Charles Dickens

"The life of David Copperfield as told by himself"

David Copperfield was born half an orphan - six months after the death of his father. It so happened that his father's aunt, Miss Betsy Trotwood, was present at his birth - her marriage was so unsuccessful that she became a man-hater, returned to her maiden name and settled in the wilderness. Before her nephew's marriage, she loved him very much, but she came to terms with his choice and came to meet his wife only six months after his death. Miss Betsy expressed her desire to become the godmother of a newborn girl (she wanted a girl to be born without fail), asked her to be called Betsy Trotwood Copperfield and set out to “raise her properly”, protecting her from all possible mistakes. When she learned that a boy had been born, she was so disappointed that, without saying goodbye, she left her nephew's house forever.

As a child, David is surrounded by the cares and love of his mother and nanny Peggotty. But his mother is getting married a second time.

During their honeymoon, David and his nanny are sent to Yarmouth to stay with Brother Peggotty. So for the first time he finds himself in a hospitable house-boat and gets acquainted with its inhabitants: Mr. Peggotty, his nephew Ham, his niece Emley (David falls in love with her like a child) and the widow of his companion, Mrs. Gummidge.

Returning home, David finds there a "new dad" - Mr. Mardston and a completely changed mother: now she is afraid to caress him and obeys her husband in everything. When Mr. Mardstone's sister also moves in with them, the boy's life becomes completely unbearable. The Mardstones are quite proud of their toughness, meaning by it "the tyrannical, gloomy, arrogant, diabolical disposition inherent in both of them." The boy is taught at home; under the ferocious gazes of his stepfather and his sister, he grows dumb with fear and cannot answer the lesson. The only joy of his life is his father's books, which, fortunately, ended up in his room. For poor study, they deprive him of lunch, give him cuffs on the back of the head; finally, Mr. Mardstone decides to resort to flogging. As soon as the first blow fell on David, he bit his stepfather's hand. For this, he is sent to Salem House School - right in the middle of the holidays. His mother took a cold leave of him under the watchful eye of Miss Mardstone, and only when the wagon had driven away from home did the faithful Peggotty surreptitiously jump into it and, showering "her Davy" with kisses, provided him with a basket of goodies and a purse, in which, besides other money, were two half-crowns from the mother, wrapped in a piece of paper with the inscription: “For Davy. With love". At school, his back was immediately adorned with a poster: “Beware! It bites!" The holidays are over, its inhabitants are returning to the school, and David meets new friends - the recognized leader among the students, James Steerford, six years older than him, and Tommy Traddles - "the funniest and most miserable", the School is run by Mr. Creekle, whose teaching method is intimidation and spanking; not only the students, but also the family are mortally afraid of him. Steerford, before whom Mr. Creekle fawns, takes Copperfield under his protection - because he, like Scheherazade, retells to him the contents of books from his father's library at night.

Christmas holidays come, and David goes home, not yet knowing that this meeting with his mother is destined to be the last: soon she dies, and David's newborn brother dies. After the death of his mother, David no longer returns to school: Mr. Mardston explains to him that education costs money and such as David Copperfield will not need it, because it's time for them to earn a living. The boy keenly feels his abandonment: the Mardstones have calculated Peggotty, and the kind nanny is the only person in the world who loves him. Peggotty returns to Yarmouth and marries Barkis the carter; but before parting, she begged the Mardstons to let David go to stay in Yarmouth, and he again finds himself in a boat house on the seashore, where everyone sympathizes with him and everyone is kind to him - the last sip of love before severe trials.

Mardston sends David to London to work at Mardston and Greenby. So at the age of ten, David enters an independent life - that is, he becomes a slave of the company. Together with other boys, forever hungry, he washes bottles all day, feeling how he gradually forgets school wisdom and is horrified at the thought that someone from his former life might see him. His suffering is strong and deep, but he does not complain.

David is very attached to the family of the owner of his apartment, Mr. Micawber, a frivolous loser, constantly besieged by creditors and living in the eternal hope that someday "fortune will smile at us." Mrs. Micawber, easily hysterical and just as easily consoled, now and then asks David to pawn either a silver spoon or sugar tongs. But the Micawbers also have to part: they end up in a debtor's prison, and after their release they go to seek their fortune in Plymouth. David, who does not have a single loved one left in this city, firmly decides to run to his grandmother Trotwood. In a letter, he asks Peggotty where his grandmother lives, and asks him to send him half a guinea on credit. Having received the money and the rather vague answer that Miss Trotwood lives "somewhere near Dover", David collects his belongings in a chest and goes to the mail-coach station; on the way he is robbed, and, already without a chest and without money, he sets off on foot. He sleeps in the open and sells his jacket and vest to buy bread, he is exposed to many dangers - and on the sixth day, hungry and dirty, with broken legs, comes to Dover. Happily finding his grandmother's house, weeping, he tells his story and asks for protection. Grandma writes to the Mardstons and promises to give a final answer after talking to them, but in the meantime David is washed, fed and put into a real clean bed.

After talking with the Mardstons and realizing the full measure of their gloom, rudeness and greed (taking advantage of the fact that David's mother, whom they brought to the grave, did not stipulate David's share in the will, they took possession of all her property without allocating him a penny), the grandmother decides to become David's legal guardian.

Finally David returns to normal. Although his grandmother is eccentric, she is very, very kind, and not only to her great-nephew. In her house lives a quiet, crazy Mr. Dick, whom she saved from Bedlam. David starts at Dr. Strong's school in Canterbury; since there are no more places in the boarding school at the school, the grandmother gratefully accepts the offer of her lawyer, Mr. Wickfield, to settle the boy with him. After the death of his wife, Mr. Wickfield, flooding his grief, began to have an immoderate addiction to port wine; the only light of his life is his daughter Agnes, who is the same age as David. For David, she also became a kind angel. In Mr. Wickfield's law office, Uriah Heep is a disgusting type, red-haired, writhing all over, with red eyes that do not close, without eyelashes, with perpetually cold and damp hands, obsequiously adding to each of his phrases: "we are small, humble people."

Dr. Strong's school turns out to be the complete opposite of Mr. Creekle's. David is a successful student, and happy school years, warmed by the love of his grandmother, Mr. Dick, the kind angel Agnes, fly by instantly.

After leaving school, Grandmother suggests that David go to London, visit Peggotty and, after resting, choose a business to his liking; David goes on a trip. In London, he meets Steerford, with whom he studied at Salem House. Steerford invites him to stay with his mother, and David accepts the invitation. In turn, David invites Steerford to come with him to Yarmouth.

