Collect like a Victorian!

A rabbit school diorama by taxidermist Walter Potter

In chapter 22, David Copperfield meets the fascinating Miss Mowcher, a woman whose mannerisms
captivate our protagonist almost as much as her short stature. During their conversation, Miss Mowcher notes that she keeps the Russian Prince's fingernails and toenails in order for him, and then produces scraps of said nails to show off to David and Steerforth. Miss Mowcher comments, "The Prince's nails do more for me in private families of the genteel sort, than all my talents put together. I always carry 'em about. They're the best introduction. If Miss Mowcher cuts the Prince's nails, she must be all right. I give 'em away to the young ladies. They put 'em in albums, I believe. Ha! ha! ha!"

I must admit that the idea of collecting fingernails gives me pause, though the Victorian upper class had a habit of collecting things that seem may seem odd to us today. This article from The Atlantic discusses the popular hobby of collecting birds' eggs, and these two articles (from Atlas Obscura and Mental Floss) discuss pteridomania — or fern collecting — and seaweed scrapbooking, respectively. There are also several accounts of Victorians collecting hair (sometimes for use in jewelry), animal skeletons, dead insects, and anthropomorphic taxidermy in their curiosity cabinets, which often took up entire rooms.

These seem odd to me, but then, how many of the things we do today would seem odd to Victorians?

David Copperfield Discussion 1

If you missed the discussion on Wednesday night, never fear! We recorded the whole discussion, led by Dr. Lauren McCoy. We'll also host another discussion session on Friday, June 30 at noon, if you'd like to join the conversation. View the video from Wednesday's discussion below.

What's in a name?

As I'm reading David Copperfield, I'm struck by the way Dickens plays with names. The reader
doesn't learn the first name of David's mother or her maid, Peggotty, until 80 pages in, and then it is only eagle-eyed readers that will catch that their shared first name is Clara. By the 15th chapter, our protagonist is on his third moniker — he starts as David Copperfield, followed by the brief switch to his stepfather's surname, Murdstone, and once he's installed at his aunt Betsey Trotwood's home, Trotwood Copperfield, or Trot for short.

But even more striking than the switches and lack of first names are the names themselves. Dickens obviously enjoyed creating descriptive names for his characters, in Copperfield and his other works, many of which instantly bring to mind specific imagery. Think about the sensation that certain names evoke: Uriah Heep. Tiny Tim. Ebenezer Scrooge. Estella. Dickens masterfully crafted names that, in most cases, tell the reader quite a bit about the character to which they belong.

According to a wonderful 1917 paper on character names in Dickens' works, “the villainous Mr. Murdstone would be [expected] to show indifference toward suffering from the mingling of murder and stone in his cognomen,” and I can't say I disagree. Click here to read the whole paper by high school English teacher Elizabeth Hope Gordon. It's lengthy, but a fun read, full of the many aptly (or simply oddly) named characters from Dickens' novels, as well as those of his peers.

What do you think about the names Dickens has chosen? Who are your favorites?