Dickens The Bigot

 I was going through my past blogs when I came upon one which mentioned that Dickens had defended the British Governor of Jamaica who had brutally put down a slave revolt. On further googling, I discovered that he viewed all black and Asian people as savages. Once, he had expressed a wish to exterminate the Indian race. Dickens is celebrated for exposing the piteous state of the poor in England during the Victorian era. But his compassion for the poor toiling masses was apparently reserved for white people. This tidbit would not have been of much consequence to me as I am not a huge fan of Dickens. I was moved by A Tale of Two Cities, and Hard Times, but they don't count as my favourite books, not by a long shot. However, I am reading David Copperfield at the moment. I last read it, or rather it was red to me about 25 years ago by a family friend who has a knack for narrating stories. Even at that tender age, I felt an intense identification with the protagonist, who also seemed sensitive, pensive, intelligent and principled. I felt that if I was to ever write an autobiography, this is what I would sound like. David was my role model and, Agnes, the wise, kind and dependable girl that David ends up with was my first exemplar of my dream woman. Since then, I have read other books which resonated with me at a deeply personal level--Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham and Lone Fox Dancing by Ruskin Bond. But, David Copperfield was the first one. As I read the book, it is amazing how much I can remember. 

When I started writing this post, I didn't know whether I would continue reading the book, knowing what I now know about Dickens. But, writing this post reminded me why I am reading this book. Not as a tribute to Dickens but to honour the memory of the emotions it stirred in me many years ago. I am a sucker for nostalgia, and I am reading it for nostalgia's sake. So, I will continue reading it.