They come to the house-boat at the moment of the engagement of Emli and Ham, Emli has grown and blossomed, the women of the whole district hate her for her beauty and ability to dress with taste; she works as a seamstress. David lives in his nanny's house, Steerford in an inn; David spends all day wandering around the cemetery around his native graves, Steerford goes to sea, organizes feasts for sailors and enchants the entire population of the coast, "prompted by an unconscious desire to rule, an unconscious need to conquer, conquer even that which has no price for him." How sorry David will be for bringing him here!

Steerford seduces Em'ly, and on the eve of the wedding, she runs away with him "to return lady or not return at all". Ham's heart is broken, he longs to forget himself in his work, Mr. Peggotty goes to look for Em'ly around the world, and only Mrs Gummidge remains in the boat house - so that the light is always on in the window, in case Em'ly returns. For many years there is no news about her, finally David finds out that in Italy Emli ran away from Steerford when he, bored with her, offered her to marry his servant.

Grandmother suggests that David choose a career as a lawyer - a proctor in Dr. Commons. David agrees, his grandmother contributes a thousand pounds for his education, arranges his life and returns to Dover.

David's independent life begins in London. He is happy to meet again Tommy Traddles, his friend from Salem House, who also works in the legal field, but, being poor, earns his living and education on his own. Traddles is engaged and eagerly tells David about his Sophie. David is also in love - with Dora, the daughter of Mr. Spenlow, the owner of the company where he studies. Friends have a lot to talk about. Despite the fact that life does not spoil him, Traddles is surprisingly good-natured. It turns out that the owners of his apartment are the Micawbers; they are, as usual, entangled in debt. David is glad to renew the acquaintance; Traddles and the Micawbers make up his circle of friends until the Micawbers go to Canterbury - under the pressure of circumstances and inspired by the hope that "fortune smiled at them": Mr. Micawber got a job in the office of Wickfield and Heep.

Uriah Heep, skillfully playing on Mr. Wickfield's weaknesses, became his companion and gradually takes over the office. He deliberately confuses accounts and shamelessly robs the firm and its clients, drugging Mr. Wickfield and instilling in him the conviction that the cause of the disastrous state of affairs is his drunkenness. He moves into Mr. Wickfield's house and harasses Agnes. And Micawber, completely dependent on him, is hired to help him in his dirty business.

One of Uriah Hip's victims is David's grandmother. She is ruined; with Mr. Dick and all her belongings, she comes to London, renting out her house in Dover to feed herself. David is not at all discouraged by this news; he goes to work as a secretary to Dr. Strong, who retired and settled in London (he was recommended this place by the good angel Agnes); in addition, studies shorthand. Grandmother runs their household in such a way that it seems to David that he has become not poorer, but richer; Mr. Dick earns by correspondence of papers. Having mastered the same shorthand, David begins to make very good money as a parliamentary reporter.

Upon learning of the change in David's financial situation, Mr. Spenlow, Dora's father, refuses him a house. Dora is also afraid of poverty. David is inconsolable; but when Mr. Spenlow died suddenly, it turned out that his affairs were in complete disarray - Dora, who now lives with her aunts, is no richer than David. David is allowed to visit her; Dora's aunts got along well with David's grandmother. David is a little embarrassed that everyone treats Dora like a toy; but she doesn't mind. Having reached the age of majority, David marries. This marriage turned out to be short-lived: two years later, Dora dies, not having had time to grow up.

Mr. Peggotty finds Em'ly; after much ordeal, she made it to London, where Martha Endell, a fallen girl from Yarmouth whom Emly once helped, in turn saves her and brings her to her uncle's apartment. (It was David's idea to involve Martha in the search for Emly.) Mr. Peggotty now intends to emigrate to Australia, where no one will be interested in Emly's past.

Meanwhile, Mr. Micawber, unable to participate in Uriah Heep's swindles, exposes him with Traddles' help. Mr. Wickfield's good name is saved, fortunes are returned to Grandma and other clients. Full of gratitude, Miss Trotwood and David pay Micawber's bills and lend money to this glorious family: the Micawbers have also decided to go to Australia. Mr. Wickfield liquidates the firm and retires; Agnes opens a school for girls.

On the eve of the steamer's departure for Australia, a terrible storm occurred on the Yarmouth coast - it claimed the lives of Ham and Steerford.

After the death of Dora, David, who has become a famous writer (he moved from journalism to fiction), goes to the continent to work through his grief. Returning three years later, he marries Agnes, who, as it turns out, has loved him all her life. Grandmother finally became godmother to Betsy Trotwood Copperfield (that's the name of one of her great-granddaughters); Peggotty babysits David's children; Traddles is also married and happy. Emigrants have settled down wonderfully in Australia. Uriah Heep is being held in a prison run by Mr. Creakle.

Thus, life put everything in its place.

David Copperfield was born six months after his father's death. His father's aunt, Miss Betsy Trotwood, was present at his birth, and she really wanted a granddaughter, but upon learning that a boy had been born, she quickly left home.

As a child, David is taken care of by his mother and nanny Peggotty. Mom remarries and for the duration of their honeymoon, David is sent to stay with the Pegotti family in Yarmouth. Here he is comfortable and everyone treats him with love. Returning home, he meets the "new dad", Mr. Mardston. Mom lives in fear of her new husband and does not protect the boy in any way. David Copperfield's life is turning into hell and he can't bear to be here. He is forcibly sent to Salem House School, where he meets new friends: James Steerford and Tommy Traddles. The school is run by Mr. Creekle, who is known for his harsh teaching style through spanking. With the onset of winter holidays, David returns home and meets his mother there. This meeting becomes their last - soon the mother dies, and Mr. Mardston sends the boy at the age of ten to work for the company. There he washes glasses and bottles, but does not complain.

David was very attached to the family of his landlord, Mr. Micawber. But since the Micawber family ends up in a debtor's prison, David Copperfield firmly decides to leave London and seek help from his grandmother. The address was suggested to the boy by Nanny Pegotti and gave money for the journey. Along the way, David was robbed and decided to walk to Dover. With difficulty finding his grandmother's house, he, naked and hungry, asks her for help. Miss Betsy Trotwood contacts the Mardstons, and realizing how miserable and greedy they are, the grandmother formalizes guardianship of David.

At this time, David's life improved, and he goes to study at Strong's school in Canterbury, and lives with his grandmother's lawyer, Mr. Wickfield. At Wickfield's house, David Copperfield meets Agnes, his age. For David, she, just like for dad, became a good angel. In Mr. Wickfield's law office is Uriah Heep - an unpleasant red-haired man with eyes that do not close, red, without eyelashes, and with perpetually cold and damp hands.

At school, the boy is doing much better than at Crickle's last school. He likes to study and under the auspices of kind people, these years of life fly by for David unnoticed. After studying, his grandmother suggests that David become a lawyer, and he agrees. For training, the grandmother contributes a thousand pounds and arranges his life.

