|
 DICKENS, Charles
(1812-1870)
Chances are,
you think of Charles Dickens in one of two opposite ways—either as the
writer, the very icon of the great and popular writer for the masses,
against whose work all subsequent fiction is to be measured, or as the
epitome of an old-fashioned, wordy, sentimental style that had to be
swept away before real modern writing could flourish.
In either case,
you've got good company. Both
Dostoyevsky
and Tolstoy were great Dickens fan. Today, some wonderful writers like John Irving
still strive to present vast worlds of quirky, interrelated
characters that Dickens became famous for. At least one recently popular
novel (The Quincunx by Charles Palliser, 1989) has created an
entire Dickensian world, complete with characters and setting typical of
Dickens' works.
On the other hand,
novelists after Dickens have generally striven to strip from their
writing the features associated Dickens's writing (long descriptions,
authorial intrusions, incredible narrative coincidences, leisurely
pace, overt sentimentality) to produce terser, more realistic,
understated prose appropriate for jaded twentieth-century readers with
shorter attention spans. The narrator of J.D. Salinger's ground-breaking
The Catcher in the Rye (1951) famously refused to relate
"all that David Copperfield kind of crap" about his childhood.
Yet Dickens
remains the author in ways that both sides recognize. No other
fiction writer has created so many characters that everyone still knows
today: Little Nell, Oliver Twist, The Artful Dodger, Fagin, Scrooge,
Tiny Tim, Little Dorritt, David Copperfield, Mr. Micawber, Uriah Heep,
Pip, Mr. Gradgrind.... Next to Shakespeare, no other writer, living or
dead, has produced as many works considered classics today—with eight
novels and stories on our "Greatest Literature of All Time"
list and arguments to be made for including more.
You may know my
tendency to sort writers into those who mythologize (build up,
simplify, transcend, create things to believe in) and those who
demythologize (break down, reveal complexities, ground, debunk). Dickens, like many of
the greatest authors, does both.
He is a social
realist, revealing the seamy side of Victorian culture, undercutting
lofty notions of civilization and progress, exposing poverty and
injustice. Many of his memorable negative characters embody the
hypocrisies of British class and the cruel practices of commercial
enterprise.
But
Dickens also propounds new, supposedly more humane, lofty notions.
Goodness of heart wins out over the evils he exposes. Conscience and
noble intentions may cause their holders to suffer for a time but
eventually they have an almost magical effect in countering socially
embedded injustices. To read Dickens is often to become so absorbed by
the positive characters and their plights that we willingly accept the
most outrageously unbelievable outcomes. We accept them because we love
the characters. We want the destinies Dickens prepares for them, even if
it means accepting glorious notions of the unfettered human heart
triumphing over narrow-minded interests. We want the new myth to replace
the destroyed one.
When this
romantic drive is too obvious, we criticize Dickens for being
sentimental, for constructing ridiculous coincidences, for going on and
on. But when it works, we are transported.
(You can see
better how this dichotomy of demythologizing and re-mythologizing plays
out in some of the commentaries on individual works, especially
in the write-up on David Copperfield.)
Dickens' life
is probably more widely known than that of any other writer. But in case
you are unfamiliar with it, here's a bare outline:
1812
Born in Landport, Hampshire, in England.
1824
Father thrown into Marshalsea debtor's prison (experiences used in Little
Dorritt). Charles sent to work in a blacking warehouse at age
twelve.
1824-36
Studied at schools, worked as a law office clerk and then as a shorthand
reporter at Doctor's Commons, and then as a parliamentary reporter for
several periodicals (all experiences used in David Copperfield).
Short stories, sketches and essays started appearing in periodicals
under his pen name Boz in 1833.
1836-37
Collection of pieces, Sketches by 'Boz', published in book form. Also The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, a connected string of
stories. published in a monthly serial, about blithely humorous
characters travelling together. The Pickwick Papers, as it
is known, won Dickens great fame and readership in his day, although it is difficult
for today's readers to follow.
1836
Married Catherine Hogarth with whom he had ten surviving children and
from whom he separated in 1858. Dickens is thought also to have been in
love with two of Catherine's sisters, one of whom, Mary, died young in
his arms and was probably the model for Dora in David Copperfield.
1837-39
Novel Oliver Twist, appeared in monthly instalments in
Bentley's Miscellany which Dickens edited, depicting the hard life
of a boy growing up in the London underworld. Also Nicholas Nickleby,
again about a boy's hard life and young adulthood, is serialized.
1840-41
Weekly magazine Master Humphrey's Clock, written entirely by
Dickens, launched with instalments of The Old Curiosity Shop, telling
the travails of the young Nell raised by her junk-store owning
grandfather, and Barnaby Rudge, which is set during
England's anti-Catholic riots of 1780.
1842
Upset caused by Dickens's American Notes, concerning his
disillusionment with United States after a visit. He criticized, among
other things, slavery.
1843-45
Published A Christmas Carol
(1843), his first of several
Christmas books and stories, later including The Chimes (1845), The
Cricket on the Hearth (1846). Novel Martin
Chuzzlewit (1843-45) caused further controversy in United States for
its perceived stereotyped presentation of Americans. Lived in Italy,
Switzerland and France 1844-45.
1846-48
Founded radical
paper London Daily News. Contributed article "Pictures from
Italy". Wrote Dombey and Son.
1849-50
The semi-autobiographical David Copperfield appeared
in monthly instalments. Considered his masterpiece by many, the novel
again follows the harsh life and loves of an orphaned boy who in this
case grows into a famous writer like Dickens.
 1850-57 Founding editor
of the weekly Household Words, until it was incorporated
into All the Year Round. Published irregularly appearing chapters
of A Child's History of
England (1851-2) with a radical view of British History. Classic
novels published in this decade include
Bleak House (1852-53), Hard Times (1854)
and Little Dorrit (1855-57).
1857-58
Became intensely involved in theatrical productions and met actress
Ellen Ternan. Separated from Catherine and is thought to have
henceforth lived a double life split between the home he shared with his
children and residence with Ternan, possibly including retreats in
France. Kept his relationship with Ternan secret the rest of his life.
1858-60
Gave highly popular lecture tours in Britain and the United States
1858-60. In 1859 started editing All the Year Round, which succeeded
Household Words, and continued until his death. A Tale of
Two Cities, set during the French Revolution, published.
1860-61 Great Expectations
published, once again following the childhood and early adult life of a
young man, in this case who has a mysterious
wealthy benefactor.
1864-65 Our Mutual Friend,
which starts with a murder mystery and features a secret, double
life.
1867-69 Another highly
acclaimed reading tour of the United States and the British provinces.
1870 The Mystery of Edwin
Drood left unfinished when Dickens died of a stroke and probably
exhaustion. Based on Dickens's skimpy notes (which did not reveal the
ending) Edwin Drood has been finished by various authors, from
immediately after Dickens's death up to 1980, although none have
satisfied Dickens fans.
— Eric
|
