Dickens in Searchof Himself - Recurrent Themes and Characters in the Work of Charles Dickens

Sep 20, 2026

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Recurrent themes and characters in Charles Dickens are examined through a framework that distinguishes between writers who consciously express their situation and those whose deeper meanings remain inexhaustible. The analysis shows how Dickens sometimes creates fully controlled comic scenes while, in other characters and themes, unexpected layers of significance emerge. Apparent contradictions in tone and emphasis are framed as a defining feature rather than a defect, shaping the reader’s experience across distinct “worlds” within the fiction.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages174

Reading Time4 h 28 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

For My Children

Notes and References

Select Bibliography

General Index

Index of Works and Characters

DICKEN SI N SEAR C HOF HIMSELF GWEN WATKINS # DICKENS IN SEARCH OF HIMSELF By the same author I THAT WAS BORN IN WALES: A New Selection from the Poems of Vernon Watkins(editor with Ruth Pryor)UNITY OF THE STREAM (editor)PORTRAIT OF A FRIEND # Dickens in Searchof Himself Recurrent Themes and Characters in theWork of Charles Dickens Gwen Watkins ◎Gwen Watkins 1987 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1987All rights reserved.No reproduction,copy or transmissionof this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced,copiedor transmitted save with written permission or in accordancewith the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956(as amended). Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation tothis publication may be liable to criminal prosecution andcivil claims for damages First published 1987 Published by THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTDHoundmills,Basingstoke,Hampshire RG212XSand London Companies and representativesthroughout the world Phototypeset in 11/12pt Palatino bySTYLESET LIMITEDWarminster,Wiltshire British Library Cataloguing in Publication DataWatkins,Gwen Dickens in search of himself:recurrent themesand characters in the works of Charles Dickens. 1.Dickens,Charles.1812-1878-Criticism andinterpretation I.Title823'.8PR4588 ISBN 978-1-349-08550-7(eBook) ISBN 978-1-349-08552-1 DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-08550-7 # For My Children ## Introduction 1 I Want to Escape from Myself2 A Vacancy in my Heart 3 Against Peace,against Hope,against Happiness4 My Wound of Love 5 The Children that we Were are not Lost6 The Crime of being Born7 By the Living and by the DeadConclusion Notes and ReferencesSelect BibliographyGeneral IndexIndex of Works and Characters 工 7 19 47 60 83 108 125 148 154 159 161 163 The reader will see how impossible it is to say thatthe author is fully expressed in any speech,characteror single work of his.One must first put all thesetogether and relate them to a great synthesis of all thework,which will be found to possess a unity of itsown,to which every separate work is ultimatelyrelated. Dorothy L.Sayers,The Mind of the Maker Our whole life,Travellers,'said I,'is a story more orless intelligible,—generally less;but we shall read itby a clearer light when it is ended.I,for one,am sodivided this night between fact and fiction,that Iscarce know which is which...' Charles Dickens,The Seven Poor Travellers Criticism does not exist to say about authors thethings that they knew themselves.It exists to say thethings about them that they did not know themselves. G.K.Chesterton,Introduction toThe Old Curiosity Shop(Everyman Edition) Introduction In his essay on Edmund Spenser C.S.Lewis distinguishesbetween two different types of writer.Donne,he points out,'wrote from his vivid consciousness of his own situation at a par-ticular moment.He knew what he was putting into his poem,and we cannot get out of it more than he knew he was putting in.But Spenser,with his conscious mind,knew only the least partof what he was doing,and we are never sure that we have got tothe end of his significance.The water is very clear,but wecannot see to the bottom.' Dickens is a writer of the second kind,whose significance is,in certain areas,inexhaustible.There are times when he knowsexactly what he is doing -in most of the comic scenes,and inthe great set pieces,such as Carker's ride from Dijon or theCopperfield storm scene-and exults in his own genius.Nomatter how often we read these,we cannot get from them morethan he consciously put in,though that may be a great deal.Butthere are certain characters,certain themes,in which we con-stantly perceive fresh significance,new layers of meaning whichopen to reveal deeper meanings yet. Sometimes the two kinds of writing collide,causing strangeshifts in tone and emphasis often amounting to absolute con-tradiction,as though Dostoyevsky and P.G.Wodehous

FAQs

What distinction does the book make about types of writers?

It differentiates writers who put into their work what they consciously know, from writers whose significance is deeper than what they consciously understand, making their meanings effectively inexhaustible.

Why are Dickens’ shifts in tone and emphasis treated as significant?

They are portrayed as collisions between different narrative “worlds” inside Dickens’ work; despite contradictions, they reveal layers of meaning and highlight his distinctive genius.

What kinds of Dickens scenes are said to be consciously controlled?

The discussion points to comic scenes and major set pieces where Dickens seems to know exactly what he is doing, such as notable rides and storm scenes mentioned in the introduction.

Sep 20, 2026

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