From this moment begins the independent life of David Copperfield. He meets his old friend Tommy Traddles, who tells him that Uriah Heep has taken over the Wickfield business and settled in his house, constantly pestering Agnes. Uriah Hipp also deceived David's grandmother and she moved to London. It's David's turn to take care of his grandmother, and he begins to make good money working as a stenographer for Strong.

Having become an adult, David marries Dora, but the marriage was not long, Dora died soon after. At this time, Mr. Micawber and Traddles expose Hipp and return their money to all defrauded customers. After the death of his wife, David becomes a famous writer and tries to forget about his grief with the help of work. Three years later, he returns home and marries Agnes, who, as it turns out, has loved him all her life. Grandmother's old dream nevertheless came true - she became the godmother of Betsy Trotwood Copperfield (that's the name of one of her great-granddaughters); Nanny Peggotty continues to babysit his children; Traddles is also married and happy, and Uriah Heep is imprisoned by Mr. Creakle.

Compositions

David Copperfield was born half an orphan - six months after the death of his father. It so happened that his father's aunt, Miss Betsey Trotwood, was present at his birth - her marriage was so unsuccessful that she became a man-hater, returned to her maiden name and settled in the wilderness. Before her nephew's marriage, she loved him very much, but she came to terms with his choice and came to meet his wife only six months after his death. Miss Betsy expressed her desire to become the godmother of a newborn girl (she wanted a girl to be born without fail), asked her to be called Betsy Trotwood Copperfield and set out to “raise her properly”, protecting her from all possible mistakes. When she learned that a boy had been born, she was so disappointed that, without saying goodbye, she left her nephew's house forever.

As a child, David is surrounded by the cares and love of his mother and nanny Peggotty. But his mother is getting married a second time.

During their honeymoon, David and his nanny are sent to Yarmouth to stay with Brother Peggotty. So for the first time he finds himself in a hospitable house-boat and gets acquainted with its inhabitants: Mr. Peggotty, his nephew Ham, his niece Emley (David falls in love with her like a child) and the widow of his companion, Mrs. Gummidge.

Returning home, David finds there a "new dad" - Mr. Mardston and a completely changed mother: now she is afraid to caress him and obey her husband in everything. When Mr. Mardstone's sister also moves in with them, the boy's life becomes completely unbearable. The Mardstones are quite proud of their toughness, meaning by it "the tyrannical, gloomy, arrogant, diabolical disposition inherent in both of them." The boy is taught at home; under the ferocious gazes of his stepfather and his sister, he grows dumb with fear and cannot answer the lesson. The only joy of his life is his father's books, which, fortunately, ended up in his room. For poor study, they deprive him of lunch, give him cuffs on the back of the head; finally, Mr. Mardstone decides to resort to flogging. As soon as the first blow fell on David, he bit his stepfather's hand. For this, he is sent to Salem House School - right in the middle of the holidays. His mother took a cold leave of him under the watchful eye of Miss Mardstone, and only when the wagon had driven away from home did the faithful Peggotty surreptitiously jump into it and, showering "her Davy" with kisses, provided him with a basket of goodies and a purse, in which, besides other money, were two half-crowns from the mother, wrapped in a piece of paper with the inscription: “For Davy. With love". At school, his back was immediately adorned with a poster: “Beware! It bites!" The holidays are over, its inhabitants are returning to the school, and David meets new friends - the recognized leader among the students, James Steerford, six years older than him, and Tommy Traddles - "the funniest and most miserable", the School is run by Mr. Creakle, whose teaching method is intimidation and spanking; not only the students, but also the family are mortally afraid of him. Steerford, before whom Mr. Creekle fawns, takes Copperfield under his protection - because he, like Scheherazade, retells to him the contents of books from his father's library at night.

Christmas holidays come, and David goes home, not yet knowing that this meeting with his mother is destined to be the last: soon she dies, and David's newborn brother dies. After the death of his mother, David no longer returns to school: Mr. Mardston explains to him that education costs money and such as David Copperfield will not need it, because it's time for them to earn a living. The boy keenly feels his abandonment: the Mardstones have calculated Peggotty, and the kind nanny is the only person in the world who loves him. Peggotty returns to Yarmouth and marries Barkis the carter; but before parting, she begged the Mardstons to let David go to stay in Yarmouth, and he again finds himself in a boat house on the seashore, where everyone sympathizes with him and everyone is kind to him - the last sip of love before severe trials.

Mardston sends David to London to work at Mardston and Greenby. So at the age of ten, David enters an independent life - that is, he becomes a slave of the company. Together with other boys, forever hungry, he washes bottles all day, feeling how he gradually forgets school wisdom and is horrified at the thought that someone from his former life might see him. His suffering is strong and deep, but he does not complain.

David is very attached to the family of the owner of his apartment, Mr. Micawber, a frivolous loser, constantly besieged by creditors and living in the eternal hope that someday "fortune will smile at us." Mrs. Micawber, easily hysterical and just as easily consoled, now and then asks David to pawn either a silver spoon or sugar tongs. But the Micawbers also have to part: they end up in a debtor's prison, and after their release they go to seek their fortune in Plymouth. David, who does not have a single loved one left in this city, firmly decides to run to his grandmother Trotwood. In a letter, he asks Peggotty where his grandmother lives, and asks him to send him half a guinea on credit. Having received the money and the rather vague answer that Miss Trotwood lives "somewhere near Dover", David collects his belongings in a chest and goes to the mail-coach station; on the way he is robbed, and, already without a chest and without money, he sets off on foot. He sleeps in the open and sells his jacket and vest to buy bread, he is exposed to many dangers - and on the sixth day, hungry and dirty, with broken legs, comes to Dover. Happily finding his grandmother's house, weeping, he tells his story and asks for protection. Grandma writes to the Mardstons and promises to give a final answer after talking to them, but in the meantime David is washed, fed and put into a real clean bed.

After talking with the Mardstons and realizing the full measure of their gloom, rudeness and greed (taking advantage of the fact that David's mother, whom they brought to the grave, did not stipulate David's share in the will, they took possession of all her property without allocating him a penny), the grandmother decides to become David's legal guardian.

Finally David returns to normal. Although his grandmother is eccentric, she is very, very kind, and not only to her great-nephew. In her house lives a quiet, crazy Mr. Dick, whom she saved from Bedlam. David starts at Dr. Strong's school in Canterbury; since there are no more places in the boarding school at the school, the grandmother gratefully accepts the offer of her lawyer, Mr. Wickfield, to settle the boy with him. After the death of his wife, Mr. Wickfield, flooding his grief, began to have an immoderate addiction to port wine; the only light of his life is his daughter Agnes, who is the same age as David. For David, she also became a kind angel. In Mr. Wickfield's law office, Uriah Heep is a disgusting type, red-haired, writhing all over, with eyes that do not close, red, without eyelashes, with perpetually cold and damp hands, obsequiously adding to each of his phrases: "we are small, humble people."

