DAVID COPPERFIELD

FULL TITLE The Personal History and Experience of David Copperfield the Younger
AUTHOR Charles Dickens
TYPE OF WORK Novel
GENRE Bildungsroman (coming-of-age novel)
LANGUAGE English
TIME AND PLACE WRITTEN May 1849November 1850; England
DATE OF FIRST PUBLICATION May 1849November 1850 (serial publication)
PUBLISHER Bradbury and Evans
NARRATOR An older David Copperfield narrates the story of his childhood from his
happy home in London.
POINT OF VIEW David writes in the first person, limiting his viewpoint to what he sees in
his youth and his attitude at that time.
TONE David reflects upon his youth fondly and remembers his nave youth wistfully.
TENSE Past
SETTING (TIME) 1800s
SETTING (PLACE) England
PROTAGONIST David Copperfield
MAJOR CONFLICT David struggles to become a man in a cruel world, with little money
and few people to guide him.
RISING ACTION David loses his mother and falls victim to a cruel childhood but then has
a happier youth with Miss Betsey and Agnes.
CLIMAX David realizes, while watching the reconciliation between the Strongs, that
marriage cannot be happy unless husband and wife are equal partners. This realization forces
David to contemplate his marriage to Dora in a new light and reconsider most of the values he
has held up to this point.
FALLING ACTION The various subplots involving secondary characters resolve
themselves. David realizes his love for Agnes, marries her, and comes to grips with the
treachery and death of his good friend Steerforth.
THEMES The plight of the weak; equality in marriage; wealth and class
MOTIFS The role of mothers; accented speech; physical beauty
SYMBOLS The sea; flowers; Mr. Dicks kite
FORESHADOWING The opening scenes observation that Davids birth is inauspicious;
the adult Davids remark that Little Emly would have been better off if the sea had
swallowed her as a child; Agness distrust of Steerforth; Agness blush when David asks her
about her love life