Copperfield--Disciplined heart

[Mrs. Sellers]

Note that David repeatedly says he must "discipline" his heart. Should we see David Copperfield as "the Growth of a Disciplined Heart"? Are there any examples in the novel of "disciplined hearts"? Steerforth? Traddles? Micawber? Mr. Peggoty? Peggoty? Aunt Betsy? Murdstone? Heep?

[BetsyRG]

Beginning with those who did have disciplined hearts, I must say that I really liked the grown-up Traddles. He has a very disciplined heart in that, even though he is deeply in love, he is willing to wait for marriage until he is firmly settled in the business world. It is also a very commendable quality in his character that he wants to properly provide for his future wife; many couples rush into marriage without a thought of how they are going to eat or live at all. Peggoty is also very disciplined. Even though her mistress died and she got married, she continued to be constant in her affection and support for David. One might have thought that once she was married and cared for, Peggoty might forget about David, but she did not, which shows a wonderful constancy of her. Another very disciplined character would have to be Aunt Betsy. Her absolutely rigid beliefs are not only unwavering, but they never change. The example of the donkeys is, I believe, very applicable in this area. No matter who's donkey it is, or who is riding the donkey, she inevitably drives them off of the grass because that is what she has decided as the right course of action. And her constancy in taking Mr. Dick and David under her wing is also very commendable.

Steerforth certainly does not have a disciplined heart. I blame most of it on his mother. If she wasn't so fawning and obliging toward him, he might have turned out better (I doubt that he ever got a single punishment as a little boy). The fact that he knows that he is doing bad things but doesn't try to stop shows how undisciplined he is. For example, he might have tried at least to change. But he didn't even put forth the smallest effort in that direction. Murdstone. *chills go up my spine again* He is not disciplined at all. His one desire, it would seem, is to have all the property and money that he can get. To get the aforesaid money, Mr. Murdstone goes about willy-nilly marrying women and sucking people up into his money-juicing machine. When it came to power and wealth, Mr. Murdstone had no discipline at all.

[Kathryn Blackhurst]

One of the major themes of Dickens’ David Copperfield is the necessity of maintaining a “disciplined heart.” David, as youth and a young man, fell in love several times with pretty girls, and ultimately ended up marrying Dora Spenlow out of his childish fancy and passion. But as the novel progresses and David matures into a man, he begins to realize the folly of entertaining “an undisciplined heart.” By the end of the novel, David is finally free to marry the noble and devoted Agnes Wickfield and experience a “love founded on a solid rock.” Mr. Peggoty is as well a superb example of a disciplined heart. His love for Little Em’ly was deep, true, and unshakable, and when Little Em’ly betrayed and abandoned him, his love remained constant, if a little sobered. He untiringly sought after her, and never gave up until he found her at long last and brought her home. He knew the value of harboring a disciplined heart, and he was rewarded for it in the end. Peggoty and Aunt Betsey are also prime examples. Aunt Betsey, after a foolish marriage in her youth, grew wiser and much more careful in the matters of her heart, and Peggoty was always faithful, always constant, and always true to those she loved.

However, David Copperfield also holds excellent examples of undisciplined hearts. Perhaps the best example of this is the despicable Steerforth. Unable to tame his wild heart, he gave into his desires and wrongfully seduced Little Em’ly and caused ruin and sorrow in his wake. The rotten scoundrel! Mr. Murdstone was simply awful. He was disciplined all right, but solely in the matters of making other peoples’ lives utterly miserable. In both of his marriages, he worked on “disciplining” his two wives, which, in other words, meant destroying them and all of their happiness. The hateful man! Uriah Heep had a completely different sort of discipline, unique to himself. He persevered in his snaky ways and pursued his slimy goals; creating a false exterior and feigning fawning falseness, Heep had the discipline to continue in his devious maliciousness, no matter how much trouble it cost him. Disgusting eel!