Dickens uses the idea of being fashionable as a job to critique the system of having Nobility. He does this through the character of the elder Mr. Turveydrop. Mr. Turveydrop is said to be “celebrated, almost everywhere, for his deportment” (221). This deportment is like fashion; it is how one dresses and acts. It is considered to be high class to have deportment. We are first given to assume that Mr. Turveydrop has very fine, elegant taste in all aspects of life. However, Esther describes him as a having “a false complexion, false teeth, false whiskers and a wig” (225). We are given the idea that this great deportment is in reality a falsity. It creates something that is not like the other people in the world. He makes his own little world that has nothing to do with how other people act or present themselves. Dickens connects this idea of being false with nobility by having Mr. Turveydrop’s role model be the Prince Regent. Mr. Turveydrop claims that England “has not many gentlemen left” and that he must follow the example of the Prince Regent to ensure that practices of gentlemen continue. He tries to move past his station and bring the world of nobility into the world of the common people. We are left with the impression that Turveydrop’s desire to embody the role of Deportment has made him indifferent to his family. Esther is told that his wife practically died from being overworked in order to provide for Turveydrop and his son who grew up with that mindset and is working just as hard for very little benefit. This could be a stretch to say that the noble’s Deportment makes them indifferent to the common people. Just like how Turveydrop doesn’t care how much his wife and son work to give him his wealth, nobles also don’t care about the common people who provide them with their riches. Esther becomes afraid that Caddy will become trapped in Turveydrop’s world and will be unable to be content. However, because it is better than her home, Caddy doesn’t seem to realize the negative effects of the elder Mr. Turveydrop. I see this as a connection to how the common people are trapped in the world that the nobility have created, but are unable to see the negative effects because they believe it is the better alternative. While Dickens by no means suggests that Caddy should stay at her home, he also doesn’t champion the idea of her being stuck with the elder Mr. Turveydrop. Any way I look at it, I cannot see a positive aspect of Turveydrop’s deportment. If Dickens had just left it at that, I probably wouldn’t have noticed anything other than a bad parent. However, because Turveydrop references the Regent Prince in immediately bring into mind nobility and the nobles roles. It seems clear that Dickens is making a deliberate move in order to critique the upper levels of society in Victorian England.
I'm intrigued by the idea of falseness that you write about here (and its connection to class/class aspirations). I don't know if the characters really believe in their false identities, or if they use them defensively to avoid anything they see as unpleasant, but perhaps Dickens' critique of society is also a critique of the drive to preserve appearances, no matter what the reality is. It makes me think of both Skimpole and Richard and the way they both attribute their flaws (which they don't seem to see as flaws)to things beyond their control. This frees them from responsibility and allows them to project false motives, reasons, identities, etc. in order to cling to their problematic habits/obsessions (depending who you're talking about).
ReplyDeleteI'm glade you brought up Mr. Turveydrop I don't think we've spent anytime on him in class. I agree that his character is satirical to nobility. I like how you pointed out his "falsity"; tying his falseness back into nobility we could say that Dickens is suggesting that nobles have a certain falseness to them. They stand on their high horses looking down at other people (as Mr. Turveydrop does while practicing his deportment) when they may not be as "noble" as a common person. Look at the Dedlocks extended family. Since they share the name they are noble but Dickens points out how un-noble they are. See what he says about Dedlocks cousins, "... it would have been the happier for them never to have been plated links upon the Dedlock chain of gold, but to have been made of common iron at first, and done base service"(Dickens, 373),because the cousins come from nobility they are useless much like Turveydrop's deportment. Things made from gold are pretty but not very useful and things made from iron may not be beautiful but they have many uses. I think that is why Caddy does well in her new place with the Turveydrops; she is made of iron so she is useful unlike Mr. Turveyrdrop, who seems to be gold plated.
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