Dr. Strong's school turns out to be the complete opposite of Mr. Creekle's. David is a successful student, and happy school years, warmed by the love of his grandmother, Mr. Dick, the kind angel Agnes, fly by instantly.

After leaving school, Grandmother suggests that David go to London, visit Peggotty and, after resting, choose a business to his liking; David goes on a trip. In London, he meets Steerford, with whom he studied at Salem House. Steerford invites him to stay with his mother, and David accepts the invitation. In turn, David invites Steerford to come with him to Yarmouth.

They come to the house-boat at the moment of the engagement of Emli and Ham, Emli has grown and blossomed, the women of the whole district hate her for her beauty and ability to dress with taste; she works as a seamstress. David lives in his nanny's house, Steerford in an inn; David spends all day wandering around the cemetery around his native graves, Steerford goes to sea, organizes feasts for sailors and enchants the entire population of the coast, "prompted by an unconscious desire to rule, an unconscious need to conquer, conquer even that which has no price for him." How sorry David will be for bringing him here!

Steerford seduces Em'ly, and on the eve of the wedding, she runs away with him "to return lady or not return at all". Ham's heart is broken, he longs to forget himself in his work, Mr. Peggotty goes to look for Em'ly around the world, and only Mrs. Gummidge remains in the boat house - so that the light is always on in the window, in case Em'ly returns. For many years there is no news about her, finally David finds out that in Italy Emli ran away from Steerford when he, bored with her, offered her to marry his servant.

Grandmother suggests that David choose a career as a lawyer - a proctor in Dr. Commons. David agrees, his grandmother contributes a thousand pounds for his education, arranges his life and returns to Dover.

David's independent life begins in London. He is happy to meet again Tommy Traddles, his friend from Salem House, who also works in the legal field, but, being poor, earns his living and education on his own. Traddles is engaged and eagerly tells David about his Sophie. David is also in love - with Dora, the daughter of Mr. Spenlow, the owner of the company where he studies. Friends have a lot to talk about. Despite the fact that life does not spoil him, Traddles is surprisingly good-natured. It turns out that the owners of his apartment are the Micawbers; they are, as usual, entangled in debt. David is glad to renew the acquaintance; Traddles and the Micawbers make up his circle of friends until the Micawbers go to Canterbury - under the pressure of circumstances and inspired by the hope that "fortune smiled at them": Mr. Micawber got a job in the office of Wickfield and Heep.

Uriah Heep, skillfully playing on Mr. Wickfield's weaknesses, became his companion and gradually takes over the office. He deliberately confuses accounts and shamelessly robs the firm and its clients, drugging Mr. Wickfield and instilling in him the conviction that the cause of the distressed state of affairs is his drunkenness. He moves into Mr. Wickfield's house and harasses Agnes. And Micawber, completely dependent on him, is hired to help him in his dirty business.

One of Uriah Hip's victims is David's grandmother. She is ruined; with Mr. Dick and all her belongings, she comes to London, renting out her house in Dover to feed herself. David is not at all discouraged by this news; he goes to work as a secretary to Dr. Strong, who retired and settled in London (he was recommended this place by the good angel Agnes); in addition, studies shorthand. Grandmother runs their household in such a way that it seems to David that he has become not poorer, but richer; Mr. Dick earns by correspondence of papers. Having mastered the same shorthand, David begins to make very good money as a parliamentary reporter.

Upon learning of the change in David's financial situation, Mr. Spenlow, Dora's father, refuses him a house. Dora is also afraid of poverty. David is inconsolable; but when Mr. Spenlow died suddenly, it turned out that his affairs were in complete disarray - Dora, who now lives with her aunts, is no richer than David. David is allowed to visit her; Dora's aunts got along well with David's grandmother. David is a little embarrassed that everyone treats Dora like a toy; but she doesn't mind. Having reached the age of majority, David marries. This marriage turned out to be short-lived: two years later, Dora dies, not having had time to grow up.

Mr. Peggotty finds Em'ly; after much ordeal, she made it to London, where Martha Endell, a fallen girl from Yarmouth whom Emly once helped, in turn saves her and brings her to her uncle's apartment. (It was David's idea to involve Martha in the search for Emly.) Mr. Peggotty now intends to emigrate to Australia, where no one will be interested in Emly's past.

Meanwhile, Mr. Micawber, unable to participate in Uriah Heep's swindles, exposes him with Traddles' help. Mr. Wickfield's good name is saved, fortunes are returned to Grandma and other clients. Full of gratitude, Miss Trotwood and David pay Micawber's bills and lend money to this glorious family: the Micawbers have also decided to go to Australia. Mr. Wickfield liquidates the firm and retires; Agnes opens a school for girls.

On the eve of the steamer's departure for Australia, a terrible storm occurred on the Yarmouth coast - it claimed the lives of Ham and Steerford.

After the death of Dora, David, who has become a famous writer (he moved from journalism to fiction), goes to the continent to work through his grief. Returning three years later, he marries Agnes, who, as it turns out, has loved him all her life. Grandmother finally became godmother to Betsy Trotwood Copperfield (that's the name of one of her great-granddaughters); Peggotty babysits David's children; Traddles is also married and happy. Emigrants have settled down wonderfully in Australia. Uriah Heep is being held in a prison run by Mr. Creakle.

Thus, life put everything in its place.

Charles Dickens

David Copperfield

Chapter I

I SHOW INTO THE LIGHT

At the very beginning of my biography, I must mention that I was born on Friday, at midnight. It was noticed that my first cry was heard when the clock began to strike. Taking into account the day and hour of my birth, the nurse and several wise neighbors, who were keenly interested in my person for many months before a possible personal acquaintance with me, announced that I was destined to be unhappy in life. They were convinced that such was the inevitable fate of all unfortunate babies of both sexes born on Friday at midnight.

There is no need for me to say anything here about this, for the history of my life will show itself best of all whether this prediction was justified or false.

I was born at Blonderston, Suffolk, after the death of my father, whose eyes closed to earthly light six months before mine opened. And now, even when I think about it, it seems strange to me that my father never saw me. And even stranger still are my vague recollections of early childhood connected with my father's white tombstone in our village cemetery: I always felt some inexpressible pity for this stone, lying alone in the darkness of the night, while in our small living room it was so light. and warmth from lit candles and a burning fireplace. Sometimes it even seemed cruel to me that the doors of our house were firmly locked, as if from this stone.

