Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens (novel #214)

Never from the mighty sea may voices rise too late, to come between us and the unseen region on the other shore! Better, far better, that they whispered of that region in our childish ears, and the swift river hurried us away. ~ narrative from Dombey and Son

 

Contrary to the title, Dombey and Son is about Florence Dombey, the oldest child of Paul Dombey, a wealthy London shipping magnate. Florence, or Floy, is a typical Dickens heroine: an ideal of virtue and beauty. Though, when the story opens, she is only six.

 

It opens at the birth of Florence’s younger brother Paul, heir to the Dombey Empire. Mr. Dombey is barely affected when his wife dies. He is too busy planning and placing all his hopes and dreams on his son. Florence is nearly invisible to her proud and aloof father. He is never cruel to her. She is raised in comfort and privilege, and yet…

 

Florence is far poorer than the most miserable of Dickens’ orphans or paupers.

 

And the reader’s heart slowly breaks.

 

But then there is hope. Mr. Dombey remarries, and, for a brief moment, Florence is genuinely loved by her beautiful stepmother. No, really, genuinely loved. And poor Mr. Dombey, who is not loved by his new wife, becomes jealous of his daughter’s ability to win her stepmother’s affection.

 

Who? Who was it who could win his wife as she had won his boy? Who was it who had shown him that new victory, as he sat in the dark corner? Who was it whose least word did what his utmost means could not? Who was it who, unaided by his love, regard or notice, thrived and grew beautiful when those so aided died? Who could it be, but the same child at whom he had often glanced uneasily in her motherless infancy, with a kind of dread, lest he might come to hate her; and of whom his foreboding was fulfilled, for he DID hate her in his heart?

 

And the reader's heart breaks again.

 

You can count on the author to do that, but this is far from typical Dicken’s fare.

 

It is a warning and exposé on the frightful sin of pride. It is a hopeful message about the power of love and forgiveness. Some might call it a fantasy in that regard, but I have seen such love and forgiveness.

 

There are still some of Dickens’ hallmarks. There are intricate coincidences and connections between the main and lesser characters. There are comic caricatures, subtle foreshadows, and an ironic twist or two. There is a toothy, smiling, unctuous villain whose villainy brings about the satisfying ending…but not the perfect ending that Dickens is often criticized for. Much is lost; much is gained.

 

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

 

 

 

And with this novel, I’ve completed The Classics Club Round III.

 

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