‘David Copperfield’: A Book About Memory, Writing, and Fatherhood

The novel traces how a boy learns from examples, good and bad, what is needed to become a good father.

Mentorship from father figures is a guiding force in David Copperfield's life. "Traddles, Micawber, and David," by Frank Reynolds, 1910. Public Domain

Charles Dickens created many memorable stories. The one he loved best was also the one he spoke of from the perspective of a father: “It will be easily believed that I am a fond parent to every child of my fancy, and that no one can ever love that family as dearly as I love them. But, like many fond parents, I have in my heart of hearts a favourite child. And his name is DAVID COPPERFIELD.”

Dickens’s Favorite Work

Long acknowledged by the public and critics as one of his greatest works, “David Copperfield” inspires reflection on the meaning of fatherhood and its relationship to memory and writing.

The novel chronicles the search for an absent father, as can be seen at the beginning in which the narrator of the tale, David, visits his father’s gravestone and reflects on how his father died before he was born. Just a paragraph long, these reflections are nevertheless incredibly poignant: “My father’s eyes had closed upon the light of this world six months, when mine opened on it” and his early memories of “indefinable compassion” for his father’s white tombstone.

When his mother remarries, a bad father replaces David’s deceased one. The first part of the book shows the profound influence a bad father can have. Fathers are essential not just for moral guidance but for survival. A man fails as a father when he is a bad moral influence and shows no love. This is true for men stepping into the role of father just as much as for biological fathers. David’s stepfather, ominously named “Mr. Murdstone,” fails utterly both in guiding and in caring for his stepson.

David received neither mercy nor a scrap of kindness from his cruel stepfather, Edward Murdstone. "Edward Murdstone," by Frank Reynolds, 1910. Public Domain

David’s rebellion against Murdstone’s unnatural cruelty is haunted by the question of whether he really deserves kindness and if he should even exist. This question’s stakes grow when David’s mother dies and Murdstone does all that he legally can to abandon his stepson.

Fortunately, a good father figure appears, Mr. Micawber. He enters David’s life when the troubled young man is at his lowest point. Careless with money and excessively effusive, Micawber and his wife are genuinely kind and generous. This lovingkindness is exactly what David needs: affirmation of his worth as a human being.

Mr. Micawber may be affectionate and caring, but he lacks the virtues David Copperfield needs to develop before becoming a father. "Wilkins Micawber," by Frank Reynolds, 1910. Public Domain

A father’s role, however, doesn’t stop at affirmation, but that is all Micawber can offer. Enter here the absent-minded, somewhat deranged Mr. Dick. At first, he seems to be just a genial foil for David’s choleric, yet caring aunt. But he’s the first man to form David, not just affirm him. For one thing, it is Dick who first takes care of David’s physical appearance, recommending that he be washed and fitted with clothes. For another, he shows a keen instinct for virtuous action throughout the story.

It’s a strange idea that a man with more than a little touch of insanity serves as a father, but that may be Dickens’s point. The head matters most where it relates to the heart, and Dick’s practical intelligence, that a human being is meant to be cherished and taken care of, is superior to worldly wisdom.

Mr. Dick's simple mind and lifestyle do much to develop David Copperfield's character, in "David Copperfield." "Mr. Dick and His Kite," by Frank Reynolds, 1910. Public Domain

Finally, a father must not only affirm and form but also educate his child. He must help the child become the adult who can form himself. Dr. Strong, David’s venerable headmaster, gives this special gift to Davy. As Dick cared for Davy’s material and emotional needs, Strong cares for Davy’s intellectual and moral formation. He is also an example of the right way to relate to women. He trusts in his wife’s devotion and character completely, despite superficial doubts that occur to the reader and characters throughout the story. Those doubts are proven wrong, as Annie Strong is faithful.

Nevertheless, while Strong, Dick, and Micawber all act as fathers to David, none give him or the reader a complete model of fatherhood. Strong and Dick have no children. Micawber has children, but also has serious failings in responsibility and fortitude. The question might be asked, “Where is the complete father?”

The master stroke of an author is occasionally delivered in the most subtle, even hidden way, and this is  the case in “David Copperfield.” This masterstroke is the father figure presented in a most matter-of-fact way: Davy’s schoolmate, Tommy Traddles. Studious like Strong, loving like Micawber, and invested with a quirky imagination like Dick, Traddles physically becomes a father after a long courtship with the love of his life.

Memories of Fathers

“David Copperfield,” a story in fits and starts, shows how a boy learns to become a good father. Memory is key to this art: memories of good examples cherished and memories of bad examples rejected. It’s therefore a journey of discernment:  knowing how to reevaluate one’s memories as one matures.

The good fathers in David’s life don’t merely live in the past; they are essential to the moral character he is forming and learns to exhibit in a more decided way. He learns to act nobly, to work hard, to sacrifice himself for others, and finally, to love the right woman, the woman who becomes the mother of his children—the woman who makes him a father.

It's not without effort that David Copperfield finally wins over the woman who becomes his second wife. "Agnes Wickfield," by Frank Reynolds, 1910. Public Domain

Nevertheless, memories of false fatherhood matter too; they must be looked in the eye and condemned. Otherwise, they might goad a man into becoming a bad father himself. While as a young man David is tempted to blame himself for his mother’s death and his stepfather’s hatred, part of his growing up is learning to condemn Murdstone’s self-serving and hypocritical actions.

David also unwittingly learns from Murdstone that a man should marry a woman because she is pretty, without respecting and honoring her. But he learns to see this as evil. David is not shirking responsibility to his stepfather for his actions; he’s recognizing a truth, condemning the condemnable, and refusing to perpetuate abuse and evil.

The Author of Our Lives

Most men aren’t writers as Dickens was, nor will they see writing as an exact simile for fatherhood. However, writing is nevertheless an important metaphor, that is, a “meaning-carrier,” not just for fathers and potential fathers, but for everyone. David muses: “whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else.” It’s a reminder that everyone, whether a writer or not, is the author of his life.

The plot twists in “David Copperfield” are all about how David remembers, what he remembers, and finally to what degree he will revise incorrect and false impressions. This is exactly like the art of writing. Early in the book, the reader experiences and believes David’s youthful and often naïve memories, and with David, he has to be ready to revise these memories. If this is editing, then editing is just as important in a person’s life as it is in a writer’s composition. One must be at least a decent editor of his own life if he can help compose the lives of those who depend on him most: his children.

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