Dombey and Son, by Charles Dickens | #FeministVictorians

In which I talk about Dombey and Son and proto-feminism . . .
Channel Update: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iIWZoWeKi5lneNk
Dombey and Son, Charles Dickens: www.goodreads.com/book/show/50827.Dombey_and_Son
Queer Dickens, Holly Furneaux: www.goodreads.com/book/show/7683921-queer-dickens
---General links---
My website: www.katielumsden.co.uk
Facebook: justbooksandthings
Twitter: katiejlumsden
Instragram: katiejlumsden
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/user/show/8190907-katie-lumsden
NaNoWriMo: nanowrimo.org/participants/katie-lumsden
Foyles Affiliate link: www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=1414&awinaffid=256629&clickref=&p=www.foyles.co.uk
Email: [e-mail]

[@Sonia-ih1yb]

Amazing video!! Congratulations. I’ve just finished reading “Dombey and son” a few days ago, and I absolutely loved it. 😍😍😍

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks! So glad you liked it!

[@lw3646]

"-I positively adore Miss Dombey;-I-I am perfectly sore with loving her..."

[@LuminousLibro]

Love all your deep thoughts about this book. One of my fave Dickens! Such a beautiful story and some of his best writing!

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks :) Such an amazing novel!

[@anjakuemski]

Great video! I am very much looking forward to more of this. And I think I can safely say that Dombey and Son was my favourite read in 2019.

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks :)

[@RaineyDayReads]

Great video, Katie! I’m leaving early because I plan to read this book in the next couple of months!

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks :) I hope you like it!

[@marjorietalcott]

Your passion is absolutely infectious and I thank you for helping me catch the bug. I purchased this book in hopes of connecting with Dickens on a deeper emotional level and cannot wait for it to arrive. You have truly inspired me to love my classics again and find some lovely “new” ones to enjoy. I had no idea this community existed! My soul feels revived. Thank you so very much for sharing!

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks very much. Dickens is such an amazing writer :)

[@Alistair-23]

I was so pleased to see this video and hear your views, which mirror my admiration for Dombey and Son. Many commentators express the view that all Dickens’ women are shallow and weak, and are generally negative about Dombey and Son. While many of his female characters fit that description, many do not. I read the book knowing nothing at all about the plot and was therefore astonished when I discovered that neither character in the title takes centre stage. That alone tells you so much about Dickens’ viewpoint. As an aside, I recently discovered that my grandfather, whom I never knew, bought Dombey and Son just after my mother was born, annotating the flyleaf with his name and the date. Perhaps he thought it a fitting book to mark the birth of a daughter - even in 1917!

[@danieljackson3367]

I will have to add Dombey and Son to my list of books to read! I really enjoyed the (first 11 1/2 minutes of the) video and will eagerly await more videos in the series. I find the portrayal of gender in 19th century English novels to be a fascinating subject - there's hardly a famous novel from the era where you couldn't say something interesting about how it deals with gender in one way or another. And the flourishing of feminist literary criticism has produced a lot of very interesting scholarship on the subject.

[@katiejlumsden]

Agreed! Such an interest topic and present in so many 19th century novels.

[@bobbiesuedavis5406]

Edith sounds like such a fascinating character!! I have to read Dombey and Son next year for sure.😎

[@katiejlumsden]

She really is!

[@HannahsBooks]

Fantastic! I am so very far behind on Booktube-but I am glad I remembered to search this video out. I think Dombey and Son really needs to be on my 2020 TBR for sure. Thanks.

[@katiejlumsden]

I hope you like it - it's so amazing!

[@colinjbanks]

Just started to read D&S. On chapter 4. Loving it so far. The Good Mrs Brown sounds horrid! It has so many areas for discussion. I could talk all day about it! Thank you ❤️

[@katfujioka212]

I love this book so much! It's actually a little frustrating that it's still so underrated compared to other Dickens novels :(

[@katiejlumsden]

It is such a wonderful novel!

[@kendallspooner703]

This is my favorite Dickens. It just destroyed me when I read it at 14. I was on a Dickens kick and I loved hearing you speak about it. I’m looking to start a Trollope project next year and would love to see a contrast on how these authors handle gender issues

[@katiejlumsden]

It is such an amazing novel. I hope you have a good Trollope project :)

[@nodrarb140]

just borrowed this book from the library. Looking forward to reading it because of your review.

[@katiejlumsden]

I really hope you like it!

[@nodrarb140]

@@katiejlumsden The last two para made me cry. I read those part five times and cried five times.

