David Copperfield

David Copperfield Summary | Plot Summary

David Copperfield records the life experiences of the title character as he grows from impressionable youth through adulthood. His experiences shape his character and shape the choices he is forced to make. The people involved in his life, with their positive and negative influences, play a role in determining who he will become. This classic coming-of-age tale explores nineteenth century social conditions and their affect on one person, David Copperfield.

David's early childhood is spent in pleasant isolation with his mother and their devoted servant, Peggotty. An early visit to Peggotty's family introduces David to Emily, his first crush. This pleasant isolation changes abruptly when his mother marries Mr. Murdstone. The arrival at David's home of Mr. Murdstone and his sister, Miss Murdstone, tears David apart from his napve and weak willed mother.

Sent to a boarding school called Salem House, David meets two of his lifelong friends, Tommy Traddles and James Steerforth. Tommy Traddles is good-hearted but extremely unlucky. James Steerforth is very wealthy and lives a life of privilege. David's time at boarding school is cut short by the death of his mother, and he is then forced to return home.

Mr. Murdstone, no longer interested in educating David now that David's mother is dead, sends ten-year-old David to work in London. David narrowly manages to avoid starvation due to his small wages and grueling work schedule. It is during this period of his life that he meets the Micawber family. The Micawbers are continually in debt despite their higher-class status. They are briefly held in Debtor's Prison. Shortly after the Micawbers are liberated from prison and go to look for work in another town, David decides to run away from London and find his great aunt, Miss Betsy Trotwood.

After traveling for weeks with little food and no shelter, David reaches his aunt's house. She takes him in to live with her and sends him to school in Canterbury. At Canterbury, David lives with Mr. Wickfield, his aunt's lawyer, and his daughter, Agnes. Mr. Wickfield has a drinking problem, which is made worse by the interference of a scheming clerk, Uriah Heep. David successfully graduates from school and is apprenticed as a proctor in London.

David's life in London reunites him with Steerforth. David takes his friend Steerforth to visit Peggotty's family in Yarmouth. During this visit Steerforth strikes up a relationship with Emily, who is engaged to another man. Eventually, Steerforth and Emily run off together, without getting married, which devastates all of Emily's family and friends.

During this time, David meets his boss's daughter, Dora Spenlow. He immediately falls in love with her. While he is courting Dora, his aunt goes bankrupt. David takes on extra work in order to make ends meet. Eventually, this leads him to take up writing as an additional way to make money.

After David and Dora marry, their domestic life is very problematic due to Dora's inability to manage the house or to assume any responsibility. At the same time, David's old friends, the Wickfields, are in serious trouble because of Uriah Heep's meddling and deceptions. Finally, Heep is confronted and the fortunes of both the Wickfields and David's aunt are restored. Shortly thereafter Dora dies.

In the meantime, David has become a famous author. He goes on a trip across Europe for several years to both grieve for Dora and to discover his true feelings for Agnes Wickfield. When he returns, the two marry and live happily together.