David Copperfield: A Life's Journey from Boyhood to Manhood

David Copperfield: A Life's Journey

This is the story of David Copperfield, from his birth to adulthood. It begins on the day he was born, assisted by Dr. Chillip, when his father had already passed away. His mother was Clara, and her assistant was Pegotty.

Betsy Trotwood, Copperfield's father's sister, visits Clara on the day David is born, hoping to help raise the baby if it were a girl. However, she leaves disappointed that it is a boy.

When Copperfield is about seven years old, Clara remarries Lord Murdstone, a severe man whose main goal seems to be marrying women with money and imposing his strict regime. This has sad consequences for both Copperfield and his mother. While his mother is on her wedding and honeymoon, David is sent to Yarmouth to live with Pegotty's family, humble fishermen living on a boat. There, David meets his first love, Emily.

Upon his return home, it becomes clear that a child does not fit into Murdstone's system. One day, David bites Murdstone, and as punishment, he is sent to a school far from his mother. The school is run by Mr. Creakle, a despot whose educational system relies on beatings. It is also at this school that he meets James Steerforth.

Clara is unhappy, not only because of Murdstone's regime, but also because of his sister, who moves in to help run the house but effectively takes over, reducing Clara to a disenfranchised tenant. This situation deteriorates Clara's health. During David's winter break, she is pregnant and dies a few months later, followed by her newborn son. David is then left to fend for himself. He does not return to school and, to get rid of him, is sent to work in a business where Murdstone is a partner. He stays near his work with the Micawber family, sharing their economic hardships for some time.

After Clara's death, Pegotty agrees to marry the driver Barkis, as this marriage allows her to stay close to David. On one occasion, David decides that this life is not what his mother would have wanted for him, nor what he wants for himself. He escapes in search of his aunt, Betsy Trotwood, in a difficult journey that eventually leads him to her. Initially, Ms. Trotwood does not know what to do, so she calls the Murdstone brothers, whom she confronts in her decision to take over the child's future. A new life begins for Copperfield, who is sent to a new school and placed in the care of Mr. Wickfield, who has a daughter named Agnes, and under the direction of Dr. Strong, the school's director and the husband of a very young lady.

The school performs to Betsy's satisfaction, who places Trotwood, as David is now renamed, as a trainee solicitor. In this position, he meets his employer's daughter, Dora Spenlow, with whom he falls in love.