The starving orphan seeking a second helping of gruel. The spinster wasting away in her tattered wedding dress. The stone-hearted miser plagued by the ghost of Christmas past. More than a century after his death, these remain recognizable figures from the work of Charles Dickens. So striking is his body of work that it gave rise to its own adjective. But what are the features of Dickens's writing that make it so special?
Gladno siroče traži drugu porciju kaše. Usidjelica se izgladnjuje u svojoj jadnoj vjenčanici. Gospodin tvrdog srca mučen od strane božićnog duha prošlosti. Više od stoljeća nakon njegove smrti, ove figure Charlesa Dickensa ostaju prepoznatljive. Njegov književni opus toliko je izuzetan da je dobio i svoj vlastiti pridjev. Ali koje su značajke Dickensovih djela koje ga čine tako posebnim?
Dickens’s fiction brims with anticipation through brooding settings, plot twists, and mysteries. These features of his work kept his audience wanting more. When first published, his stories were serialized, meaning they were released a few chapters at a time in affordable literary journals and only later reprinted as books. This prompted fevered speculation over the cliffhangers and revelations he devised.
Dickensove fikcije prepune su predviđanja kroz bolne okolnosti radnje, obrate i misterije. Ove značajke njegovih djela pridobile su publiku koja je željela još. Kada su prvi put objavljene, njegove su novele dolazile u nastavcima, svaki put je objavljeno nekoliko poglavlja u dostupnim književnim izdanjima, a poslije su objavljene kao knjige. Ovo je izazvalo žestoke špekulacije oko neizvjesnosti radnje i otkrića koja je planirao.
Serialization not only made fiction available to a wider audience and kept them reading, but increased the hype around the author himself. Dickens became particularly popular for his wit, which he poured into quirky characters and satiric scenarios. His characters exhibit the sheer absurdity of human behavior, and their names often personify traits or social positions, like the downtrodden Bob Cratchit, the groveling Uriah Heep, and the cheery Septimus Crisparkle.
Nastavci nisu samo učinili fikciju dostupnom široj publici i naveli je da čita, nego se povećalo i zanimanje za autora. Dickens je postao naročito popularan zbog svojeg smisla za humor, koji je unio u domišljate likove i satirične scene. Njegovi likovi prikazuju čisti apsurd ljudskog ponašanja i njihova imena često su oličenje osobine ili socijalne grupe, kao potlačeni Bob Cratchit, ili prijetvorni Uriah Heep i vedri Septimus Crisparkle.
Dickens set these colorful characters against intricate social backdrops, which mimic the society he lived in. For instance, he often considered the changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution. During this period, the lower classes experienced sordid working and living conditions. Dickens himself experienced this hardship as a child when he was forced to work in a boot blacking factory after his father was sent to debtors' prison. This influenced his depiction of the Marshalsea prison in Little Dorrit, where the titular character cares for her convict father.
Dickens je stvorio raznolike likove protiv zamršenih socijalnih pozadina, koji oponašaju društvo u kojem je živio. Primjerice, često je razmišljao o promjenama donesenim tijekom Industrijske revolucije. Tijekom tog razdoblja, niži staleži su iskusili grozne radne i životne okolnosti. Sȃm Dickens je iskusio tegobe još kao dijete kada je bio primoran raditi u tvornici pasti za cipele, nakon što je njegov otac poslan u zatvor zbog dugova. To se odrazilo na njegov pogled na zatvor Marshalsea u Maloj Dorrit, gdje se lik iz naslova brine za svog osuđenog oca.
Prisons, orphanages, or slums may seem grim settings for a story, but they allowed Dickens to shed light on how his society's most invisible people lived. In Nicholas Nickleby, Nicholas takes a job with the schoolmaster Wackford Squeers. He soon realizes that Squeers is running a scam where he takes unwanted children from their parents for a fee and subjects them to violence and deprivation. Oliver Twist also deals with the plight of children in the care of the state, illustrating the brutal conditions of the workhouse in which Oliver pleads with Mr. Bumble for food. When he flees to London, he becomes ensnared in a criminal underworld.