The most important person in our family was my father's aunt, therefore, my great-aunt, about whom I will soon have to talk a lot here. My aunt, Miss Trotwood, or Miss Betsy (as my mother called her in those rare moments when she managed, overcoming her fear, to mention this formidable person), married a man younger than herself, a handsome man, who, however, did not justify the saying: “Beautiful is the one who acts beautifully.” He was strongly suspected of sometimes hitting Miss Betsy, and one day, in the heat of an argument over money matters, he suddenly went so far as to nearly throw her out of a second-story window. Such eloquent evidence of dissimilarity of character prompted Miss Betsy to pay off her husband and get a divorce by mutual agreement. With the capital obtained in this way, the former husband of Miss Betsy went to India, and there, according to an absurd family legend, he was once seen riding an elephant in the company of a baboon. Be that as it may, ten years later rumors of his death reached India.

What impression these rumors made on my aunt remained a mystery to everyone, for immediately after the divorce she took her maiden name again, bought herself a house somewhere far away, in a village on the seashore, settled there alone with a maid, and since then led a real life. hermits.

It seems to me that my father was once my aunt's favorite, but he mortally insulted her by marrying a "wax doll," as Miss Betsy called my mother. She had never seen my mother, but she knew she was not even twenty years old. Having married, my father never met my aunt again. He was twice as old as his mother and was far from in good health. My father died a year after the wedding and, as I have already mentioned, six months before my birth.

Such was the state of affairs on an important and fraught Friday afternoon for me. Mother was sitting by the fireplace; she was unwell, and her mood was very depressed. Looking through her tears at the fire, she thought in deep dejection of herself and of the tiny unknown orphan, whom the world, apparently, was going to meet not very hospitably.

So, on a clear windy March day, mother was sitting by the fireplace, thinking with fear and longing about whether she would be able to get out alive from the upcoming test, when suddenly, wiping her tears, she saw an unfamiliar lady walking through the garden through the window.

Mother looked at the lady again, and a sure presentiment told her that it was Miss Betsy. The setting sun, behind the garden wall, shone its rays on the stranger as she made her way to the door of the house, and she walked with such self-confident air, with such stern determination in her eyes, that no one but Miss Betsy could have. Approaching the house, the aunt presented another proof that it was she: my father often said that his aunt rarely acted like ordinary mortals. And this time, instead of ringing the bell, she went to the window and began to look into it, pressing her nose so hard against the glass that, according to my poor mother, her nose instantly flattened and completely turned white.

Her appearance greatly frightened my mother, and I was always convinced that it was to Miss Betsy that I owed the fact that I was born on a Friday. The excited mother jumped up from her chair and huddled behind him in a corner. Miss Betsy, slowly and inquiringly rolling her eyes, like a Turk on a Dutch clock, looked around the room with them; at last her gaze rested on her mother, and, frowning, she commanded her with an imperious gesture to open the door. She obeyed.

You are Mrs. Copperfield, I presume? asked Miss Betsy.

Yes, my mother murmured.

Miss Trotwood, the guest introduced herself. - I hope you've heard of her?

Mother replied that she had enjoyed it. But she had the unpleasant realization that this "great" pleasure was by no means reflected on her face.

So, now you see her before you, - said Miss Betsy.

Mother bowed and asked her to come in. They went into the little drawing-room, from which mother had just come out, for the fireplace in the front drawing-room had not been lit, or rather, it had not been lit since the very funeral of their father.

When they both sat down, and Miss Betsy still did not begin to speak, my mother, after a futile effort to control herself, burst into tears.

Well, well, well, said Miss Betsy hastily. - Leave it! Fullness! Fullness!

However, mother could not control herself, and the tears continued to flow until she cried out.

Take off your cap, my child,” said Miss Betsy suddenly, “let me have a look at you.

Mother was too frightened not to submit to this strange demand, and immediately took off her cap, while she was so nervous that her thick, wonderful hair completely unraveled.

My God! exclaimed Miss Betsy. - Yes, you are a child!

Undoubtedly, my mother, even for her age, was unusually youthful. The poor thing lowered her head, as if it were her fault, and, weeping, confessed that perhaps she was too young to be both a widow and a mother, if only, having become a mother, she would live.

There was another silence, during which it seemed to my mother that Miss Betsy had touched her hair, and the touch seemed to be gentle. Mother with timid hope looked at her husband's aunt, but she lifted her dress a little, put her feet on the grate of the fireplace, put her hands on her knee and, frowning, stared at the blazing fire ...

Charles John Huffham Dickens"David Copperfield"

A loving heart is worth more than all the wisdom in the world.

Charles Dickens "David Copperfield"

The ideological and artistic direction can be described as an autobiography. As a literary genre, autobiography originates in late antiquity, on the basis of an emerging individualistic self-awareness, simultaneously with the concept of personality (“Confession” by Blessed Augustine - a psychological description of a religious crisis and conversion).

The genre recurs in several seventeenth-century works, such as Bunyan's 1666 "God's Mercy on the Chief Sinner" and later in the form of a secular philosophical work in William Wordsworth's poetic masterpiece, The Prelude, completed in 1805.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau's "Confession" with unprecedented frankness of description can be considered the beginning of the modern genre of autobiography.

An autobiography, unlike a diary, is characterized by a retrospective, from the height of past years, the desire to comprehend one's life as a whole; writing a literary autobiography often resorts to fiction. Unlike memoirs, the author focuses on the history of his personality, and not on the world around him.

Biography.

Charles John Huffem Dickens was born on February 7, 1812 in Landport, the central district of the city of Portsmouth (England). His father was a fairly wealthy official. He was a very frivolous person, but cheerful and good-natured. Mr. Dickens surrounded his children and, in particular, his favorite Charlie, with care and affection. Little Charles inherited from his father a rich imagination, lightness of words. The boy's abilities delighted his parents, and his father literally tormented his son, forcing him to act out different scenes, tell his impressions, improvise, read poetry, etc. Dickens turned into a little actor, full of narcissism and vanity.

Soon the Dickens family was ruined and could barely make ends meet. The father was thrown into a debtor's prison for many years, the mother had to fight poverty. Pampered, fragile in health, full of fantasy and in love with himself, the boy ended up in a wax factory. Throughout his subsequent life, Dickens considered the ruin of his family and work in a factory to be the greatest insult to himself, an undeserved and humiliating blow. He did not like to talk about it, but then Dickens drew his understanding of suffering, understanding of cruelty, a deep knowledge of the life of the poor and such horrific social institutions as the then schools for poor children and orphanages, as the exploitation of child labor in factories, workhouses and debtors' prisons.

Literary activity.

Dickens found himself primarily as a reporter. As soon as Dickens completed - on trial - several reporter assignments, he was immediately noticed by the reading public.

Literature is what was now the most important thing for him.

