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Dedicated to recording, portraying, and indicting the social inequities that he witnessed in nineteenth century Victorian England, one of Charles Dickens' many concerns was the roles assigned to women both in the public and private spheres. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the narratives of Amy Dorrit and Miss Wade in Dickens' Little Dorrit and Esther Summerson in Bleak House to explore the ways in which each woman conforms to, subverts, or rejects her socially prescribed roles as she seeks to create her own identity while simultaneously complying to the duties and roles assigned her. This study focuses on the oral and written narratives of these women exploring their words, stories, and symbolic imagery. It also contextualizes their narratives while answering the critical question: How does individual identity emerge amid rigorously circumscribed social roles? / Graduation date: 1995

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 238-250).

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Many of Charles Dickens‟s peripheral characters have not received critical attention through a de-centered reading in a single, unified body of work. For reasons which are related largely to his biography, Dickens had a deep and abiding interest in the members of the lower classes who feature prominently in his novels. This thesis, on the eve of the bi-centennial anniversary of the author‟s birth, examines his representations of a selection of these characters that appear to have been, to a large extent, forgotten and lie in obscurity, submerged in the vast storehouse of his creations. In his novels, Dickens vociferously champions the rights of the marginalised whilst he, simultaneously, evinces a discerning consciousness of their susceptibility to forms of conduct which he disapproved of. His empathy is, therefore, of a kind which is tinged with distrust, fear and, at times, repulsion. Central to this thesis is Dickens‟s ambivalence towards the proverbial small man/woman which is examined in terms of its genesis, development and resolution. In its engagement with these characters, this study draws, primarily, on the New Historicist (particularly the work of Stephen Greenblatt) and Cultural Materialist approaches to the reading of literary texts and is foregrounded in Raymond Williams‟s formulation of “structures of feeling”. Aligned to this, is Michel Foucault‟s conceptualizations of power. My Introduction defines the parameters within which this thesis is situated. The need for a study of this nature is outlined and an overview of the theoretical positions, intimated above, is presented. The central ideas which link Foucault, Greenblatt and Williams are clearly spelt out and their relevance to Dickens‟s peripheral characters is anticipated. Of the 14 novels discussed, David Copperfield, because of its strong autobiographical connections, is read as most crucial in the shaping of Dickens‟s attitudes towards the lower classes. Chapter 1 is therefore devoted, exclusively, to this novel which serves, initially, as a gateway to this thesis and, thereafter, as its nodal point. Chapter 2 (“Voices in the Crowd”) picks up the links from David Copperfield as it explores the realm of public space. It identifies and draws to the centre those characters that constitute the crowd, as it is seen in everyday contexts. Chapter 3 (“The World of the Public-House”) takes the reader into the Victorian tavern – that microcosm of society where “social energies” are seen to “circulate” in complex configurations. Chapter 4 (“Servants and Dickens‟s Double Vision”) discusses the representatives of the lower classes as they are seen in their roles as servants – a crucial area of Victorian “cultural poetics” and one that was very near to Dickens‟s heart. In my Conclusion I revisit the question of Dickens‟s ambivalence and situate this in the context of the posthumously published, and relatively unknown, The Life of Our Lord. It would seem that many commentators tend to allude to Dickens‟s ambivalence without actually offering a detailed examination of the peripheral characters, as they are seen in different contexts. In bringing together some of the smallest of the small in a unified body of work (for what may possibly be the first time), this thesis offers fresh insights into the ways in which the writer knew and understood the lower classes. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

Charles Dickens owes his success as a novelist to his imagination. Therefore, his attitude toward imagination is of interest. One way of determining his attitude toward imagination is to examine the characters that have imaginations.There are several characters in Dickens' works that misuse their imaginations. Initially Dickens regards these characters leniently. Eventually, however, he regards them harshly. He dwells on the damage caused by the misdirection of their imaginations.Many of the other characters who are imaginative are children or childlike adults. Dickens treats them sentimentally. This tendency to sentimentalize such characters continues throughout Dickens' career. However, with certain characters he does seem to try to correct this tendency.Finally in his last complete novel, Our Mutual_ Friend, he treats Jenny Wren, a character who uses her imagination a positive way, realistically. She represents the final development of his attitudes on imagination.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tufts University, 2004. / Adviser: Joseph Litvak. Submitted to the Dept. of English. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 295-301). Access restricted to members of the Tufts University community. Also available via the World Wide Web;