while fishing. With Mrs. Gummidge, the widow of an unfortunate friend, who runs the household, it is a motley fishing family that the friendly Dan takes care of lovingly. The tragic entanglements of this group will shape the storyline as a storyline to the end of the novel.
Only after returning to Blunderstone does David find out the reason for the trip. For the now seven year old, life is changing radically and a three year period of suffering begins. Murdstone has moved into the young inexperienced woman's house and takes over the strict rule (cp. 4). He wants to raise the girlish Clara. She should replace the affectionate treatment of her child with distance and consistent hardness. When Murdstone brings his sister Jane into the house, Clara has to hand over the keys to her. She is persuaded that these changes are only for her support and the good of David, and she suppresses the fact that her husband regards the stepson as merely the unloved inheritance of the marriage. David is given a fixed timetable and has to present the material to the Murdstone siblings every day. If he previously learned easily and happily from his mother, he is now inhibited by the permanent control, becomes tense and cannot keep what has been prepared. When his stepfather chastises him for his alleged laziness with a cane, David bites his hand, is then beaten by the angry man, receives five days of room arrest and is then sent to the boarding school "Salemhouse" near Blackheath south of London (Kp. 5).
When David returns home for the holidays, he learns that his mother has given birth to a baby boy (cp. 8). Living with his stepfather and his sister is still difficult for him to endure. He feels unwanted and can't please you. If he retires to his room, he is criticized as unruly, he has to stay in the living room, he is inhibited and fearful and is considered obdurate.
Shortly after the end of the vacation, David receives news of his mother's death in the “Salemhouse” and is called back for the funeral. In Yarmouth he learns while he is dressed in the routine tailoring of the "corpse-man" Omer that the baby has also died. He experiences the drive home in the hearse as a grotesque contrast between his grief and the undertaker's daughter Minnie (Kp. 9), joking with Joram, Omer's assistant. After his arrival he is hardly noticed by his stepfather in his deep grief and his sister also leaves him to himself, while in the past both of them constantly disciplined him according to their ideas. Only Peggotty takes loving care of him. She was released after the death of her mistress and Miss Murdstone is glad that she is taking David with her to her brother in Yarmouth for some time (cp. 10). There Peggotty marries the carter Barkis, who has long courted her and used David as an intermediary. After David is lovingly comforted by the fishing family by the sea, the neglect by the Murdstones continues after his return. Finally, he is told that he has to work in London and make a living e.g. T. earn yourself.
- Boarding school “Salemhouse” near London
After being bitten in the stepfather's hand, David is sent to boarding school as a punishment, even though all the students are still on vacation and there are no classes, and he has to travel alone (cp. 5). Mr. Barkis takes him to Yarmouth, then takes the country coach to London. As he notices much later, his inexperience is often exploited; B. from a cunning waiter who warns him about the supposedly dangerous beer for the boy and drinks the glass himself and then empties his plate with funny sayings. So after the long journey he arrives hungry at the station in Whitechapel, where Mr. Mell picks him up and brings him to Blackheath in the "Salemhouse". Mr. Mell is a considerate, poorly paid teacher who cannot implement the strict barracks discipline of the principal and is therefore not taken seriously by many students. They are used to being punished by the director Mr. Creakle (Kp. 6), accompanied by his one-legged, beefy supervisor Tungay, with or without a specific reason, and they also show this aggressiveness among themselves. Little Tommy Traddles, from whom David is greeted warmly, gets the most beating. In contrast to the majority, he has retained an unbiased opinion. Mr. Murdstone made an arrangement with his old friend Creakle that David should be treated harshly. He has to say “Caution! He bites ”sign on your back. The classmates laugh about it, but David is fortunate enough to be the protégé of the somewhat older, highly gifted, but selfish James Steerforth, for whom teachers and students have respect because he immediately informs his mother if something does not suit him (cp. 7). For the “fiery spirit” of her son, she chose the socially unsuitable “Salemhouse”, where he is set limits by the strict director, but also learns to revolt against any coercion (chapter 20). According to his dominant character, Steerforth distributes his sympathies and antipathies at random. He likes David and values him as a good evening reader before going to sleep. On the other hand, he exposes the junior teacher Mell and drives him into a confrontation with the principal, which ends with his dismissal. David is indirectly involved in the escalation, because he told his protector about Mell's mother in the poor hospital, and the latter uses this information in the dispute. While Tommy Steerforth reproaches and defends the teacher, David holds back despite his pity, because he admires Steerforth uncritically for his strong demeanor and trusts him that he can do great things when he wants. Traddles becomes David's best friend in the course of the novel.
Decades later, David learns what happened to Mell and Creakle: Dr. Mell emigrated to Australia, teaches at a high school in Port-Middlebay and is the father of many educated children (Kp. 63). Creakle, on the other hand, has made a surprising turnaround. As judge of the peace in Middlesex, he heads a reform prison, where prisoners are trained to repent of their guilt and to do better (cp. 61).
