David Copperfield Group

Question:


rogerb1055

How did Mr. Dick actually facilitate the reconciliation between Dr. Strong and his wife Annie?

Perhaps I’ve missed something, I’m not a scholar of Victorian English, but other than guiding Annie into the room and presenting her to Dr Strong did Mr. Dick perform some other act to help reconcile the two?

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Posted by rogerb1055 on Tuesday December 30, 2008 at 8:59 AM and tagged with david copperfield, reconcile dr strong annie.

Answers:

  1. accessteacher
    accessteacher Teacher
    High School - 10th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    You haven't missed anything. You are completely right - all Mr. Dick actually does is use his position as a "simple-minded" individual to do and say what everyone else was not doing and saying so the Strongs can be reconciled. In Chapter 45 Mr. Dick approaches David Copperfield and asks him if David thinks he is simple minded. David agrees, which pleases Mr. Dick, and then he asks what the tension is between the Strongs. David explains, and then Mr. Dick decides to reconcile them because he is simple-minded and can therefore get away with behaviour that the "normal" people can't get away with.

    So we can therefore assume that when he leads Annie into the room he has told her that now would be her opportunity to be reconciled to her husband, and we see the full reconciliation scene in Chapter 45.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/david-copperfield/summary

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    Posted by accessteacher on Sunday April 26, 2009 at 6:35 AM

  2. bubbleraft
    bubbleraft Teacher
    Graduate School

    I am glad someone is with me in the confusion here.

    I suppose we can assume this..this is one of my favorite chapters so far (I have not finished the book.)

    It seems with all that Strong/Annie nonsense in the previous chapters, everyone is jsut so obsessed with image and putting on airs, that nobody says anything and nobody gets anything done.  Is that the thing about Dick?  Is he supposed to be an anachronism or something, so he doesn't have to worry about the trappings of the day?

    I suppose I assumed Dick not only led Annie into the room, but said something like "hey Doc is upset and I think this is why."  Or, and this is a longshot...he could have told the Doc about the Will idea, to push Annie over the edge?  I dunno...

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    Posted by bubbleraft on Wednesday September 2, 2009 at 11:48 AM