The aim of this thesis was to examine the approaches to childhood in three different novels by Charles Dickens. We have come to the conclusion that there are some similarities and some differences among these novels and therefore the approaches to childhood in the novels will be summarized, compared and contrasted in the pages that follow.
All three novels contain a similar stratification of the adult characters which are somehow connected with the children characters. The thesis has argued that the adults usually treat children as inferior creatures and cause them many troubles. And on the other hand, all three protagonists have also the adults who take care of them and who either are (Joe, Miss Betsey and David´s mother) or become (Mr Brownlow) their family members and who represent the relics of their domestic stability.
The following similarity is also connected with the theme of family. The author focuses on the portrayals of the families and he depicts the relations between the members of the families mainly from the “inner” point of view. The real families are usually broken in the novels examined and the groups of people who are not related by blood ties substitute the families for children. Blood relationships influence children as well as these “substitutes” of the real families.
Although the protagonists either are or become orphans at the beginnings of the plots, the theme of motherhood and the relations between mothers and children are depicted differently. In Oliver Twist and Great Expectations the main characters are orphans from the beginning of the stories and the readers could not learn much about their mothers. Children commemorate them with devotion and their life stories are veiled by mystery. However, the evidence from David Copperfield revealed that the theme of motherhood is depicted completely differently in this novel. David has a living mother as well as some other important children characters in the novel have. In addition, the influence of mothers on their children is shown there. These findings suggest that the author wanted to show how mothers (or parents generally) can influence and form their children and how their influence is important for forming their character qualities which can be either improved or totally spoilt. The mothers can be also interpreted as basic elements for the family.
The novels also differ in the way of describing the living conditions of children. Generally speaking it can be said that the author reflects on the situation in society and he describes it in his novels. However, the description of the living conditions of children is different in each of the novels. In Oliver Twist mainly the poverty and the awfulness of child labour are depicted. As an illustration that children had been apprenticed from their early age Dickens employed the episode with chimney sweep or the description of the work in workhouses. The situation in schools and different approaches to the pupils in different schools are described in David Copperfield for a change. The difference between living in the rural areas and in the cities is depicted in allthree novels. The description of the society corresponds with the facts mentioned in the first chapter. In other words, the reality of the contemporary society is depicted in all three novels and this might lead the reader to the conclusion that it helped to increase Dickens´s popularity among his contemporaries.
The differences among the novels can be found in the manner in which they are narrated. The narrator in David Copperfield changes his perspectives and his narrative is sometimes closer to the child´s point of view and sometimes to the adult´s perspective. In this novel the narrator seems to be more persuasive than in other novels. Oliver Twist is the only novel narrated by the omniscient narrator and not in the first person. However, in all novels child´s feelings, psychic and The development of the main characters is also worked up in different manners. In Oliver Twist the author is not focused on Oliver´s inner development and we might have the impression that he makes Oliver´s story improbable intentionally and he aims to criticise the society. Oliver remains innocent in his manners despite bad society in which he is forced to live for some time. On the contrary, Pip and David are strongly influenced by their environment and they go through the development of their character qualities. The main heroes in Great Expectations and David Copperfield therefore go on the way full of various obstacles to find their real identity and their place in life and society.
In summary, the theme of childhood appears in all the novels mentioned in many aspects. Dickens shows his man child characters in relation to their family background, in relation to their social position and he depicts their development. Although the novels differ in some ways as mentioned, from all of them it is evident that the emphasis is put on family background and its importance for children. Christmas stories by Charles Dickens, who is rightfully considered the founder of this genre in Western European literature, gave impetus to the emergence and development of the Christmastide story in Russia. Since the mid-1840s, in the magazines Sovremennik, Niva, Rodina, Ogonyok, etc. (following the example of Dickens's Home Reading and Round Year), a tradition has been formed to publish When David first realizes that his mother, for a humorous "misunderstanding" the culture of the Christmas holidays was developing with its obligatory elements: meeting the whole family, gifts, holly branches, Christmas trees, turkey and puddings. In Dickens's novels, the description of the details of children's life, games, “the material world” acquires great significance. In many works, the reliability of the narrative is achieved with the help of a "childish" point of view of the world. It is created by the clash of children's and adult's views on the same.