- Bottle washers in the Murdstone and Grinby wine shop in London
After the death of his mother, Mr. Murdstone sends David as an assistant to the Murdstone and Grinby wine shop in London, of which he is a co-owner, where he has to clean bottles and fill them with wine for a starvation wage (cf. 11). The managing director Quinion regulates his payment and arranges a little room for him to sublet with the Micawber family of six. Wilkins Micawber is an acquirer for the wine shop, albeit with little success, so that he is getting more and more into debt and living beyond his means. But he hides the problems behind his urbane, eloquent demeanor and his wife Emma is gradually mortgaging her household items and furnishings. She too cannot handle the money and spends it carelessly on good meat dishes and wine. Both are easy-going, good-hearted people and make friends with David despite his youth. Mrs. Micawber unloads her worries from him, he is a compassionate, patient listener and grateful for attention and helps her sell her small library. Eventually this source has dried up and Micawber has to go to Kings Bench prison for several months (cf. 12). After an agreement with the creditors, the household is dissolved and the family moves to Plymouth, where they hope for support from Mrs. Micawber's relatives. David now has no friends in London and decides to run away. Micawber advises him to go to Dover to find his only relative, his great-aunt Betsey Trotwood, and gives him his new wisdom in life, never to postpone all problems, but to tackle them immediately and never to spend more money than one takes. But, as becomes clear several times in the course of the novel, he has no strength to implement his message himself. In Canterbury, David Micawber will meet again as a life artist who has failed again in his hopes but is unbroken, and his wife will meet again in her firm belief in her husband's great talent. After the insolvency you already have a new project in planning (cp. 17).
- Betsey Trotwood adopted son of Dover and student in Canterbury
Ten-year-old David leaves the wine shop without deregistering and wants to travel to Dover with the half guineas that Peggotty has borrowed . But the boy who is supposed to transport his suitcase to the country carriage station takes his money from him and simply drives away with his luggage on the donkey cart. So David has to walk the long way to Dover via Canterbury (Chapter 13). To buy bread, he shifts a vest and jacket, sleeps in haystacks and finally arrives in Dover on the sixth day. His aunt takes him in immediately, takes care of him well and is ready to raise him. She lets Murdstone come to her and accuses him of his loveless behavior and harsh upbringing methods. He took advantage of the dependent, naive young widow Clara and cheated David out of his paternal inheritance. She refuses his offer to take his stepson with him. She has completely changed her previous attitude: Before David was born, she was ready to look after her niece Clara, but disappointed that she did not give birth to a daughter Betsey but a son, she left disappointed and left nothing hear each other. Now she feels sorry for the orphan, but still speaks of his sister Betsey, who does not exist, and demands of him "to be like his sister Betsey Trotwood": "Never be low, never be untrue, never be hard-hearted". She adopts him under the name “Trotwood Copperfield” and addresses him not as “Davy” but as “Trot” (cp. 14). David finds further support in Betsey's bizarre house friend Mr. Dick, whose real name is Richard Babley. He is a childish, amiable eccentric who lives in two worlds. Somehow everything has to do with his madness that the decapitated King Karl I had occupied his head and tried to smuggle himself into his enigmatic memorandum again and again, which he tried to prevent by destroying the pages. So he starts over and over again with the writing and never comes to an end. He makes a big kite, puts his writings on it and lets the notes fly away in the wind. He also feels persecuted by a man who turns up in front of the house every now and then and slips Betsey money. Later (chapter 47) David finds out the secret kept by his aunt: The stranger is her husband, who left her a long time ago and who, after a lavish life, became a tramp. Despite his tic s, Dick is very clairvoyant about some day-to-day matters and Betsey follows his reasonable advice. So he recommends an education for David, but is deeply sad when his little friend moves to Canterbury for the week.
Miss Trotwood goes to Canterbury with David and consults with her lawyer Wickfield (cp. 15). He suggests the school of Doctor Strong, whose methods give his students honor and personal responsibility, and offers that David can live in a house with him and his daughter Agnes, who is closely related to him. He and Agnes become familiar with each other like siblings. In the office he also gets to know the clerk Uriah Heep, who submissively describes himself in frequent repetitions as a person of low standing, flatters him with smooth "creeping politeness" and who interests him because of his eerie appearance and his serpentine body movements and at the same time in nightmares scared.
In his new school, David appears shy at first because of his deficits (cp. 16). He senses the discrepancy with the well-behaved boys, who lack his experience: “Salemhouse”, work in the wine shop, pawn shops, visits by Micawber to the Kingsbench prison and vagrancy. However, in the noble, friendly environment he can develop his talent increasingly up to graduation, is gladly seen at balls of high society (Kp. 18) and leaves school at the age of seventeen as "the first" (Kp. 19). Through Wickfield he met the headmaster Dr. Strong and his young wife Annie know. Dr. Strong is an unworldly scientist who is working on a large encyclopedia, but at 60 years of age has not yet got beyond the first letters and, according to one of his students, needs more than 1,600 years to complete. His good-naturedness is used by his mother-in-law, Mrs. Markleham, because of her energetic demeanor and "general talent" "the old soldier", to support her family members. Twenty-year-old Annie, who loves her husband and at the same time adores her like a father, is embarrassed by this strategy of her mother, whose victim she is herself. She gets into a conflict situation when she is asked to influence her husband to get her cousin Jack Maldon a job, and she also feels guilty because she still feels connected to her child friend. Strong's attorney, Wickfield, finds out the facts and finds Maldon a job in the West Indies to separate him from Annie.
- Visit of childhood places in Suffolk
After successfully completing school, Aunt Betsey allows the 17-year-old to travel to his old home in Suffolk for a few months in order to exercise personal responsibility and to think about his job. At the same time, this is the end of his first phase of life. Via Canterbury he takes the country coach to London and stays at the “Golden Cross” in Charingcroß, where he happens to meet his old school friend Steerforth, who is now studying at Oxford. He invites him to his mother's house in Highgate for a few days . Then he accompanies David, whom he calls "Little Flowers" because of his youthful appearance, to Yarmouth, because he is curious about the social class of the common people by the sea. David visits his old childhood places and acquaintances at the travel destination, v. a. Peggotty-Barkis and the family of her brother Dan, where Emily, the cleaner at Omer and Joram, has just given in to the advertising of her cousin Ham, meanwhile a capable ship's carpenter, after a long period of reflection and has become engaged to him (Kp. 21) . While David is very happy about it, Steerforth points out that Ham is "a somewhat stubborn fellow" for "a very sweet girl". The elegant, snobbish bourgeoisie Steerforth is very affable towards David's friends and the fishermen in the tavern and thereby wins their sympathy, apparently also the Emily's. He confesses to his friend that it really feels like dealing with these strange people. In one of his few thoughtful moments, he gives David an insight into his dual nature. Dejected, he wishes he could control himself better (cp. 22). A preliminary interpretation for the coming development (chapter 47) is next to the appearance of Martha Endell, who got a bad reputation and is moving to London, also Steerforth's purchase of a boat which he wants to call "Little Emily". Later, Emily's change towards Ham is also evident in her self-criticism that her bridegroom deserved another woman who was worthy of him, who was completely devoted to him, who would never be vain and changeable like her.