Dickens's first moralistic essays, which he called "Essays of Boz", were published in 1836. Their spirit fully corresponded to Dickens's social position. It was, to some extent, a fictional declaration of the interests of the ruined petty bourgeoisie. Psychological sketches, portraits of Londoners, like all Dickensian novels, also first came out in a newspaper version and already brought enough fame to the young author.

The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club

A dizzying success awaited Dickens in the same year as chapters of his The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club were published.

In this novel, he draws old England from its most diverse sides, admiring its good nature and the abundance of lively and attractive features inherent in the best representatives of the English petty bourgeoisie. All these features are embodied in the most good-natured optimist, the noblest old eccentric, whose name - Mr. Pickwick - has established itself in world literature somewhere not far from the great name of Don Quixote. If Dickens had written this book of his as a series of comic, adventure pictures, with a deep calculation, first of all, to win over the English public, flattering it, allowing it to enjoy the charm of depicting such purely English positive and negative types as Pickwick himself, the unforgettable Sam Weller, a sage in livery ( Alfred Jingle), etc., then even then one could marvel at the fidelity of his instincts. But most likely, the unbridled energy of the author's youth and the effect of unexpected success, which had an inspiring effect on him, took their toll here. This novel by Dickens aroused an extraordinary influx of reader interest, and one must do justice to the author: he immediately used the writer's high tribune - which he ascended, forcing all of England to laugh colic at the cascade of curiosities of the Pickwickiad - for more serious tasks.

The Life and Adventures of Oliver Twist and Other Writings 1838-1843.

Two years later, Dickens performed with Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby ( The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby) 1838-1839.

"The Adventures of Oliver Twist" Oliver Twist; or ,The Parish Boy's Progress), (1838) - the story of an orphan who was born in a workhouse and lived in the slums of London. The boy meets meanness and nobility, criminal and respectable people on his way. Cruel fate recedes before his sincere desire for an honest life.

The pages of the novel depict pictures of the life of English society in the 19th century in all their living splendor and ugliness. A broad social picture from the workhouses and criminal dens of the London bottom to the society of the rich and Dickensian kind-hearted bourgeois benefactors. In this novel, Ch. Dickens acts as a humanist, asserting the power of good in man.

The novel caused a wide public outcry. After its release, a series of scandalous trials took place in the workhouses of London, which, in fact, were semi-prison institutions where child labor was mercilessly used.

Dickens' fame grew rapidly. The liberals saw him as their ally, because they defended freedom, and the conservatives, because they pointed out the cruelty of the new social relationships.

After traveling to America, where the public met Dickens with no less enthusiasm than the English, Dickens writes his "Martin Chuzzlewit" ( The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit,1843). In addition to the unforgettable images of Pecksniff and Mrs. Gump, this novel is remarkable for its parody of the Americans.

Much in the young capitalist country seemed to Dickens extravagant, fantastic, disorderly, and he did not hesitate to tell the Yankee truth about them. Even at the end of Dickens's stay in America, he allowed himself "tactlessness", which greatly clouded the attitude of the Americans towards him. His novel provoked violent protests from the overseas public.

However, the sharp, piercing elements of his work, Dickens knew how, as already mentioned, to soften, smooth. He easily succeeded, for he was also a subtle poet of the most fundamental traits of the English petty bourgeoisie, which went far beyond the limits of this class.

The cult of coziness, comfort, beautiful traditional ceremonies and customs, the cult of the family, as it were, resulted in a hymn to Christmas, this great holiday, with amazing, exciting power was expressed in his "Christmas Stories" - in 1843 "A Christmas Carol" was published ( A Christmas Carol), followed by "The Bells" ( The Chimes), "Cricket on the stove" ( The Cricket on the Hearth), "The Battle of Life" ( The Battle of Life), "Possessed" ( The Haunted Man).

Dickens did not have to pretend here: he himself was one of the most enthusiastic fans of this winter holiday, during which a home fire, dear faces, festive dishes and delicious drinks created some kind of idyll among the snows and winds of a merciless winter.

At the same time, Dickens became editor-in-chief of the Daily News. In this newspaper, he got the opportunity to express his socio-political views.

"Dombey and Son"

Many features of Dickens' talent are vividly reflected in one of his best novels - Dombey and Son Trading House. Wholesale, retail and export trade" ( Dealings with the Firm of Dombey and Son: Wholesale, Retail and for Exportation, 1848). The endless string of figures and situations in life in this work is amazing. There are few novels in world literature that, in richness of color and variety of tone, can be put on a par with Dombey and Son, apart from some of the later works of Dickens himself. Both petty-bourgeois characters and representatives of the London poor are created by him with great love. All these people are almost all weirdos, but the weirdness that makes you laugh makes these characters even closer and sweeter. True, this friendly, this harmless laughter makes you not notice their narrowness, limitations, difficult conditions in which they have to live; but such is Dickens ... It should be noted, however, that when he turns his thunders and lightnings against the oppressors, against the arrogant merchant Dombey, against scoundrels, like his senior clerk Carker, he finds words of indignation so smashing that they sometimes border on revolutionary pathos.

« DavidCopperfield»

Even more weakened humor in the next major work of Dickens - "David Copperfield" ( The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery (Which He Never Meant to Publish on Any Account), (1849-1850).

This novel is largely autobiographical. The subject matter is serious and well thought out. The spirit of praising the old foundations of morality and the family, the spirit of protest against the new capitalist England resounds loudly here too. Many connoisseurs of Dickens' work, including such literary authorities as L. N. Tolstoy, F. M. Dostoevsky, Charlotte Bronte, Henry James, Virginia Woolf, considered this novel to be his greatest work.

In the 1850s, Dickens reached the zenith of his fame. He was a darling of fate - a famous writer, ruler of thoughts and a wealthy person - in a word, a person for whom fate did not stint on gifts.

The portrait of Dickens of that time is rather well drawn by Chesterton:

Dickens was of average height. His natural liveliness and unrepresentative appearance were the reason that he made on those around him the impression of a man of short stature, or, in any case, of a very miniature build. In his youth, on his head was too extravagant, even for that era, a hat of brown hair, and later he wore a dark mustache and a thick, lush, dark goatee of such an original form that it made him look like a foreigner.

The former transparent pallor of his face, the brilliance and expressiveness of his eyes remained with him; “I also note the actor’s moving mouth and his extravagant dressing style.” Chesterton writes about it:

“He wore a velvet jacket, some incredible vests, reminiscent of completely improbable sunsets in their color, white hats, unprecedented at that time, of an absolutely unusual whiteness that cut the eyes. He willingly dressed up in stunning dressing gowns; they even say that he posed for a portrait in such a dress. 1

Behind this appearance, in which there was so much posturing and nervousness, lurked a great tragedy.

