The Absent Reader in David Copperfield

[...]as many critics note, we face the fact that David's autobiography was '[n]ot meant to be published, but yet published' (Hurley 3). In Chapter 7, 'My "First Half" at Salem House', David records the maltreatment by the tyrannical, savage schoolmaster, Creakle, b...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inDickensian Vol. 117; no. 515; pp. 271 - 280
Main Author Tsutsui, Mizuki
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London The Dickens Fellowship 01.12.2021
Subjects
Autobiographical literature
Autobiographies
British & Irish literature
Dickens, Charles (1812-1870)
English literature
Narrative techniques
Novels
Readers
Reading
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Summary:[...]as many critics note, we face the fact that David's autobiography was '[n]ot meant to be published, but yet published' (Hurley 3). In Chapter 7, 'My "First Half" at Salem House', David records the maltreatment by the tyrannical, savage schoolmaster, Creakle, by whom he and other pupils are inhumanly abused from the very first day of school: 'Half the establishment was writhing and crying, before the day's work began; and how much of it had writhed and cried before the day's work was over, I am really afraid to recollect, lest I should seem to exaggerate' {DC 141). Exaggeration is certainly a common temptation for many autobiographers who are sometimes prone to present their ideal self-image rather than their actual self to the public,4 but these explanatory words make less sense since David's manuscript is exclusively private. In order to escape from the harsh reality, David gets deeply involved in reading books his late father left, such as Roderick Random, Peregrine Pickle, Humphrey Clinker, Tom Jones, The Vicar of Wakefield, Don Quixote, Gil Bias, Robinson Crusoe, The Arabian Nights, and The Tales of the Genii.
ISSN:0012-2440