Legal apprenticeship in London and engagement to Dora (Kp. 23–42)
A new phase of life begins for David with bp 23. On the advice of his aunt, David begins training as a lawyer in the law firm Spenlow and Jorkins with the Doctors' Commons Association in London and rents a small furnished apartment on Buckinghamstrasse in Adelphi (Kp. 23). Various fictional characters known from earlier episodes reappear and are connected to each other in the web of plot in new constellations: Agnes, Wickfield and Uriah Heep, Mr. Peggotti, Emily and Steerforth, Traddles and the Micawbers. Essentially, four alternating storylines develop in this phase of David's life:
- Uriah Heep's rise to become Wickfield's partner
In the house of the attorney at Waterbrook, David meets Agnes (c. 25) and Uriah Heep. With Agnes and Uriah, who both live in town for a short time to visit or for business, the focus of the plot shifts to the decrepit and alcoholic Wickfield's employee who has become a partner. Allegedly, Uriah discovered irregularities in his boss and promises to save him and maintain his good reputation. Uriah wants to weave David into his web by telling him confidentially that he loves Agnes and wants to gain her sympathy as a support to Wickfield. David suspects blackmail to become head of the firm and son-in-law, but is helpless in the face of Uriah's strategy. He fears that the communication of his fears will unsettle Agnes, and hopes for the intuition and resilience of his girlfriend. During his visit to Canterbury, David can see for himself how Uriah and his mother settled in Wickfield's house and took over the business. Since he sees David as a rival despite his engagement, because he suspects that he loves the girl more than a sister, and observes the close bond between the two, he dares to take the next step and expresses his intentions openly. But he encounters resistance: David shows his dislike for Uriah and draws his attention to the difference in level with Agnes. Wickfield reacts with an outburst of anger and complains about his incapacitation from his partner. He realizes that he acted prematurely, apologizes, but explains to David that he will continue to pursue his goal. He also clearly expresses the strategy of the humility he instilled in his parents: with mock submissive demeanor and flattery he deceives people and gains power over them (cf. 39). He warns that no one should stand in his way (Chapter 41). Uriah mixes these revelations towards David with the mock expression of his admiration and friendship, although the latter shows more and more his dislike and even slaps him in the face once in anger (chap. 42). This happens when he draws him into one of his intrigues: Heep slanders Annie Strong for having a relationship with her cousin Jack Maldon and also cites Wickfield's fears and alleged observations of Copperfield. So Uriah Wickfield tries to disturb the environment. Dr. However, Strong takes Annie under protection and sees the guilt alone with himself, because he had pushed his young wife into a marriage that does not meet her youthful needs out of bond with her dead father. He obliges everyone to keep quiet and brings his cheerful mother-in-law into the house so that Annie can have more entertainment. In the following time David observed the changed mood in the house and Annie's sadness. Mr. Dick senses this too, and leads a frank discussion of the couple in which Annie demonstrates her integrity and explains how her cousin used her husband's influence to find employment rather than self-help, and how he did wanted to persuade her to enter into a relationship and how she rejected him (cp. 45).
- Micawber's old and new stores
Tommy Traddles, who earns some money by typing in his lawyer training in Wickfield's office, invites David to his apartment in Camdentown . Its neighbors are the Micawbers. Meanwhile, Mr. Micawber tries his hand at commission trading for grain and is again in financial difficulties, especially as the family grows. David's warning to Tommy to lend Micawber money comes too late because he has already given him his reserves for his studies and received an unsecured bill of exchange for it (cp. 28). Out of pity for Mrs. Micawber, however, Traddle exchanged a second bill and not only lost his money, but also the furniture he had used as a guarantee. After he has earned some money again, he asks David and Peggottie to buy back a table and his fiancée Sophie's flower pot from the dealer for him (cp. 34). Micawber first hides under the name Mortimer, then comes to terms with his creditors, e. B. Traddles, with new promissory notes and promises of successful ventures, supported by his wife, who is convinced of her husband's genius. Her unrealistic hopes for promotion to the highest government offices are based on his employment as a clerk with Uriah Heep in Canterbury (Kp. 36).