The needs of Dickens family members exceeded his income. A disorderly, purely bohemian nature did not allow him to bring any order into his affairs. He not only overworked his rich and fruitful brain, forcing it to overwork creatively, but being an unusually brilliant reader, he tried to earn decent fees by lecturing and reading passages from his novels. The impression of this purely acting reading was always colossal. Apparently, Dickens was one of the greatest reading virtuosos. But on his trips, he fell into the hands of some dubious entrepreneurs and, while earning money, at the same time drove himself to exhaustion.

On April 2, 1836, Charles married the eldest daughter of his friend, the journalist George Hogarth. Katherine Hogarth was a faithful wife and gave birth to eight children. But Dickens' family life was not entirely successful. Disputes began with his wife, some difficult and dark relationships with her family, fear for sickly children made the family for Dickens a source of constant worries and torment. In 1857, Charles met 18-year-old actress Ellen Ternan and immediately fell in love. He rented an apartment for her, visited his love for many years. Their romance lasted until the death of the writer. She never took the stage again.

But all this is not as important as the melancholic thought that overwhelmed Dickens that, in essence, the most serious thing in his works - his teachings, his appeals to the conscience of those in power - remains in vain, that, in reality, there are no hopes for improving that the terrible situation that had arisen in the country, from which he saw no way out, even looking at life through humorous glasses that softened the sharp contours of reality in the eyes of the author and his readers. He writes at this time:

Personal oddities

Dickens often spontaneously fell into a trance, was subject to visions and from time to time experienced states of deja vu.

Another oddity of the writer was told by George Henry Lewis, editor-in-chief of the Fortnightly Review magazine (and a close friend of the writer George Eliot). Dickens once told him that every word, before moving to paper, is first clearly heard by him, and his characters are constantly nearby and communicate with him.

While working on the Antiquities Shop, the writer could neither eat nor sleep calmly: little Nell constantly turned under her feet, demanded attention, appealed for sympathy and was jealous when the author was distracted from her by a conversation with one of the outsiders.

While working on the novel Martin Chuzzlewit, Dickens was annoyed with her jokes by Mrs. Gump: he had to fight her off by force. “Dickens warned Mrs. Gump more than once: if she did not learn to behave decently and would not appear only on call, he would not give her a single line at all!” Lewis wrote. That is why the writer loved to roam the crowded streets. “During the day you can somehow still do without people,” Dickens admitted in one of his letters, but in the evening I am simply not able to get rid of my ghosts until I get lost from them in the crowd.

"Perhaps only the creative nature of these hallucinatory adventures keeps us from mentioning schizophrenia as a likely diagnosis," notes parapsychologist Nandor Fodor, author of the essay The Unknown Dickens (1964, New York).

Later works

Dickens's social novel Hard Times (1854) is also permeated with melancholy and hopelessness. This novel was a tangible literary and artistic blow inflicted on nineteenth-century capitalism with its idea of ​​unstoppable industrial progress. In its own way, the grandiose and terrible figure of Bounderby is written with genuine hatred. But Dickens does not spare in the novel the leader of the strike movement - the Chartist Slackbridge, who is ready for any sacrifice in order to achieve his goals. In this work, the author for the first time questioned - undeniable in the past for him - the value of personal success in society.

The end of Dickens' literary activity was marked by a number of other significant works. Behind the novel "Little Dorrit" ( Little Dorrit, 1855-1857) was followed by Dickens' historical novel A Tale of Two Cities ( A Tale of Two Cities, 1859), dedicated to the French Revolution. Recognizing the necessity of revolutionary violence, Dickens turns away from it as from madness. It was quite in the spirit of his worldview, and, nevertheless, he managed to create an immortal book in his own way.

Great Expectations belong to the same time ( Great Expectations) (1861) - a novel with autobiographical features. His hero - Pip - rushes between the desire to preserve the petty-bourgeois cosiness, to remain true to his middle peasant position and the desire upward for brilliance, luxury and wealth. Dickens put a lot of his own throwing, his own longing into this novel. According to the original plan, the novel was supposed to end in tears for the protagonist, although Dickens always avoided catastrophic outcomes in his works and, in his own good nature, tried not to upset especially impressionable readers. For the same reasons, he did not dare to bring the "great hopes" of the hero to their complete collapse. But the whole idea of ​​the novel suggests the pattern of such an outcome.

Dickens reaches new artistic heights in his swan song - in a large multifaceted canvas, the novel Our Mutual Friend (Eng. Our Mutual Friend,1864). In this work, Dickens's desire to take a break from tense social topics seems to be guessed. Fascinatingly conceived, filled with the most unexpected types, all sparkling with wit - from irony to touching gentle humor - this novel, according to the author's intention, should probably come out light, sweet, funny. His tragic characters are drawn as if in halftones and are largely present in the background, and the negative characters turn out to be either ordinary people who put on a villainous mask, or such small and funny personalities that we are ready to forgive them for their treachery; and sometimes so unfortunate people who are able to arouse in us, instead of indignation, only a feeling of bitter pity. In this novel, Dickens's appeal to a new style of writing is noticeable: instead of ironic verbosity, parodying the literary style of the Victorian era, there is a laconic manner reminiscent of cursive writing. The novel conveys the idea of ​​the poisoning effect of money - a garbage heap becomes their symbol - on social relations and the senselessness of the vainglorious aspirations of members of society.

In this last completed work, Dickens demonstrated all the powers of his humor, shielding himself from the gloomy thoughts that seized him with wonderful, cheerful, sympathetic images of this idyll.

Apparently, gloomy reflections were to find an outlet again in Dickens' detective novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood ( The Mystery of Edwin Drood). From the very beginning of the novel, one can see a change in Dickens's creative manner - his desire to impress the reader with a fascinating plot, immerse him in an atmosphere of mystery and uncertainty. Whether he succeeded in this to the full extent remains unclear, since the work remained unfinished.

On June 9, 1870, the fifty-eight-year-old Dickens, exhausted by colossal work, a rather hectic life and many troubles, died of a stroke at his home, Gadshill Place (English) Russian, located in the village of Higham (Kent) (English) Russian ..

After death

Dickens' fame continued to grow after his death. He was turned into a real idol of English literature. His name began to be called next to the name of Shakespeare, his popularity in England in the 1880-1890s. eclipsed the glory of Byron. But critics and the reader tried not to notice his angry protests, his peculiar martyrdom, his tossing about in the midst of the contradictions of life.

They did not understand, and did not want to understand, that humor was often for Dickens a shield against the excessively injuring blows of life. On the contrary, Dickens acquired, first of all, the fame of a cheerful writer of cheerful old England.

Analysis of the work« DavidCopperfield»

Story line.

