Parentage and Inheritance in the Novels of Charles Dickens [Paperback]

Dickens's plots and the process of succession, based on the inheritance of looks, name and property.Dickenss plots, often dismissed as conventional or cheaply sensational, are here considered as the embodiment of Dickenss preoccupation with rituals of succession. Sadrin shows how the simple pattern of quest for father develops in Dickenss later novels into an extended exploration of the triple inheritance of looks, name and property.Dickenss plots, often dismissed as conventional or cheaply sensational, are here considered as the embodiment of Dickenss preoccupation with rituals of succession. Sadrin shows how the simple pattern of quest for father develops in Dickenss later novels into an extended exploration of the triple inheritance of looks, name and property.Dickens' plots have often been dismissed as conventional or cheaply sensational: Anny Sadrin argues that they should rather be seen as the embodiment of one of Dickens's central preoccupations: dramatised rituals of succession. Through readings of individual texts Professor Sadrin shows how the simple pattern of quest for father which characterises Oliver Twist develops in Dickens's later novels into an extended exploration of the triple inheritance of looks, name and property. Increasing intricacies of plot represent growing tension between conflicting forces in the parentchild relationship: the wish to belong and the wish to break free, the quest for identity and the fear of shameful identification, the filial piety of Telemachus and the patricidal yearnings of Oedipus. Throughout, Dickens is using plot to account for the complex process of reinstatement and revaluation which enables rightful heirs to take their rightful place in the family and society.Introduction: to have or not to be; 1. Parentage and inheritance: in the name of the father, mothers and daughters, fathers in heaven, sons on earth; 2. Domestic and national: Dickens and son, the holy family; 3. The parish boy's progress: a pilgrimalsß