- Emily's seduction by Steerforth
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In the continuation of the Emily storyline, David's eyes are opened to his idol James Steerforth. So far, out of admiration for his friend, he has ignored signs of his ambivalence. During two visits to the Steerforth house (Kp. 20 and 29), he experienced his friend as the darling of his mother and her companion Rosa Dartle, who suspected his ambivalent character, unlike Mrs. Steerforth, and analyzed him critically with insistent but puzzling questions seeks. While Rosa's remarks remain unclear for David, Agnes expresses her warning against the friendship with Steerforth clearly (cp. 25). But only when he travels to Yarmouth in response to the news of the impending death of the wagoner Barkis (Chapter 30), he learns the truth. Emily has changed her behavior: she has postponed her wedding to Ham, supposedly because she wants to help Peggotty look after her husband. When David wants to greet her, she trembles and evades him. After the funeral she goes into hiding and leaves the place in Steerforth's carriage. In her letter she apologizes for her behavior. She will only return as a wife (chapter 31). David feels complicit in introducing and trusting his friend into Dan's house, and accompanies Peggotty and her brother to London to document the inheritance matter and to speak to Mrs. Steerforth. In Highgate they are abruptly bid farewell after a short conversation (chap. 32). Mrs. Steeforth arrogantly refuses Dan's request to agree to a marriage in order to save his niece a life of shame on grounds of class. She herself feels betrayed, she sees her career hopes destroyed and blames Emily, who is completely unsuitable for her talented, educated James as a woman, responsible for the separation from her son. Apparently out of jealousy, Rosa goes into a fit of anger and berates David for bringing the fisherman into the house. Mr. Peggotty goes alone in search of Emily, whom he wants to protect as the victim of the seducer. He follows her trail through France and Italy, but returns unsuccessfully to Yarmouth, where repentant letters from his niece have meanwhile arrived (Chapter 40).
- Love affair with Dora Spenlow
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Another focus of this phase of life is the beginning love story of David and Doras. He met the beautiful daughter of Doctors' Commons lawyer Francis Spenlow on his estate in Norwood near London and fell in love with her spontaneously. To his surprise, your companion is Miss Murdstone, who suggests that David keep silent about her past in the interests of both of them. In Spenlow's office, David also runs into Mr. Murdstone when he is commissioning a marriage contract with a wealthy young woman. For David, Dora is an unearthly being. After her birthday party, he confesses his love to her and they secretly get engaged. Only Dora's friend Julie Mills, who plays the mediator and forwards the letters, knows about it. The relationship experiences a temporary disruption when David informs his girlfriend about his aunt's financial losses, his current poverty and his plans to make a modest existence for both of them. The sensitive and aesthetic Dora reacts irritated to this news, because with the word “work” she connects activities from another world for which her strength is far too weak. She refuses to deal with his realistic ideas about life and takes refuge in her romantic dream without work (cp. 37). Her father learns of her correspondence through Miss Murdstone, who found David's enthusiastic love letters with her pupil. Spenlow confronts David and tells him to forget this youthful folly and to give up the relationship, especially since he is far too young and has no income. He gives him a week to think about it. However, David tries to let Miss Mills share his unchanging love with Dora. The next day David learns in the office that Spenlow has fallen dead from his carriage on the way home that night. Upon review of his assets, it turns out that he has apparently lost track of his finances and is in debt, so his home in Norwood is about to be sold. Dora is taken in by her two aunts Lavinia and Clarissa in Putney near London (Kp. 38). David consults with Agnes, the gentle, sensible and sensitive counterpart to the “enchanted naturalness” of the inexperienced and insecure Dora. She recommends that he write a letter to Dora's aunts (cp. 39). His request to be allowed to visit her is fulfilled (chapter 40). They both see each other in Putney on a weekly basis now. One day David takes Agnes with him to introduce her to Dora. The two girls become friends and agree to correspond with each other. David's hope that Agnes' influence would make Dora more independent and take an interest in everyday things like cooking and housekeeping, however, is not fulfilled. She wants to leave such work to the service staff, remains childishly playful and prefers to train her little dog Jip (Kp. 41).
- Betsey Trotwood's loss of assets and her move to London
Shortly after his engagement, aunt and Mr. Dick suddenly show up with their luggage in David's apartment. Betsey, as she herself explains inaccurately, has lost most of her fortune through losses in the price of her mining and fishing stocks, has to rent out the house and reorganize her life on a low level (cp. 34). She tackles this new task courageously. Later (chapter 52) it turns out that she had her assets administered by Wickfield, but, after the money has disappeared, she does not want to burden the old, sick acquaintance, also to spare Agnes.
David immediately adjusts to the new situation: he tries to terminate his apprenticeship contract in order to get the thousand pounds of tuition back, but the partners Spenlow and Jorkins refuse (Chapter 35). Agnes, who has come from Canterbury at Betsey’s request for advice, arranges for David to work as a secretary to his former principal, Dr. Strong, who now lives in Highgate as a pensioner and continues to work on his dictionary. David's self-esteem is strengthened through the work. He restricts his lifestyle, sells his elegant clothes and is confident that they will overcome the crisis, that he will find a job and that he will be able to marry Dora. He has heard that many successful men have started their careers as rapporteurs on parliamentary sessions for newspapers. Tommy advises him to learn shorthand for it. As a listener to the protracted and, for him, boring processes in the Commons, he uses the time to record the speeches and practice shorthand. Tommy trains him at home by slowly declaiming parliamentary speeches in front of him (Chapter 38). In contrast to Aunt Betsey and David, Mr. Dick is depressed about the descent and wants to help. Traddles arranged for him to do some copying, less because of the low income than to improve his state of mind (cf. chapter 36).
Parliamentary rapporteur and writer, marriage to Dora (Kp. 43–57)
In this phase of David's life, the most important parallel plots by Uriah Heeps, Emily and Micawber are completed.
- Housekeeping problems
A new chapter in life begins for David at the age of 21. He has given up training as a lawyer and found work as a parliamentary rapporteur for a morning newspaper. In addition, a magazine publishes his stories and he is writing his first novel. He has a good income, can buy a small house in Highgate, and marry Dora. As if in a dream, he remembers the wedding celebration with his aunts, Peggotty, Mr. Dick, Agnes, Traddles and his fiancée Sophie as guests (Kp. 43).
