David Copperfield (novel): Difference between revisions
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{{examples|Examples of:}}
* [[Adaptation Distillation]]: Most TV adaptations. Pretty much a necessity for any novel of this era.▼
* [[Adult Child]]: Mr. Dick is very simple and kind, and relates well with the young David. On a more tragic note, there's also David' fluffy-headed mother Clara, whom Aunt Betsey accurately sums up as 'That poor, simple, loving Baby'.
** Also Dora, David's self-confessed "child-wife". Despite what you might think, it ''doesn't'' refer to her age.
* [[Adults Are Useless]]: David's guardians almost exclusively fall under this, being too childish themselves (Clara Copperfield, Mr. Dick), heartless (the Murdstones, Uriah), drunks (Wickfield), or severely in debt (Micawbers). Even kind and capable Aunt Betsey ends up losing all her money and throwing herself on David's doorstep.
▲* [[Adaptation Distillation]]: Most TV adaptations. Pretty much a necessity for any novel of this era.
* [[All Is Well That Ends Well]]: David overlooks the abuse of his childhood and other experiences to focus on the happy present.
* [[Amoral Attorney]]: Uriah Heep and, by blackmail, Wickfield. Also David's first bosses Spenlow and Jorkins, to an extent.
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* [[Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas]]: Mrs. Heep and her "Ury" are very close; in fact her unconditional worship may have played a part in spoiling his character.
* [[Evil Redheads]]: Uriah Heep. The pale eyelashes and -brows that go with this colouring are played up for maximum creepiness.
* [[First Love]]: This trope is an important element in the story, {{spoiler|used both ways, since David marries his first love, Dora, only to realise that they are not well-suited. He loves her but she can't be a partner to him. Upon her death, he marries Agnes, who considered ''him'' to be her first love, and who had loved him the whole time. A rare case of both the unhappy [[First Love]] type and the triumphant [[First Love]] type, for Agnes, who ultimately ends up marrying David - in one story.}}▼
* [[Fat Bastard]]: Mr. Creakle
▲* [[First Love]]: This trope is an important element in the story, {{spoiler|used both ways, since David marries his first love, Dora, only to realise that they are not well-suited. He loves her but she can't be a partner to him. Upon her death, he marries Agnes, who considered ''him'' to be her first love, and who had loved him the whole time. A rare case of both the unhappy [[First Love]] type and the triumphant [[First Love]] type, for Agnes, who ultimately ends up marrying David - in one story.}}
* [[Foil]]: The upright Thomas Traddles to the cad Steerforth, at strategic points, and David to Steerforth at others. Also Agnes to Dora.
** Uriah to David, Uriah to Traddles, Uriah to Steerforth, Traddles/Sophy to David/Agnes and David/Dora [[The King and I|&c, &c, &c ...]]
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* [[May-December Romance]]: Several instances including Wickfield and his late wife, David Copperfield Sr. and Clara, Dr. Strong and Annie, and Mr. Murdstone and Clara. Again, a very common [[Real Life]] situation in this time period, in which young women were seen as needing the 'protection' of an older, wealthy man.
* [[Meaningful Name]]: It's a safe bet that anyone named 'Murdstone' isn't going be a major fount of human kindness. See also 'Blunderstone', David's hometown, and Heep, used to spectacular effect by Micawber {{spoiler|in exposing him. ("You - you - HEEP of infamy!!")}}
* [[The Nicknamer]]: Miss Betsey, who is a bit of a benign control freak, likes to rename the people around her to her taste. David is "Trotwood" or "Trot", Richard Babley is "Mr. Dick", Clara is "Baby", the Murdstones are "the Murderers" and Dora is "Little Blossom".▼
* [[Nice Guy]]: Tommy Traddles▼
* [[Neologism]]: "Micawbers" are optimistic in spite of hardship, and "Uriah Heeps" are weasels who pretend humility.
▲* [[Nice Guy]]: Tommy Traddles
▲* [[The Nicknamer]]: Miss Betsey, who is a bit of a benign control freak, likes to rename the people around her to her taste. David is "Trotwood" or "Trot", Richard Babley is "Mr. Dick", Clara is "Baby", the Murdstones are "the Murderers" and Dora is "Little Blossom".
* [[Not So Different]]: Uriah Heep points out the similarites between himself and David, freaking David right out.
* [[Orphan's Ordeal]]: David loses his mother and is stuck with the Murdstones.
* [[Oblivious to Love]]: David. And David.
* [[Obnoxious In-Laws]]: Mrs. Markleham, Annie's mother, who is always pestering Dr. Strong to support her poor relations while making him feel guilty about being too old for her.
* [[Parental Substitute]]: David encounters several of these including Mr. Wickfield, Aunt Betsey, and Mr. Micawber. Also Dan Peggotty to Ham and Emily.▼
* [[Parental Marriage Veto]]: Spenlow's putting the squash on his daughter Dora's romance with newly-penniless David. {{spoiler|Right before he actually ''dies''.}}
▲* [[Parental Substitute]]: David encounters several of these including Mr. Wickfield, Aunt Betsey, and Mr. Micawber. Also Dan Peggotty to Ham and Emily.
* [[Platonic Life Partners]]: Aunt Betsey and Mr.Dick.
* [[The Plot Reaper]]: It gets to Dora, and to some extent Clara Copperfield.
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** It's possible to read Agnes Wickfield as a ''very'' determined version of this.
* [[The Storyteller]]: To cope with the [[Boarding School of Horrors]]'s crap, David becomes this.
* [[They Call Me Mister Tibbs]]: Uriah makes a habit of calling David "Master Copperfield" (the form of address for a young boy) even when they are both adults, subtly belittling him.▼
* [[Take That]]: Uriah Heep was often said to be based on the real life [[Hans Christian Andersen]], with whom Dickens was quite annoyed with after he [[The Thing That Would Not Leave|invited himself to stay at the Dickens' house for a month]].
▲* [[They Call Me Mister Tibbs]]: Uriah makes a habit of calling David "Master Copperfield" (the form of address for a young boy) even when they are both adults, subtly belittling him.
* [[Truth in Television]]: Dickens based many instances on elements of his own life and real London people/occurrences at the time.
* [[Victorian Britain]]
* [[Victorian London]]
*
* [[Villain by Default]]: Uriah Heep to a certain extent. Also, again, anybody named Murdstone isn't real likely to end up a noble philanthropist.
* [[Villainous Breakdown]]: Uriah, who has spent the whole book pretending to be "umble" to disguise his greedy, spiteful, obsessive nature, only shows his true colors during his final confrontation with {{spoiler|Mr. Micawber}}.
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