[@mistywhitlock7011]

Just finished this book today and the entire time I was reading it I was telling anyone who would listen that it has strong Feminist themes, so I was so happy to hear them explored and detailed here. As usual, there is always more to Dickens' writing than initially meets the eye. Great video.

[@lw3646]

I wouldn't go as far as to say the book is feminist. If it is telling its reader that fathers shouldn't be horrible and cruel to their daughters then I don't think that was especially radical for the time. Mr Dombey comes to love and appreciate his daughter at the end, but there's no suggestion she could or should have been able to take over and run his buisness once his son had died. She's still a woman and destined for a domestic life. In David Copperfield Agnes and her father have an extremely loving and close relationship, but again there's no suggestion by Dickens she's to be anything other than a loving wife and mother.

[@sLOTFY100]

Since discovering your channel I have ordered so many DIckens books !

[@katiejlumsden]

Ah, I hope you love them! :)

[@caterinabuttitta9696]

Hi. interesting videos. I read about Charles Dickens: THE TWO CITIES.

[@richardreiman8202]

I found Dombey and sons!

[@kevinlong3603]

Hello Books & Things - love your vids. Have you heard the notion that Florence and Mr Dombey can be seen as the female and male side of Dickens psyche? Taken to it's logical conclusion, this would have the very weird effect of Florence (female side of Dickens) knocking on Dombey's study door (male side of Dickens) trying to be let in and loved - Freud! Also, that every character in Dombey and Son is named or described as an animal - giving insight into their motives and personalities. I think Dombey and Son is a much deeper book than is usually given credit for and you rightly pick up on the proto feminist aspects.

[@lw3646]

I wouldn't go as far as to say the book is feminist. If it is telling its reader that fathers shouldn't be horrible and cruel to their daughters then I don't think that was especially radical for the time. Mr Dombey comes to love and appreciate his daughter at the end, but there's no suggestion she could or should have been able to take over and run his buisness once his son had died. She's still a woman and destined for a domestic life. In David Copperfield Agnes and her father have an extremely loving and close relationship, but again there's no suggestion by any character or the author that she's to be anything other than a loving wife and mother.

[@colinmarkham8465]

I promised a further review once I'd finished Dombey and Son. This is one of the finest novels I have ever read, despite some little irritations that left me puzzled. I feel about Dombey and Son the way I feel about the Jerusalem Bible. I'm willing to forgive its shortcomings because the overall effect is so positive. There were times when I had to laugh out loud at some of the comedic interludes in between the drama. This is my typical reaction to Dickens. The lapses into sentimentality are characteristically Dickensian and must be borne with patience. There are some wonderful characters, notably Susan Nipper, Mr. Toots, Biler Toodle, Mrs. Skewton, Major Bagstock, Captain Cuttle and Mrs. Pipchin. The episode when little Paul Dombey attends Dr. Blimber's school is charming. The two key characters, Mr. Dombey and his daughter Florence, are a bit of a problem. The one is emotionally retarded, the other over-emotional. Edith Grainger/Dombey is an interesting character and the conversation she has with her mother on the eve of her marriage is very revealing. She appears to be unrelentingly bitter and morose, but she is redeemed by her acceptance of Florence and her desire to be a compassionate step-mother. There is only one real villain, James Carker, and the narrative of his flight from the wrath of Mr. Dombey is a masterpiece of prose. The narratives concerning Mrs. Browne and her daughter Alice are very well drawn. The way the novel deals with the plight of women in a patriarchal society are very interesting - one could say innovative from the pen of a male novelist. Some of the characters become a bit of a drag as the story unfolds but you have to keep up with them as they are so necessary to the flow of the narrative - for instance, Captain Cuttle's nautical bonhomie and Major Bagstock's perpetual self-advertisement. I find it odd that Florence embarks on a long sea voyage without inquiring about her Father's welfare or the whereabouts of Edith Dombey, and that Walter Gay willingly goes on another sea journey so soon after being shipwrecked and almost drowning. The end of the novel seems quite hurried. Susan Nipper appears to be pushed into the background, she who is usually so excitably verbose. But overall a thoroughly enjoyable novel and one I may well wish to read again, at least in parts. 8 out of 10.

[@katiejlumsden]

Glad you liked it! Dombey and Son is such a good book. Edith is my favourite character, though I rather love Toots and Susan too!

[@TheFirstManticore]

In the movie, they pronounce "Mr. Carker" as "Mr. Caca."