Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Back to the Classics Challenge 2020 - Dombey and Son

I’ve actually read three books thus far for the Back to the Classics Challenge 2020 but the first one I am going to blog about is Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens.  This as the last completed novel from Dickens that I had to read. I haven’t yet made up my mind if I want to read the unfinished The Mystery of Edwin Drood or not. 
I am really happy to write that I ended on a real high note.  I wonder why this title isn’t better known among the 14 completed novels? It has many of those classic Dickens attributes that we fan boys and girls love about Boz. I would certainly rank it in my top ten. 

The main story is that of Paul Dombey, Sr. and his monomania about raising a son to be his heir and thereby to continue the business of Dombey & Son (I’m not sure exactly what that business was, but I think it was some sort of import/export). He is reminiscent of Ebenezer Scrooge, only his is not miserly with his money; it is his love and affection that he withholds from all others with the exception of his son, Paul Jr.  Generally, Dombey Senior is unaware that he also has a daughter, Florence, unless it is to be jealous of Florence’s relationship with her younger brother Paul.  This is the story of a dysfunctional family in the extreme. Their emotional impoverishment is only accentuated by the loving depiction of the lower class Toodle family and the wonderful ersatz father/son relationship between Soll Gills and his nephew Walter Gay, who works for Mr. Dombey.

I wrote earlier of classic Dickens attributes. He loves coincidences and this book is full of them. He believed wholeheartedly in the redemptive power of forgiveness and this novel is a classic example of this. He used his books as a platform for social criticism an there is some of that here as well; in particular, I feel he equates marriages made purely for financial gain to be akin to prostitution. He also really loved writing deathbed scenes,  I think, and he wrote two very fine ones in this tome. I did personally find that Florence occasionally edged on Little Nell-like saccharine devotion and she is, as many of Dickens’ heroines are, a cipher whose one personality trait is saintliness. However, it grated less in this novel because Florence has been so ill-treated psychologically from childhood; I could believe she would develop a masochistic like devotion to the hand that bites her.

But aside from the tragic and touching main plot, Dombey and Son, as are all Dickens’ novels, is replete with humor and many side plots. I laughed out loud more than once. Possibly my favorite thing about Dickens novels are the colorful side characters and they were absolutely top notch in this book: Cap’n Cuttle (“Stand by!”), Mr. Toots (“It’s of no consequence”), Miss Nipper, Miss Tox,… they are all amazingly well constructed and well employed in the plot and development of the novel. Also, honorable mention goes to little Paul, that old-fashioned child. And the villains are equally wonderful, Major Blagstock (that de-vilish old soldier, J.B., Josh, Joey B., J. Bagstock, as observed by his royal highness, the late Duke of York on more than one occasion), the horrifically eternally youthful Mrs. Skewton, and Mr. Carker with all his intimidating white teeth (I’m not the first to notice it but Carker is very much a progenitor of Tulkinghorn in Bleak House).

I read this for the Back to the Classics Challenge 2020 category: 19th Century Classic. 

10 comments:

  1. I've never read Dombey and Son; it has been a long time since I've read any Dickens. I loved Bleak House, but honestly do not remember many of the characters. Anyway, you've made me want to read Dombey and Son!

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    1. Thanks for the comment jenclair! Or just re-read Bleak House and remind yourself of the lovely minor characters there like Caddy Jellby or Mr. Guppy. I think I agree with many Dickens enthusiasts that Bleak House is his masterpiece.

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  2. Glad you enjoyed this one so much. I have to admit, I'm not a huge Dickens fan, although I did really like A Tale of Two Cities when I read it back in high school. :)

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    1. Thanks for the comment Lark! Dickens isn't very everyone, I totally understand that! Thankfully there are lots of different authors and genres for us book lovers to chose from. :D

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  3. I'm also surprised this one isn't more read--I really think it's very good. As you say the funny/heartwarming characters are up to the mark; Florence, by the standards of Dickens' heroines, is OK(-ish), but I also think the second Mrs. Dombey is a great character. Scary, justifiably so, and great.

    Makes me want to reread it myself! Though I'll probably reread David Copperfield soon because of the movie.

    Don't miss Edwin Drood! The only thing disappointing about it is that it's not finished; it's otherwise a good one.

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    1. Thanks for the comment reese! The second Mrs. Dombey was indeed a great character...I was extremely worried for Florence at first! I guess I will have to read Edwin Drood then. And now I also get to start re-reading, though I have already reread quite a few already. David Copperfield might be first on that list mostly because I didn't really love it when I first read it. I think it was the treatment of Dora that irked me.

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  4. Hi Ruthiella, great review and you really know the themes and types of characters that keep appearing in Dickens' books. Makes me think that instead of sampling as many classic authors as one can it pays to focus on one noted author and really dig deep into who they were and what they were trying to say in their books.

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    1. Thanks for the comment Kathy! Dickens was a very stylized writer and not very subtle (he gets on his soap box a lot). It is fairly easy to pick out repeating themes. But I really love him in part because his books are so comical. We tend to forget he is such a funny writer at times, I think. :D

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  5. I read a lot of Dickens up until more recently & really liked Dombey & Son so was surprised it’s a book you don’t often hear about. I have a copy of Edwin Drood that I’ve been meaning to start but haven’t got there yet. Nice review. 🙂

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    1. Thanks for the comment Carol! It's a real conundrum as to why more readers aren't aware of Dombey and Son. As I wrote above, I am wary of Edwin Drood because it is unfinished. But I may just have to get over that fear.

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