This text is taken from chapter 20 of David Copperfield, Charles Dickens’ eighth novel originally published in serialised form between 1849 and 1950. David, the narrator, has been invited to the home of his old schoolmate, the upper-class James Steerforth. Steerforth’s father is dead. His mother lives with an orphaned relative, Rosa Dartle. In the first part of this passage, David mentions his old friends the Peggottys, in the hope of taking Steerforth to see them. This turns into a conversation between Miss Dartle and Steerforth about the lower class. Then, Steerforth tells David about Miss Dartle.

First, I will analyse Miss Dartle’s behaviour with Steerforth and the importance of her character. Then I will turn to David as a character and narrator.

David notes at the beginning at the extract that Rosa Dartle never expresses her opinions in a straight way but, he says, by “insinuat[ing]”. The example he chooses to relate is crucial to the development of the novel because it sheds light on Steerforth’s lack of consideration for others, and especially his feeling of superiority towards the lower class.

Rosa Dartle grasps the underlying meaning of the phrase Steerforth uses to refer to the Peggottys: “that sort of people”, where “that” is more derogatory than “this” and which of course implies that there are different classes of people, but according to David, Steerforth’s tone is more expressive than the words themselves. Rosa does not launch into a lecture. Indeed, although the narrator fails to take it into account, she is hardly in a position to do so, as she is dependent on Steerforth’s mother, who cannot bear her son being criticized. What David names insinuation is somewhat similar to Socrates’ method of questioning others to help them “give birth” to truth. Just like Socrates in Plato’s dialogues, she (hypocritically) insists on her ignorance and voices her relying on her interlocutor to enlighten her.

Required thus to make his meaning clear, Steerforth expresses the view that “that sort of people” are insensitive and generally inferior. Rosa Dartle then pretends to make hers this belief and turns it to extremes by unfolding its implications. This way, she holds a mirror to Steerforth: the ideas she expresses are not hers but his.

However, there are more ways in which she reflects the darker aspects of Steerforth. She is a living reminder of his thoughtless cruelty: as Steerforth explains, he inflicted on her the scar that makes her a social outcast. This unfortunate privilege gives her an intimate knowledge of his soul which probably no-one else has. This probably accounts for the surprising fact that she seems to make Steerforth ill-at-ease, no little feat. More generally, Rosa Dartle appears as a stereotyped character: the damned soul with a dark, unrelenting passion.

Miss Dartle’s irony has to be meant for somebody: otherwise, it would be a show without an audience. Her irony is probably lost on Mrs Steerforth, who dotes on her son too much to lay critical eyes on him. We can imagine her wit is aimed at Steerforth, supposing he is capable of being mortified by it. More probably she is putting on this elaborate show for David. She must be aware he is obviously under Steerforth’s spell, all the more so since there is no doubt that she has known Steerforth long enough for her to know the seduction he works on people around him.

This takes me to the second point I wish to discuss: David himself. He remembers that he noticed Miss Dartle’s “insinuation” could be “powerful”, but it doesn’t seem to make any difference to his view of Steerforth.

It is quite striking that no evidence of Steerforth’s dark side seems to register with him. When he first mentions Mr Peggotty, Steerforth remembers “that bluff fellow”. Yet this way of referring to a man David admires does not seem to disturb him, neither does “that sort of people”. On the contrary, David is elated at Steerforth’s being willing to meet the Peggottys. He has formed an image of Steerforth that no facts can alter. If facts are not consistent with this image, David either ignores them entirely, probably because he cannot perceive them, or he interprets them in a way that makes them consistent with it. After Steerforth has made his scornful remark about the lower class, David thinks he did not really mean it. He expects a confirmation that never comes but this doesn’t make him question his opinion of Steerforth. Similarly, when he learns that Miss Dartle’s scar was occasioned by Steerforth, he supposes the blow to have been accidental.

The gap between David as character and as narrator is evident. when he writes “I believed that Steerforth had said what he had (…) to draw Miss Dartle out.” In retrospect, he is aware it was precisely the other way round. He doesn’t write so, but the whole episode proves it. Indeed, this passage paves the way for the coming crisis. This is when Steerforth hears about Little Em’ly for the first time and agrees to visit the Peggottys. In time, he will become friends with the Peggottys and elope with Emily. Similarly, his scornful talk is a foretoken of the thoughtless wreckage he will work on the Peggotties.

To conclude, I wish to focus on Steerforth. Even with hindsight, David never gives a really negative image of him. His cruelty seems to be thoughtless rather than malicious. Even though he uses dissimulation, he never appears as hypocritical as the Murdstones or Uriah Heep. When we compare him to such classic villains, we realize that Disckens’s treatment of him is entirely different. Uriah Heep and Mr Murdstone have two sides, one is a deceptive rightfulness, the other is a concealed evil, so our moral judgment of them is clear-cut. Steerforth, on the other hand, appears just as truthful and himself when he fraternizes with the Peggotties as when he wrecks their home. He openly admits his faults and even comments on his character. In many respects, he is merely the product of the feudal values in which he has been raised. His unquestioning belief in his superiority to the Peggottys reflects the values of Victorian England. His thoughtlessness derives from the conquering ways which have been encouraged in him. His quotation of the Gospel in reference to himself, whom he sees as one of the lilies of the valley “that toil not, neither do they spin” is symbolic of the complexity of his personality.

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