After the honeymoon, everyday life begins and both of them have no experience of housekeeping. Dora is childishly playful, likes to paint and make music, likes to watch him write and sees in his attempts to develop an organizational system with his "prettiest female", lovelessness and then calls her "Doady" a "bad, bad man", whereupon he must guiltily assure her of his love and admiration. Then she calls herself a "childish female". They are unlucky with their maidservants, cooks and laundresses: they are either unskilled, clumsy, unreliable or fraudulent, but for a long time the gentlemen do not dare to confront them. Many of their “economic tricks” fail. David's aunt, whom he asks for advice, does not want to interfere in order not to endanger the good relationship with Dora and advises him to be patient. After a year and a half of marriage, her boy is arrested for theft. He also admits to various crimes in the house and David has to talk to Dora about her lack of controls, which apparently lead the staff to irregularities and fraud. Dora feels attacked and is offended. Then David tries a different method. He wants to form his wife's childlike character through literature. He tries to talk to her about his literary work and reads to her from Shakespeare's dramas. But she just reacts bored and sadly notices that he has married the wrong woman. Finally he gives up attempts to raise his wife and accepts her playfully natural. This at least improves the atmosphere between them again (Chapter 48). David loves Dora for who she is and she admires the successful writer who makes enough money to be able to quit his job as Parliamentary Secretary. After two years of marriage, her strength decreases and she can no longer climb the stairs alone. Before her death, she asks Agnes for an interview and asks her to take care of David (cp. 62). In her last conversation with her husband, she expresses herself in a similar way to David in his thoughts before (cp. 53): She was too young for marriage and they should have left it with a love of children. Over time, her clever husband would have evolved while she remained his beautiful childish female. Looking back on this time of love, David remarks: “Sometimes for a short time I felt as if I wished my wife were my counselor, had more character and independence to sustain and improve myself, had the strength to fill the void that left me , I don't know how it seemed to rule around me, but at the same time it seemed to me that this was a non-earth consummation of my happiness that should never be and never could be ”(Ch. 44). “When I thought of the airy dreams of youth that had not come true, I also thought of the more beautiful times before manhood; and then the happy days with Agnes in the dear old house arose like ghosts of the dead in front of me, whom I might see again in another world, but which would never come to life again here. ”(Chapter 48).
- Find Emily
When David passed the Steerforth house on his way home one day, he was called in by Miss Dartle and informed that James had ended his affair with Emily (cp. 46): After traveling through Europe, James lost interest in his lover, he was left the villa near Naples and let her servant Littimer tell her that he was ready to marry her in order to save her from social ostracism. Then she went mad and left the house unnoticed at night. David suspects that Mrs. Steerforth and Miss Dartle fear that Emily will come to her house in London in search of her lover, and that they hope that Mr. Peggotti will find her beforehand and take her to him. David immediately visits Dan Peggotti in his apartment in London and they discuss how to proceed: They consider that Emily should not return to Yarmouth out of shame, but rather look for shelter with her former friend Martha. They find the uprooted and tired of life Martha on the Thames, prevent her from her suicide and ask her for her help (cp. 47). A few months later, the hoped-for news arrives. Martha calls David and the uncle to their room in a poor neighborhood near Goldensquare. Shortly before Mr. Peggotty takes the desperate Emily in his arms, Miss Dartle has visited her and treated her like a lower class prostitute because of her affair: she had seduced James in order to enrich herself on a nobility rift. She threatened her that if she did not disappear from London and hide with her family, she would spread her bad reputation everywhere (cp. 50). Shortly afterwards, Mr. Peggotty appears. Emily tells him about her escape to London (Kp. 51): Littimer locked her in the villa to force her consent to the marriage, she ran away, an Italian fishing family hid her and helped her on a boat trip to France, there she worked in a tavern, had to flee again from the pursuer Littimer and came to live with Martha in London. To protect her from defamation by Steerforth's family, Mr. Peggotty plans to emigrate with her to Australia and make a fresh start there. Mrs. Gummidge and Martha complete the group, and the Micawber family will join them (cp. 52). David, Agnes and Miss Trotwood visit the emigrants on their ship before they leave and say goodbye to them (Chapter 57).
Before the trip, Dan Peggotty travels to Yarmouth with David, dissolves his household there, sells his fishing boat and the equipment and says goodbye to friends and relatives (Kp. 51). Ham lets David tell Emily that he is asking her forgiveness for having forced his love on her and that he is praying for her, but David should not tell her that he will never overcome his love for her and his disappointment. In response to this message, Emily asks David to deliver a letter from her to Ham. He went to Yarmouth immediately to get Ham's answer to London before the ship left. When it reached the coast, a strong storm put many ships in distress (see point 55). A schooner from Spain is driven near the beach with broken masts and threatens to break apart. Ham swims through the surf, tied to a rope, to attach a rope to the wreck, which the sailors can use to pull themselves ashore, but shortly before the destination, a high wave destroys the ship for good. Ham is pulled out of the water dead. One of the washed up sailors is James Steerforth. David transfers the body of his school friend to his mother's house. There he experienced Rosa Dartle's madness attack (Kp. 56): As a former lover of James, she reproaches the mother for having pampered her son into an arrogant character.
For many years David found out about the fate of the people involved: During a home vacation, Mr. Peggotty tells that his group work together on their farm, apart from Martha, who has married a farmer. The Micawbers had run the neighboring farm for a long time before Wilkins was appointed peace judge (cf. 63). While visiting a reformatory, David meets Uriah, the servant Littimer, who is serving a sentence there because he has stolen a large sum from his master, apparently James Steerforth, and was arrested before he fled to America (Chapter 61).
