In many novels, the society created by the author is surrounded by wealth and corruption. Numerous amount of times these settings are produced based on the life in which the author lives. Charles Dickens is no different. In the midst of most of his novels, Dickens exposes the deception of Victorian England and the strict society that holds everything together. In Dickens’ novel Our Mutual Friend, a satire is created where the basis of the novel is the mockery against money and morals. Throughout this novel, multiple symbols and depictions of the characters display the corruption of the mind that surrounds social classes in Victorian England.
Our Mutual Friend, Dickens’ last novel, exposes the reality Dickens is surrounded by in his life in Victorian England. The novel heavily displays the corruption of society through multiple examples. These examples, that are planted within the novel, relate to both the society in Dickens’ writing and his reality. In order to properly portray the fraud taking place within his novels, Dickens’ uses morality in his universe to compare to the reality of society. He repetitively references to the change of mind and soul for both the better and the worst. He speaks of the change of heart when poisoned by wealth, and he connects this disease to the balance of the rich and the poor. This is another major factor to novel, where the plot is surrounded by a social hierarchy that condemns the poor to a life of misery, and yet, condones any action that would normally be seen as immoral when it occurs in the aristocracy. It expands on the idea that only an education and inheritance will bring success in society, with few exceptions. Lastly, Dickens expands his opinions of society through his mockery of …
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…heir obsession with materials and wealth. However, though each class tries to rise higher than those below, the fact is that each class is crucial in the survival of the others.Works Cited
Dickens, Charles. Our Mutual Friend. London: Penguin,1997. Print.
Hardy, Barabara. British Writers, Article: Charles Dickens. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1982. Print
Holmes, Martha Stoddard. “Dickens, Charles: Our Mutual Friend.” Literature, Arts, and Medical Database. NYU School of Medicine, September 09, 1999. Web. March 29, 2014.Leone, Bruno. Readings on Charles Dickens. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1998. Print.
Magill, Frank N. Masterplots Revised Second Edition Volume 8. Pasadena: Salem Press, 1996. Print.
Yancey, Diane. Life in Charles Dickens’s England. San Diego: Lucent Books, 1999. Print.