David Copperfield was born a few months after his father's death. When the boy was seven years old, his dearly beloved mother entered into marriage with the stiff Mr. Murdston. Mutual hostility immediately arose between the boy and his stepfather, which intensified after Murdston's sister took control of the house, and his stepfather began to beat him for poor progress.

Murdstone sends the boy to a private school, where, despite the oppression of teachers, he finds joy in communicating with friends such as James Steerforth and Tommy Traddles. Meanwhile, his mother dies, and Murdstone sends the boy to work in a factory he owns in London. There he settles to live in the house of Wilkins Micawber, who, despite the appalling poverty, always remains optimistic.

After Micawber ends up in debtor's prison, David, bored with a life of poverty, ventures to Dover to live with his late father's aunt, Miss Betsy Trotwood. Having traveled all the way on foot, he falls under the protection of an eccentric relative. Murdstone's attempt to take the boy away from her fails.

More and more characters come into and out of David's life, until by the end of the book he is a brilliant young writer. He spends some time in the house of his aunt's lawyer, Mr. Wickfield, who is plunging into the abyss of alcoholism at the suggestion of the disgusting clerk Uriah Heep, who is doing his dark deeds behind the old man's back.

After becoming Wickfield's partner, Heep recruits Micawber. He, along with Copperfield, receives evidence of Heep's machinations and brings him to clean water. Parallel to this is the story of Steerforth, who seduced the orphan girl Emily and fled with her to Europe; this storyline ends in tragedy.

David, meanwhile, falls in love with the naive Dora Spenlow, who becomes his wife. After the death of the impractical Dora, the protagonist finds happiness with the noble daughter of Mr. Wickfield - Agnes

The main theme here is the theme of education and formation of a person. The tragic fate of David Copperfield, still a boy forced to cope with extremely difficult misfortunes. In this novel, Dickens addresses the world of childhood. Revealing the perniciousness of improper upbringing, the writer draws images of unfortunate children deprived of care and warmth. Shows how this is reflected in the formation of their characters, goals and aspirations. Emphasizes that it is the education system, and not the environment from which the characters came out, that affects their future life and fate.

The work of Charles Dickens "David Copperfield"

dickens critical realism copperfield

Of all the books I read, I chose the work of the third period of Dickens's work - the novel "David Copperfield" (1850). The work became one of the masterpieces of world literature. Dickens loved this novel more than his other works. The novel is written in the form of a biography and is largely autobiographical. It is very harmonious both in composition and in the manner of writing. The pages devoted to the childhood and youth of the hero remain the best in world literature, for they give a true picture of the inner world of the child and youth. Dickens first addresses the world of childhood. But his images of children, deeply unhappy, deprived of care and warmth, are drawn with varying degrees of persuasiveness. However, the depth of psychological characteristics in Dombey and Son led Dickens to create the spiritual world of a child and a young man on a different, more complex level in the novel David Copperfield.

So, this is a work of critical realism, because:

1. As mentioned above, the typification of realism uses psychologism, i.e., the disclosure of a complex spiritual world - the world of thoughts and feelings of the character. Dickens showed the hero in development, portrayed the evolution of David's character, which was determined by the complex interaction of his personality and society. David Copperfield sees injustice and fights against it, gaining friends and allies. Knowing Life and other people, David reveals himself, not at all hiding from the reader the contradictions of his nature. The main thing in David's character is his inexhaustible faith in people, in goodness, in justice. This trait was also inherent in the author, having experienced adversity in life (at the age of ten, having left school, Charles had to earn his living and help his family, who ended up in connection with unpaid bills in the London Marshalsea prison), Dickens always believed in democratic ideals, humanism . “My faith in the people is boundless,” he said.

2. In connection with the events that actually took place, we see the second feature of realism - this work reflects the essence of socio-historical phenomena, the characters of the work carry the typical, collective features of a particular social stratum or class, and the conditions in which they operate , are not an accidental fruit of the writer's fantasy, but a reflection of the laws of the socio-economic and political life of the era. Dickens objectively described the existing aspects of life, remaining true to high ideals. Dickens biographer Hescot Pearson writes: “... here, in the London slums, he, without suspecting it, received his true education ... wandering around the city and its gloomy outskirts, he imperceptibly obtained the raw materials from which he was to create his heroes. Unconsciously he accumulated a rich store of observations. All these places were subsequently described by him, and many of their inhabitants later became the heroes of his novels.

3. The novel is dominated by interest in the problem of "personality and society", in the problem of education. Several parenting methods are shown here: the system of David's stepfather Mr. Murdstone, the system of Crickle, a former hop merchant turned headmaster of a boys' school, and the system of Betsy Trotwood. The problems of upbringing and education occupy a significant place in this novel. They are associated with the process of personality formation, its moral qualities. David's story is turned to the past, to his childhood, and the pictures of childhood are drawn with the help of figurative children's thinking. That is why visual pictorial portraits predominate here - Peggotty's red cheeks amaze David so much that he wonders why they were not pecked by birds instead of apples. The white-black-brown face and empty eyes of Murdstone are a brief description of the hero, hated by David, because he is cruel and heartless and considers the child a burden.

Crickle's system is very peculiar, although it differs little from Squeers' system. Crickle himself "knows nothing but the art of spanking, and is more ignorant than the very last student in the school." Both Murdstone and Creakle cause dislike and disgust in David. Their methods of education are inhumane and inhumane. Betsy Trotwood wants to make David a kind and useful person for society. David sees in her the embodiment of goodness, justice, although this is hidden under the mask of external severity.

In "David Copperfield" Dickens analyzes the reasons for the moral imperfection of people, their moral deformity. Two images - Uriah Heep and Steerforth, belonging to different types of social structure, turn out to be living illustrations of Dickens' judgment about the imperfection of the education system and social relations. Both fail, the fates of both are crippled, although for different reasons. Steerforth is an aristocrat who was allowed everything back at Crickle's school, where he enjoyed freedom and independence; in life, he is a snob who considers his origin an excuse for the most unseemly acts. Uriah Heep, educated in a school for the poor, is also a victim of education. He is obsequious, servile and servile, by nature he is disgusting, vindictive, cruel, low.

1. Pearson Hescot. Dickens. M: 1963, p.10-11.

Dickens in his novels, in particular in the novel "David Copperfield" writes about social injustice, class contradictions. The writer was not a supporter of the revolutionary struggle, but he deeply sympathized with the situation of the working people of England and his work reflected the mood of the broad masses of the people during the period of intensification of the social and class struggle in England in the 19th century. Dickens was a contemporary of the Chartist movement, whose rise dates back to 1830-1840. The Chartist movement determined the humanistic pathos, the distinctive force of the works of Dickens and his contemporaries - the realist writers W. Thackeray, the Bronte sisters, E. Gaskell.