- Uriah Heep's scams
David and Tommy have received letters from Mrs. Micawber complaining about her husband's change. Now Wilkins Micawber comes to London and tells the two young friends that Uriah Heep put him under pressure by hiring him and buying out his uncovered promissory notes. Using a similar method, he blackmailed his former boss Wickfield, whom he seduced in a state of weakness and apathy, to sign incriminating documents. Now he threatens, if his partner does not increasingly leave the office to him, to go public and to accuse him and Agnes. Out of hatred of his presumed rival David, he also tries to weaken his source of money. He shifts his aunt's fortune to his account and puts the blame on Wickfield, whom Miss Trotwood wants to spare out of sympathy for Agnes. He also threatens her to publicize her decrepit husband's vagrancy. However, Heep loses this leverage after the death of the man (Chapter 54).
Micawber now wants to get rid of Heep. He could no longer reconcile it with his conscience to remain silent about the villainy, hypocrisy and lies of his principal, even if he and his family should get into trouble again (cp. 49). He invites David and Tommy, plus Miss Trotwood, Mr. Dick, whom he calls Dixon, and Agnes to Heep's office in Canterbury and charges him with forgery, embezzlement, incorrect bookings, exploitation of Wickfield's illness, etc. (Chapter 52). During his investigations, he found that Trotwood's fortune, which she entrusted to the Wickfields firm, also ended up in Heep's pocket during the illegal transactions. He has saved the documents and is giving them to attorney Tommy Traddles for review. This forces Heep to surrender the bank books and the securities as well as to withdraw from the office. There will be no indictment in court as long as Uriah refrains from the threatened defamation of Wickfield. Many years later David and Tommy meet Uriah Heep on a tour of a reform prison (cf. 61). He is serving a sentence for forgery and fraud against the Bank of England and is brought before the reformatory as one of the particularly penitent prisoners. However, David fears that he will play his old comedy of submission again.
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Traddles also discusses her financial situation with her friends (Kp. 54): Miss Trotwood receives her 5000 pounds back and takes over Micawber's promissory notes and the start-up capital for setting up an existence in Australia. Agnes wants her weakened father to retire and give up the office. The house is to be sold for his maintenance. Agnes wants to rent it and set up a girls' school in it. Mr. Mikawber is relieved to have freed himself from Heep's clutches, even though he is now out of work. He takes his friends into his apartment and they experience the reconciliation of the spouses. Miss Trotwood suggests (Chapter 54) that the family in Australia should have the chance for a new life and that as a reward for their sincerity the promissory notes should be paid and they should receive start-up capital. The Micawbers agree and emigrate with Mr. Peggotty and Emily (cap. 57). Before leaving, Heep presents three promissory notes and Mr. Micawber threatens to be arrested, but he can always be released, gratefully accepts help and hands over a new bond for the entire sum to Traddles with the usual cockiness. He works hard in Australia and this time he can repay the money he borrowed. As a respected member of the Port-Middlebay Society, he was appointed Justice of the Peace (cf. 63).
New beginning with Agnes (Kp. 58-64)
In the last phase of life described, David tells how she coped with Dora's death, the resumption of the student's love affair with Agnes and her marriage. David gets into a crisis after saying goodbye to his friends. Only now does he become aware of the loss and for three years he travels through Europe with increasing melancholy. In Switzerland, Agnes' letters lead to an improvement. She reminds him of the difficult times of his childhood, which he has overcome stronger than before, and gives him courage that he can come to terms with Dora's death and that he will continue to mature through the great suffering. He should start again with a novel. She promises him her sisterly support and love. He retreats to a high mountain valley and writes his second novel, which Tommy Traddles has published in London and which increases his fame. Before his return he also reflects on his relationship with Agnes, whom he once loved like a sister and whose help supported him during school. He is now realizing that it was more than sibling love and that he apparently missed the great opportunity of his life when, after graduating from school, he only used it as confidante of his love raptures for girls and young women in society. a when he developed his passion for Dora and married her. Now he is reluctant to make this confession to her after Dora's death. He is afraid that she will misunderstand him and feel like a substitute, reject him and that this will damage their relationship. He is also not sure whether she loves him and wants to marry him (cp. 58). So after the joy of reunion, their relationship continues to develop on a friendly, sibling level. Both are waiting for a declaration of love from the other (Chapter 60). David lives in Dover with his aunt and Peggotti, is writing his third novel there and commutes to Canterbury to see Agnes and Tommy Traddles, who opened a law firm in London and married his long-time fiancée Sophie Crewler. In order to get the approval of his in-laws, he had to agree to take care of the whole family in an emergency. David and Sophie have little money, with the greatest pleasure they furnish themselves with expensive cutlery and furniture in their imagination while window shopping. The office is also your apartment and is used flexibly. Often some of Sophie's nine sisters come to visit and are accommodated in a friendly manner and entertained with games and singing by the good-natured Tommy and his laughing wife. With this cheerful group of children, David can forget his heavy thoughts. After two months, after his aunt's prophetic remark that Agnes might get married soon, he decides to explain herself to her and she can now tell him that she has always loved him. She also promised Dora to marry him (cf. 62).
The encounters with old acquaintances who report the fate of other fictional characters are faded in: The old Blunderston family doctor Chillip informs David about the second marriage of his stepfather, who patronizes his young wife just as strictly and takes away her joie de vivre as before with Clara Copperfield (Kp. 59). The former headmaster of "Salemhouse" and now peace judge Creakle shows David and Tommy in his reformatory before the prisoners Uriah Heep and Littimer, who were convicted of financial crimes and allegedly reformed (cp. 62). Daniel Peggotty visits his homeland again and brings the greetings from the emigrants, who have all gained a foothold in Australia and have established themselves (cp. 63).
