CHARLES DICKENS—WHAT THE WORLD THINGS OF HIM.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 1965, 22 April 1875, Page 4

CHARLES DICKENS—WHAT THE WORLD THINGS OF HIM.

A lady writer recently gave expression to the opinion that Charles Dickens did not understand, or could not justly appreciate, the nature of women-—that none of his female characters were natural in conspquenee ©f iM« faculty bchig wanting. It was «\ ifcssl?* mated ojrimon, standing alor.d, svui ;ir.support?<i by any roasoniug or ilhutraiion ; a-aA I hav<\ therefore, less doHcacy about aenomieins tlio opinion as a totally envv.i«ms one, Iheiv is every reason to assume that he possessed a clear insight into the nature of man and woman; and that he felt a sympathy with all kinds of men, in all situations of life, will be made evident by a study of his books. It is that which makes them so attractive. He > understood and felt life not as ordinary men do ; ; his penetrating mind saw beyond the surface'of it,'and hi« soul responded to its music. Howbeit, the foregoing is but assertion ; ant). I am not content to rest with that, for I should then lay myself open to a charge of imperfectly understanding the subject of which I write. I will; therefore, endeavor to make the assertions bear weight by argument. ■';■'•'■ "■ '' -: ■'■ '' ':-. '"■ :" ' .'" '. ■' '■■ '.''■':

Dickens was a reader of the human heart. He understood its workings ■well. In proof of this, what can be more convincing than his power over it—a power so great that he could strike its chorda with the consummate skill of a great master. What shall be said of the man who can make a world weep and laugh by turns ; whose touches of feeling are so exquisitely fine that strongest, minds have bowed before their magic .influence, and hare wept. Few can read, unmoved, the death of poor, wan little Paul, or that of devoted Little Nell; and few cam resist the magic comicality of Sam Weller, Dick Swiveller, Mr Montague Tig, Bob iSawyer, CaptainOuttle, the seafaring ;. philosopher, and: others. Dickens has with justice been .called "the master of laughter and tears." Such being the casie, to what peculiarity in the man are we to assign this power over the hearts, of; others—a power which often extends beyond the time when one «f his books havo been taken /up to divert an hour's -jipace, and maintains a lasting influence on . the mind. It must be the appreciation of human nature such as it is. As two chords of a musical instrument, so jio those exquisite touches of nature which we find in Dickens find , answering chords in the hearts of his readers, and a mutual sympathy between the living reader and the characters in the book is established. It may be said that such is the case with all novel writing more or less ; and Ido not deny it; but this can only be in the comparative degree, and Dickens soars high above his contemporaries. . .It is hard to understand what constitutes a knowledge of the characteristics of either men or women, if it be not the power to control their emotional faculties; and that Dickens possessed this power in an eminent; degree, no one can deny. He was a physiologist of a superior rank, and whatever may be said to the contrary, he directed his gifted mind to benefit mankind.

If the lady writer to whom I have alluded had confined, her remarks to saying that the female characters of Dickens were not strictly true to nature, there would have been nothing so glaringly faulty in her conclusion, But he is charged with incapacity to comprehend women as a sex. There can be little doubt that Dickens colored highly—that in some of his noveh there is a grotesque exaggeration; and, its it appears to me, this is his only fault—if fault it can be accounted—as an author who is supposed to have based all of his stories upon experiences of real life. But there is another consideration, which may not strike all. In reference to this exaggeration of character, is it not more than; probable Dickens merely added fine touches to those characters, v?hich, though taken from life, would otherwise lose much of their freshness by "being transferred to paper? If so, Dickens has merely compensated for the abiience of his living, breathing models. Or, on the other hand, does not his pen show us beauties and curiosities of resd life which we have been usable to see for ourselves, but which nevertheless exist, for do we not inevitably remark " How true! " ■£ Is it not like?" The gentleman who put his property into the hands of the auctioneer, became so enamoured, of the description in the advertising columns of a newspaper, that he at once withdrew it from sale, and for ever alter remained contented with his possession; and yet the auctioneer had not exaggerated to any material extent the ..attractions of the seat. It was simply this—the auctioneer had a more appreciative and independent mind than his employer. Of the many good characters to be found in the works of our author, that of Mrs Gamp is esteemed one of the best. Sairey is not a caricature, very far from it 5 but she is a most extraordinary old lady nevertheless ; and Dickens is perhaps the only man who could have preserved such a specimen of her kind in indelible black and white. She is the type of a class of old ladies more frequently met with in the old country than out of it, who seem to have been borne full grown members of their profession — namely, midwifery and sick-nursing, the latter being a branch of the business which is supposed to extend to " laying out, " if occasion requires. It is - quite impossible to conceive the time when these old ladies were blooming girls. The idea is altogether inadmissable. Their experience is so profound and their general appearance so dreadfully rusty.. They are remarkable for a volubility *■'. utterance.andaconfusedandwindingr' i of explaining their ideas, which „*„„„„ has a very weighty effect, for ' lhe »3 reason that it is so difficpl • t ." "° ™£* c address is not in t^ leasfc . uareaL j myself, .am^ja^aiteclwithran'old lady for whom (mt^ g respect ) tlie re doubtable Saraa nerie would hsive been no match. She is 'In the habit, of setting herself going occasionally, on the principle of cloikwork, and will .wander, through a terrifying labyrnth of ideas without any apparent connexion, but all tending to the one end; —if you have.the perseverance to follow her up, which ia very imprebable. An admirable feature in the character of the old lady I speak of,, however, is, that she is in general oblivious of passing events, and does not require to receive such attention.

As illustrating Mrs Gamp's peculiar style, orally, the follovring neatly turned compliment which ghe'pays to a lady patroness, to wit, Mrs iilould, the under*

taker's spouse, is about as good as any which could be found :— J s * " There are some happy creatures,'* Mrs Gamp observed, " as time runs bac-k----'ards with, and you are one, Mrs Mould ; not that ho need do nothing except use yon in his most owldacious way for years to come ; for yeung you are and will be ! " " I says'to Mrs Harris," Mrs Gamp continued, " only t'other day; the last Monday evening fortnight that, ever dawned upon this Piljians' Projiss of a mortal wale ; I says to Mrs Harris when she says to me, 'years and our trials, Mrs Gamp, sets marks upon us oil.'—' Say not the words, Mrs Harris, if you and me is to be continued friends, for such is not the case. Mrs Mould,' I says, making so free, I will confess, as use the name, [She curtsied here] is, one of them that goes agen the obserwation straight; and never, Mrs Harris, whilst I've a drop of breath to draw, will I set by, and not stand up, don't think it.' —'I ast your pardon, ma'am,' says Mrs Harris, 'and I humbly grant your grace ; for if ever a woman lived as would see her feller creeturs into, fit 3to serve her friends, well do I know that woman's name is Sairey Gamp.'" Poob Joe.