Zatvori, sirotišta, sirotinjske četvrti možda se čine odbojnim mjestima za priču, ali su omogućili Dickensu da objasni život onih koji su društvu gotovo nevidljivi. U Nicholasu Nicklebyju, Nicholas počinje raditi sa svojim učiteljem Wackfordom Squeersom. Ubrzo uviđa da Squeers provodi prevaru gdje uzima neželjenu djecu od roditelja za proviziju i vodi ih prema nasilju i neimaštini. Oliver Twist govori i o stanju djece za koju brine država, prikazujući brutalne uvjete po domovima u kojoj Oliver moli gospodina Bumblea za hranu. Kada bježi u London, upada u klopku kriminalnog podzemlja.
These stories frequently portray Victorian life as grimy, corrupt, and cruel. But Dickens also saw his time as one in which old traditions were fading away. London was becoming the incubator of the modern world through new patterns in industry, trade, and social mobility. Dickens's London is therefore a dualistic space: a harsh world that is simultaneously filled with wonder and possibility.
Ove priče često portretiraju Viktorijansko doba kao prljavo, korumpirano i okrutno. Ali Dickens je također gledao na svoje razdoblje kao ono u kojem stare tradicije nestaju. London je postao inkubator modernog razdoblja pomoću novih oblika industrije, trgovine i socijalne mobilnosti. Dickensov London je, zapravo, dualistički prostor: grub svijet koji je istovremeno pun čuda i mogućnosti.
For instance, the enigma of Great Expectations centers around the potential of Pip, an orphan plucked from obscurity by an anonymous benefactor and propelled into high society. In his search for purpose, Pip becomes the victim of other people’s ambitions for him and must negotiate with a shadowy cast of characters. Like many of Dickens’s protagonists, poor Pip's position is constantly destabilized, just one of the reasons why reading Dickens is the best of times for the reader, while being the worst of times for his characters.
Primjerice, enigma Velikih očekivanja pozornost skreće na Pipa, siroče spašeno od strane anonimnog dobročinitelja i uvedeno u visoko društvo. U svojoj potrazi za smislom, Pip postaje žrtva tuđih ambicija i mora pregovarati s mračnim nizom likova. Kao mnogi Dickensovi protagonisti, Pipov jadan položaj je neprestano nestabilan i jedan je od razloga zašto je čitanje Dickensa nešto najbolje za čitatelja, dok je nešto najstrašnije za njegove likove.
Dickens typically offered clear resolution by the end of his novels, – with the exception of The Mystery of Edwin Drood. The novel details the disappearance of the orphan Edwin under puzzling circumstances. However, Dickens died before the novel was finished and left no notes resolving the mystery. Readers continue to passionately debate over who Dickens intended as the murderer, and whether Edwin Drood was even murdered in the first place.
Dickens tipično daje jasan završetak na kraju svojih novela, - osim izuzetka, Tajne Edwina Drooda. Novela prikazuje nestanak siročeta Edwina pod nejasnim okolnostima. Međutim, Dickens je preminuo prije negoli je novela završena i nema bilješki koje bi odgonetnule misterij. Čitatelji nastavljaju žustro raspravljati kome je Dickens namijenio ulogu ubojice te je li Edwin Drood uopće i bio ubijen.
Throughout many adaptations, literary homages, and the pages of his novels, Dickens’s sparkling language and panoramic worldview continue to resonate. Today, the adjective Dickensian often implies squalid working or living conditions. But to describe a novel as Dickensian is typically high praise, as it suggests a story in which true adventure and discovery occur in the most unexpected places. Although he often explored bleak material, Dickens’s piercing wit never failed to find light in the darkest corners.
Preko mnogih adaptacija, književnih hommagea i stranica njegovih novela, Dickensov sjajni jezik i panoramski svjetonazor nastavljaju postojati. Danas, pridjev "dickensovski" često podrazumijeva sirotinjske radne i životne uvjete. Ali opisati novelu kao dickensovsku znači veliku pohvalu i sugerira priču u kojoj se prava avantura i otkriće pojavljuju tamo gdje najmanje očekujemo. Iako je često istraživao mračne teme, Dickensov humor nikad nije razočarao, nalazeći svjetlost u najmračnijim kutevima.