In the 63rd chapter that concludes the retrospect, the writer who has come to “fame and prosperity” determines his narrative location: He has been happily married to Agnes for ten years. They live with their numerous girls and boys in their London house. The eldest daughter is called Betsey, to the delight of Auntie, the second oldest is called Dora. David sees himself "walking the road of life" with Agnes and some of the many faces and voices stand out: the aunt, Peggotty, Mr. Dick, Mrs. Steerforth and Rosa, Julia Mills, who is married to a rich man ungrateful Jack Maldon, Doctor Strong with his dictionary, which has arrived at the letter D, and above all the loyal friend, the generous Tommy Traddles, who takes care of the family and a few sisters-in-law in his house and, despite the many rooms, is as cramped as he used to be in the office he wears. Then David finishes his novel and all faces become blurred, except for that of Agnes, who keeps him company while writing into the night (cp. 64).
Narrative perspective
The story is told from a first-person perspective , from the point of view of David Copperfield. It is Dickens' first novel with a first-person narrator. Attempts to present the world of adults at least temporarily from the waking, undisguised perspective of a child and thus to illuminate it critically can already be found in Dickens' previous novel Dombey and Son (1848).
The first-person narrator reports the events as a retrospective, partly comments on them and therefore has a longer time lag than his main character. The narrator David is therefore not identical to the protagonist David. The narrative and the experiencing ego do not necessarily coincide; At the same time, Dickens dispenses with a binding definition of the narrative figure as a clearly defined figure in the novel. In this way, as an author, he can use different overlapping perspectives and narrative attitudes, with the help of which David Copperfield gains a complexity in narrative technology that has few equivalents in the entire Victorian narrative art.
In the passages in which the narrator reports from a long distance, he partially shows an in-depth knowledge of the inner workings of the people involved in the plot and overlooks past and future events with great reliability. In other places he again describes the events up close as a co-witness who cannot yet know what course the further development will take. There are also various passages in which the first-person narrator takes a back seat to the other characters who communicate themselves in the form of a monologue or report as well as in the form of a letter. Occasionally, the first-person narrator David Copperfield also transforms himself into a pure spectator who more or less by chance witnesses one or the other process or is informed about it from another point. Thanks to this nested narrative perspective, Dickens can, despite the appearance of a first-person narrator as the main character, preserve the independent life and idiosyncrasy of the other characters in the novel and build up additional narrative tension, since not all backgrounds or secrets are immediately revealed to the narrator's insight.
Autobiographical background
A few years before David Copperfield was written , Dickens had already toyed with the idea of publishing an autobiography in which in particular the painful experiences and humiliations of his youth should be presented. In 1847 he presented his friend John Forster with an autobiographical sketch for reading, some of which found its way into the novel. Dickens began working on his novel in 1849.
The chapters in which David works in a London wine shop and puts labels on bottles reflect Dickens' own experiences and suffering during his childhood working at the factory. In the satirical figure of Mr. Micawber , clumsy in money matters , he portrayed his own father, who was temporarily in prison because of his debts. The episode series in which David's passionate love for Dora is portrayed is based in part on Dickens' own experience; here the stormy feelings that Maria Beadnell had evoked in the young poet at the time found their literary expression. Like David, the author went on to become a paralegal, reporter, and successful writer. An indication of the autobiographical reference is also the name of the main character, D. & nbsp; C., whose initials are similar to those of the author: C. & nbsp; D.
Dickens himself called David Copperfield his “favorite novel” and shortly before his death he confessed: “Like many proud parents, I have a favorite child in the bottom of my heart. And his name is David Copperfield ”.
Publication history
Like most of Dickens' works, David Copperfield was first published as a 19-part monthly serial story for the price of one British shilling. The first 18 parts had a length of 32 pages of text and two illustrations by Phiz; the (last) 19th part was twice as long.
| → Publication history May 1849 - November 1850 |
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After the original print, an edition of the entire novel in book form followed in November 1850. As early as 1849, the first volume of the three-volume book edition appeared in Bernhard Tauchnitz's Leipzig series Collection of British Authors as a copyrighted edition; the other two followed in 1850. In addition to the Cheap Edition , two other book editions authorized by Dickens were published as Library Edition (1858) and Charles Dickens Edition (from 1867). The text version in the various editions, however, shows numerous differences that are not without importance for the interpretation of the novel.
As part of Clarendon Dickens , a historical-critical edition by David Copperfield was published in 1981 under the editorship of Nina Burgis , which attempts to reconstruct a final text version intended by Dickens. On the basis of the original print, the variants in the manuscript, the proofs and the editions later authorized by Dickens are shown in the apparatus of this edition and commented on with critical text .
reception
David Copperfield is regarded to this day as one of the most important educational novels in English literature and one of the most haunting childhood and youth novels in world literature because of his portrayal of the humiliations and fears of childhood . In describing the situations and characterizing the people, Dickens' outstanding talent for depicting moods, experiences and feelings of childhood. With the criticism of the disregard for the child, which precedes the criticism of social ills, he appealed to the conscience of the people - with the intention of paving the way for social reforms.
When it was founded in 1969, the British band Uriah Heep chose its name after the character of the same name from this novel.
Translations into German
| → Translations 1849 - 1968 |
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Selection based on Rössig's bibliography and the bibliography of Czennia's study of Dickens translations:
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Text output
The novel is (as of 2010) available in fourteen editions from various publishers in German. A selection:
- David Copperfield , Manesse Verlag, ISBN 3-7175-8000-0 , translated by Carl Kolb
- David Copperfield , detebe classic, ISBN 978-3-257-21034-7 (translation: Gustav Meyrink, 1910)
- David Copperfield , Ueberreuter-Verlag, ISBN 978-3-8000-5478-7
- David Copperfield , Schreitersche Verlagbuchhandlung
Secondary literature
- Horst Oppel : Dickens David Copperfield . In: Franz K. Stanzel (Ed.): The English novel · From the Middle Ages to the Modern Age . Volume II. Bagel Verlag Düsseldorf 1969, pp. 112–157.
