Charles Dickens's Dombey and Son, Nos. XV–XVI (Chs. 46-51)

No. XV (chs. 46-48)
She did not sink down at his feet; she did not shut out the sight of him with her trembling hands; she did not weep; she did not utter one word of reproach. But she looked at him, and a cry of desolation issued from her heart. For as she looked, she saw him murdering that fond idea to which she had held in spite of him. She saw his cruelty, neglect, and hatred dominant above it, and stamping it down. She saw she had no father upon earth, and ran out, orphaned, from his house. (721)

Not much to say about this one... except that I called it! Precisely at the three-quarters mark, Dickens gives us our next big moment in the story, the total collapse of good feeling between Dombey and his wife, which leads to Dombey striking Florence, and Florence fleeing his house into the refuge of Captain Cuttle. Cracking stuff: any Dickens novel can have its languid moments, but he knows how to twist a knife like few others.

Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens

Originally published: 1846-48
Acquired: December 2024
Installments read: January–February 2025

It's interesting how deliberately structured and plotted Dombey and Son is, because this was very much not the case with Dickens's previous novel, Martin Chuzzlewit (1843-44, which I suffered through last winter). Indeed, I don't think it's the case with any previous Dickens novel. Maybe Oliver Twist? I don't remember that one well. But it certainly wasn't true for Pickwick Papers (1836-37), or Nicholas Nickleby (1838-39), or The Old Curiosity Shop (1840-41). The only other early Dickens novel I haven't read yet is Barnaby Rudge (1841); I guess I'll see how structured that one is... but I kind of doubt it's highly structured given what I know of it.

I wonder what happened in 1846 that turned Dickens toward plotting things out in more detail and pacing more deliberately... perhaps he suffered through Martin Chuzzlewit as much as I did and wasn't keen to repeat the experience! The introduction and notes to my Penguin Classics edition don't mention anything about this as far as I noticed, but they do recommend reading the 1974 Clarendon edition of the novel for an account of its composition. I will put in an interlibrary loan request for it.

No. XVI (chs. 49-51)
'Hope. It's that as animates you. Hope is a buoy... but Lord, my lad, like any other buoy, it only floats; it can't be steered nowhere.' (757)

Well, guess what... Walter is alive! Given this seemed quite obvious from the moment his body failed to turn up, it's a little annoying that Dickens dragged this out for five whole installments. It's like the guy hasn't been on the show a whole season!

But anyway, decent stuff as we move into the endgame, but I particularly liked the little glimpse we get of Dombey: "Mr Dombey and the world are alone together" (781).

This is the sixth in a series of posts about Dombey and Son. The next covers installment no. xvii and beyond. Previous installments are listed below:

1. Nos. I–IV (chs. 1-13)
2. Nos. V–VII (chs. 14-22)
3. Nos. VIII–X (chs. 23-31)
4. Nos. XI–XII (chs. 32-38)
5. Nos. XIII–XIV (chs. 39-45)