I had read parts of 'A Tale Of Two Cities' and 'David Copperfield' By Charles Dickens when I was little as a part of my academic studies.And I found both of them to be very dark.(I had read initial portions of 'David Copperfield and a few middle and end portions of 'A Tale Of The Two Cities')
So,I wanted to ask,are all stories by Charles Dickens Dark in Narrative?
[By Dark Narrative,I mean Hopelessness in the Atmosphere of the Story]
Is Charles Dickens' Narrative Dark?
I suppose A Christmas Carol could be in that category, at least until the lines:
"Yes! and the bedpost was his own.
The bed was his own, the room was his own.
Best and happiest of all, the Time before him was his own, to make amends in!"
"Yes! and the bedpost was his own.
The bed was his own, the room was his own.
Best and happiest of all, the Time before him was his own, to make amends in!"
Louise
"every little breeze..."
Fun Fact: 40% of all statistics are wrong.
"every little breeze..."
Fun Fact: 40% of all statistics are wrong.
-
- LibriVox Admin Team
- Posts: 60752
- Joined: June 15th, 2008, 10:30 pm
- Location: Toronto, ON (but Minnesotan to age 32)
Dickens' stories did highlight a lot of the social ills of his day. So yes, I'd say in general they had a dark tone. There are probably exceptions, but yes, generally dark.
School fiction: David Blaize
America Exploration: The First Four Voyages of Amerigo Vespucci
Serial novel: The Wandering Jew
Medieval England meets Civil War Americans: Centuries Apart
America Exploration: The First Four Voyages of Amerigo Vespucci
Serial novel: The Wandering Jew
Medieval England meets Civil War Americans: Centuries Apart
-
- Posts: 854
- Joined: January 10th, 2021, 8:27 am
- Location: Piercefield, NY, USA
- Contact:
I think I've read all of them but the Pickwick Papers, and I see them as definitely dark but not at all hopeless--my sense was that Dickens thought people could, and should, and maybe even would, live in a way that set the wrongs he described right, and generally included some examples of right-setting. (Even to some degree in Martin Chuzzlewit, which struck me as particularly cynical, and Barnaby Rudge, which struck me as particularly bleak; certainly in my favorites, Bleak House and Little Dorrit, which include a great deal of injustice, waste, and suffering, but also a fair bit of hope both for human decency in very unpromising circumstances and for human ability to make their neighbors' circumstances somewhat less desperate...
Back from a low-internet no-Librivox year in Georgia. Glad to be with you again.
-
- Posts: 1206
- Joined: November 10th, 2016, 3:54 am
- Location: LONDON UK
Dickens writes with exceptional realism, but the darkness is tinged with hope.
Project Catalogue
https://librivox.org/reader/11274
https://librivox.org/reader/11274
-
- Posts: 409
- Joined: March 8th, 2021, 10:41 am
Hey everyone,why does Peter Thomlinson Sir's reader page has '(1940 - 2022)' typed beside his name?lurcherlover wrote: ↑July 10th, 2021, 6:59 am Dickens writes with exceptional realism, but the darkness is tinged with hope.
-
- LibriVox Admin Team
- Posts: 60752
- Joined: June 15th, 2008, 10:30 pm
- Location: Toronto, ON (but Minnesotan to age 32)
Because he died in 2022.AdhiraamBose wrote: ↑August 27th, 2022, 7:20 amHey everyone,why does Peter Thomlinson Sir's reader page has '(1940 - 2022)' typed beside his name?lurcherlover wrote: ↑July 10th, 2021, 6:59 am Dickens writes with exceptional realism, but the darkness is tinged with hope.
School fiction: David Blaize
America Exploration: The First Four Voyages of Amerigo Vespucci
Serial novel: The Wandering Jew
Medieval England meets Civil War Americans: Centuries Apart
America Exploration: The First Four Voyages of Amerigo Vespucci
Serial novel: The Wandering Jew
Medieval England meets Civil War Americans: Centuries Apart
-
- Posts: 1563
- Joined: May 18th, 2021, 11:22 am
- Location: Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati Region, USA
- Contact:
Charles Dickens actually experienced a lot of the aspects of life which he put into his books, such as being abused by parents, feeling forgotten, etc. His own mother was abusive, and I believe that his father was in prison for a long time, so he wanted to make a name for himself. So he started writing. And he was paid by the word, so it makes sense why his works tend to be longer
-
- Posts: 409
- Joined: March 8th, 2021, 10:41 am
This is sad to come across.May he attain salvation soon.TriciaG wrote: ↑August 27th, 2022, 1:36 pmBecause he died in 2022.AdhiraamBose wrote: ↑August 27th, 2022, 7:20 amHey everyone,why does Peter Thomlinson Sir's reader page has '(1940 - 2022)' typed beside his name?lurcherlover wrote: ↑July 10th, 2021, 6:59 am Dickens writes with exceptional realism, but the darkness is tinged with hope.
How did the Librivox team confirm his passing away?
-
- LibriVox Admin Team
- Posts: 60752
- Joined: June 15th, 2008, 10:30 pm
- Location: Toronto, ON (but Minnesotan to age 32)
I don't remember how - but it was confirmed.
EDIT: straight from his wife: viewtopic.php?f=24&t=67083&p=2064076&hilit=lurcherlover#p2064076
EDIT: straight from his wife: viewtopic.php?f=24&t=67083&p=2064076&hilit=lurcherlover#p2064076
School fiction: David Blaize
America Exploration: The First Four Voyages of Amerigo Vespucci
Serial novel: The Wandering Jew
Medieval England meets Civil War Americans: Centuries Apart
America Exploration: The First Four Voyages of Amerigo Vespucci
Serial novel: The Wandering Jew
Medieval England meets Civil War Americans: Centuries Apart
Dickens's work is filled with hope, though we, as his readers, might lose sight of it in his proto-social realism.
One example from Nicholas Nickleby: “Hope to the last!” said Newman, clapping him on the back. “Always hope; that’s dear boy. Never leave off hoping; it don’t answer. Do you mind me, Nick? it don’t answer. Don’t leave a stone unturned. It’s always something, to know you’ve done the most you could. But, don’t leave off hoping, or it’s of no use doing anything. Hope, hope, to the last!”
One example from Nicholas Nickleby: “Hope to the last!” said Newman, clapping him on the back. “Always hope; that’s dear boy. Never leave off hoping; it don’t answer. Do you mind me, Nick? it don’t answer. Don’t leave a stone unturned. It’s always something, to know you’ve done the most you could. But, don’t leave off hoping, or it’s of no use doing anything. Hope, hope, to the last!”
My LibriVox: https://librivox.org/sections/readers/13278
-
- Posts: 409
- Joined: March 8th, 2021, 10:41 am
For those of you who have read or listened to Charles Dickens' work(s),have you found yourselves made a better person by his works?
Why is he called a genius of English Literature though?
Why is he called a genius of English Literature though?