Adaptations
Illustrations
Hablot Knight Browne (Phiz) illustrated the first editions of the novel and also drew the cover picture: a baby is looking at a globe and this idea obviously refers to the working title "The Copperfield Survey of the World as it Rolled". Around the central motif are grouped pictures that Phiz drew without any information about the characters or the plot of the novel. The series starts at the bottom of the left leafy side of the tree, while the right is bare, with a woman holding a baby in her lap, and continues clockwise with scenes from the résumé.
Phiz worked closely with Dickens on the novel illustrations. The author requested that the illustrator translate the protagonist-narrator's memories into an objective or dramatic third-person point of view. Some of his illustrations contain details that are not in the text but illuminate a character or situation. Events are also commented on. The pictures can say more than the narrator says in his text. Dickens examined the smallest details and sometimes requested modifications. The appearance of the meeting between David and Aunt Betsey was changed several times until Dickens was satisfied. But the author also accepted deviations from the text, e.g. B. in the depiction of Peggotty's boathouse. In the novel, the house is described as an upright ship, while the illustrator turns the boat over and the hull represents the roof.
Around 1900 the popularity of Dickens novels rose and when the 40-year-old copyrights expired by 1910, many publishers had the works translated and illustrated again, e.g. B. by Frederick Barnard (1846-1896, Household Edition by Chapman & Hall) and Frank Reynolds (1876-1953, 1911 Edition by David Copperfield), whose styles differed considerably from Phiz. Because of the great commercial success (Chapman & Hall sold 2 million copies between 1900 and 1906) the figures also became interesting for puzzle and postcard manufacturers. Popular figures were v. a. Uriah Heep and Mr. Micawber.
Uriah Heep (Fred Barnard)
David and Clara Peggotty (Jessica Willcox-Smith)
David and Emily on the Beach (Frank Reynold)
Daniel Peggotty and Emily (Harold Copping)
Wilkins Micawber (Kyd)
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- Illustrators (selection)
- Kyd (Joseph Clayton Clarke) (1855-1937);
- Harold Copping (1863–1932) and Jessica Willcox Smith (1863–1935) illustrated Dickens stories for children.
- Richard Borrmeister (Meidinger`s Jugendschriften Verlag Berlin, 1920)
- Nils Graf Stenbock-Fermor German Book Association Berlin Darmstadt 1950.
- Gerhard Goßmann (New Life, Berlin, 1961),
- Gerhart Kraaz. (1970)
Audio book
- David Copperfield . Retold by Dirk Walbrecker. Speaker: Hans Josef Schöneberger. Direction: Hans Eckardt, publishing house and studio for audio book productions, library of youth classics, 3 CDs, Marburg 2003, ISBN 3-89614-268-2
E-book
- David Copperfield , Digireads, MobiID: 16133
Film adaptations
The novel has been filmed several times for cinema and television. Very often the supporting roles were filled with prominent actors.
| → Film adaptations 1911 - 2019 |
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Web links
- Wikimedia Commons Categories: Category: Book illustrations by writer, Illustrations to Charles Dickens's works, David CopperfieldWikisource: David Copperfield - Sources and full texts (English)
- digitized full text David Copperfield (German translation from 1910)
- David Copperfield from the Gutenberg project
- David Copperfield in easy-to-read HTML format
Individual evidence
- ^ Household Words, two penny magazines
- ↑ See Horst Oppel : Dickens David Copperfield . In: Franz K. Stanzel (Ed.): The English novel · From the Middle Ages to the Modern Age . Volume II. Bagel Verlag Düsseldorf 1969, p. 130.
- ↑ See Horst Oppel : Dickens David Copperfield . In: Franz K. Stanzel (Ed.): The English novel · From the Middle Ages to the Modern Age . Volume II. Bagel Verlag Düsseldorf 1969, p. 130.
- ↑ See Horst Oppel : Dickens David Copperfield . In: Franz K. Stanzel (Ed.): The English novel · From the Middle Ages to the Modern Age . Volume II. Bagel Verlag Düsseldorf 1969, p. 130.
- ^ Sichtermann, Barbara, Scholl, Joachim: 50 classic novels before 1900, 2005, pp. 168–173
- ↑ See Horst Oppel : Dickens David Copperfield . In: Franz K. Stanzel (Ed.): The English novel · From the Middle Ages to the Modern Age . Volume II. Bagel Verlag Düsseldorf 1969, p. 126ff.
- ↑ See the review of this issue by Sylvia Manning in: Nineteenth-Century Fiction . Vol. 38, no. 1 (June 1983), pp. 101-104. A paperback edition of the Clarendon edition in the series in 2008 Oxford World's Classics published by Oxford University Press published.
- ↑ Wolfgang Rössig "Literatures of the World in German Translations". B. 19. A chronological bibliography. JB Metzler Stuttgart Weimar 1997.
- ↑ Bärbel Czennia: "The foreign slide / sociolect:" Cockney "," Cant "and other special languages in translations of novels by Charles Dickens". In: Fred Lönker (Ed.): "The literary translation as a medium of foreign experience". Erich Schmidt Berlin 1992., p. 123 ff.
- ^ Philip V. Allingham, "Taking Off the Wrapper: David Copperfield Anticipated, May 1849". Victorian Web, January 19, 2009.
- ↑ Joel J. Brattin: "Dickens and Serial Publication". June 27, 2012.
- ↑ Michael Steig (1978). "Dickens and Phiz". Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. 1978, p. 113.
- ↑ Allingham, Philip. "Illustrations by Phiz and Barnard of Peggoty's Boat-House in David Copperfield". The Victorian Web.