1. “Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.”
2. “I hope that real love and truth are stronger in the end than any evil or misfortune in the world.”
3. “Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.”
4. “There can be no disparity in marriage like unsuitability of mind and purpose.”
5. “Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.”
6. “The most important thing in life is to stop saying ‘I wish’ and start saying ‘I will.’ Consider nothing impossible, then treat possibilities as probabilities.”
7. “I have been very happy with my new life… but sometimes, I think of when I was a child and the world was so much simpler.”
8. “Barkis is willin’.”
9. “No one can believe how powerful prayer is and what it can effect, except those who have learned it by experience.”
10. “There is a wisdom of the head, and… there is a wisdom of the heart.”
11. “A day wasted on others is not wasted on one’s self.”
12. “The men who learn endurance, are they who call the whole world, brother.”
13. “My meaning simply is, that whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with all my heart to do well; that whatever I have devoted myself to, I have devoted myself to completely.”
14. “Happiness is a gift and the trick is not to expect it, but to delight in it when it comes.”
15. “Home is a name, a word, it is a strong one; stronger than magician ever spoke, or spirit ever answered to, in the strongest conjuration.”
16. “It is not impossible that, in a more settled state of society, the dread of insanity might be as strong as it is now of the plague.”
17. “The broken heart. You think you will die, but you keep living, day after day after terrible day.”
18. “It’s never too late, in fiction or in life, to revise.”
19. “There is a love that equals in its power the love of man for woman and reaches inwards as deeply. It is the love of a man for his own country.”
20. “The mere possibility of doing something can make everything else seem boring and unimportant.”
21. “I have made a friend, and I shall be sorry to part from you.”
22. “Death may beget life, but oppression can beget nothing other than itself.”
23. “Reflect upon your present blessings—of which every man has many—not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”
24. “I never can quite define how I came to be a friend of David’s. It must have been his whim.”
25. “There is a heroism in crime as well as in virtue.”
26. “I have sometimes sat alone here of an evening, listening, until I have made the echoes out to be the echoes of all the footsteps that are coming by and by into our lives.”
27. “I hope that real love and truth are stronger in the end than any evil or misfortune in the world.”
28. “The most splendid miracle of all is the human heart.”
29. “There is a wisdom of the head, and… there is a wisdom of the heart.”
30. “Love, though said to be afflicted with blindness, is a vigilant watchman.”
31. “The most important thing in life is to stop saying ‘I wish’ and start saying ‘I will.’ Consider nothing impossible, then treat possibilities as probabilities.”
32. “Barkis is willin’.”
Summary of “David Copperfield”:
“David Copperfield” is a semi-autobiographical novel by Charles Dickens, published in 1850. It follows the life and adventures of the titular character, David Copperfield, from his early childhood to adulthood. The novel explores themes of identity, social class, friendship, love, and personal growth.
David’s life journey takes him through various stages, including his challenging upbringing after the death of his father, his mistreatment by his stepfather Mr. Murdstone and his cruel sister Jane, his time at Salem House boarding school, his friendship with the eccentric Mr. Micawber, his romantic relationships with Agnes Wickfield and Dora Spenlow, and his struggles as a writer.
The story also introduces a rich cast of characters, each with their own quirks and complexities, such as the kindly but eccentric Mr. Dick, the ever-debt-ridden Mr. Micawber, the unscrupulous Uriah Heep, and the enigmatic Mr. Peggotty.
Through David’s experiences, the novel explores the hardships and injustices faced by individuals of various social classes, while also highlighting the resilience of the human spirit. As David navigates the challenges of his life, he learns important lessons about love, friendship, forgiveness, and personal agency.
Overall, “David Copperfield” is a bildungsroman that portrays the maturation of its protagonist amidst a rich tapestry of characters and events, capturing the essence of Victorian society and offering insights into the human condition.
