Charles Dickens – A Novelist of Substance

Dickens is remembered as a novelist who established his reputation during his lifetime and it now one and a half century since he has left us; his works remain as masterpieces among creations in English literature. We cannot forget dialogues like “Please Sir, may I have some more?” from Oliver Twist or “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” from A Tale of Two Cities. Most of his creations have been adapted into cinema screenplays or television drama series. They were also adapted for the stage during his lifetime. The Christmas Carol gets performed year after year. When he was twelve, he worked in a shoe-blacking factory while his father was put in prison for outstanding debts. Dickens was always observant, even as a child and was able to create characters of a dramatic nature by means of his close scrutiny of people around him. The people he knew inspired almost all his characters that he wrote about. His sister’s four-year old boy who was a cripple turned into Tiny Tim of A Christmas Carol. His childhood love, Maria Beadnell turned into Flora Finching of Little Dorrit. Dickens was impulsive and hot-headed but never allowed his nature to get the better of him. He always wanted to bring about change for the good in the society that he lived in. He loved theatre right from his childhood and was always unsuccessful in his love affairs. He survived a train accident and was very concerned about how man exploited his own species and brought about poverty. He helped raise the genre of English novel writing to popular heights. He recalled his work in the blacking factory and wrote in his diary, “No words can express the secret agony of my soul... the sense I had of being utterly neglected and hopeless; of the shame I felt in my position … my whole nature was penetrated with grief and humiliation.” He was born on 7th February 1812. His full name was Charles John Huffman Dickens. His mother, Elizabeth Dickens had a good sense of humour, a pleasant personality and was well educated. His father, John, was in the Navy but lived beyond his means and put himself into serious debts. Charles started reading classics at the tender age of five. His first back was Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. An early favourite of his was the compilation of Arabian Nights. He was also introduced to Shakespeare’s plays by the local theatre in Kent. One of the first plays that Charles Dickens wrote when he was just nine was ‘Misnar – the Sultan of India’. His father was arrested and put in prison when Charles was only twelve. At that age, Charles helped his family survive by pawning their possessions – furniture and books. He was lucky to be given work at the blacking factory. He had to label pots of boot and shoe blacking. With the help of his friend, he got a membership to the reading room of the British Museum and spent much of his spare time there. In 1830, he met Maria Beadnell at that place and courted her, hoping to marry her someday. Her parents rejected him because of his family’s financial situation. He eventually lost her as she married someone else. Dejected in love, he published his first short piece of fiction which he called, `A Dinner at Poplar Walk’. It was an achievement that he was proud of, later in life. His next big work was `The Strange Gentleman’. He courted and got married to Catherine Hogarth in April 1836. After the wedding, he started work on his first major success, the `Pickwick Papers’. The next year, Charles and Catherine had their first child, a son. Dickens started work on `Oliver Twist’. Catherine suffered with depressive bouts after childbirth. Charles also had indifferent health. He sorted out his health problems by taking long walks in the countryside for fresh air. This period in his life saw him move up in life, both socially and economically. During this time, he developed a strong bond with John Forster and Dickens started sharing his deepest thoughts and his feelings with him. The two men became companions while walking, riding and attending the theatre. Forster became a literary agent for Dickens. After Oliver Twist, Dickens started work on `Nicholas Nickleby’. This novel went a long way in attracting attention of the readers towards the dismal conditions at schools for orphans and illegitimate children in Yorkshire. In 1838, Charles and Catherine had a second child, a daughter. The next year, they had their third child, a daughter again. He had to move into a larger house in Devonshire. He started work on a new project and named it `Barnaby Rudge’. Heavy workload started telling on his health. He started work on a new novel, ‘The Old Curiosity Shop’. This novel brought him impressive popularity. It was hailed as a masterpiece. The theme of the protagonist’s death (Nell) struck a deep chord with the audiences of his times and infant mortality rate had already become a personal tragedy experience for most in England. His next important work was ‘Martin Chuzzlewit’. Sales of this work were dismal. However, he did not lose hope and started work on his next project – A Christmas Carol. This story and Ebenezer Scrooge in particular captured the attention of the audiences and the book has remained among the most popular works of Dickens for over fifteen decades now. Dickens went on to write two more stories related with Christmas time. They were `The Chimes’ and `Cricket on the Hearth’. Dickens wrote a pensive preface to another masterpiece of his, `David Copperfield’. “An author feels as though he were dismissing some portion of himself into the shadowy world, when a crowd of the creatures of his brain are going from him forever.” This novel contains many autobiographical elements. During the summer of 1846, Dickens began work on `Dombey and Son’ in Switzerland. He was living in Lausanne at that time. After that he wrote another Christmas Novella and called it `The Haunted Man’. The story is quite interesting – a chemist is troubled by painful memories and he accepts a ghost’s offer to remove his memories and allow him to remove those of everyone he meets. The story has a strong underlying message of tolerance and forgiveness. In 1851, after enjoying the success of `David Copperfield’, Dickens wrote a satirical essay, “A Child’s History of England”. In 1852, he started work on another novel, `Bleak House’. This work focused on the inefficiency of the Chancery and the problems it caused. It was filled with dark cynicism. He followed this work with `Hard Times’ and `Little Dorrit’. On a personal front, Dickens lost in his wife and children and became selfish and indifferent. However, he kept himself engrossed while reading his works. It fit into his love of the theatre and gave him an opportunity to enact all his characters and gave them personality and voices. He enjoyed this experience and he became popular doing it. He went on tour through major cities from Dublin to Edinburgh and London and Manchester. In April 1859, he started writing `A Tale of Two Cities’. The plot for this book was inspired by the drama `the Frozen Deep’ written by Wilkie Collins. Dickens had taken part in that and acted on stage. Dickens had deep interest in the French Revolution after reading Thomas Carlyle’s `History of the French Revolution’. This novel of Dickens is more action-based than most of his other works. His next great work was to be `Great Expectations’. It told the story of the orphan, Pip. Many consider the development of Pip’s character to be the ultimate among authorial achievements of Dickens. Charles Dickens visited the United States of America and did not like the tall buildings of New York City and its garish lights. In 1863, Dickens began work on his last novel, `Our Mutual Friend’. He suffered a stroke in 1866 and after that; his health declined. He had indifferent health for the next three years. He started work on another novel, `The Mystery of Edwin Drood’ but could not finish it and left the ending hanging. He died on 9th June 1870. It is a general consensus in England that after Shakespeare; it was Dickens who was the best known among English authors. His popularity has been great down the ages. His characters have become icons and are remembered to be given attached meanings; for example, `Scrooge’ is associated with miserliness. His works have left their mark on his readers. It has to be mentioned that not all his novels were successes. However, his works have inspired many film adaptations.