• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.39-53
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• 1994

This paper analyzes clothing symbolism of mood and emotion described in master pieces of Charles dickens(2812∼1870), who is a well-known writer of England, and thus tries to clarify symbolic characteristics of clothing woven into all human lives.. The result show that clothing symbolizes in various ways such mood and emotion as bless, wrath, friendliness, respect, surprise, excitement, embarrassment, uneasiness, sadness, melancholy, anxiety, hostility, unpleasantness, deliveration, shyness, blessing, gratitude, despair, shame, sympathy, boasting, etc.

• Lingua Humanitatis
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.203-221
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• 2002

The ideal of middle class British masculinity and the representative of the new Victorian respectability, the ″gentleman″ was difficult to define amidst the class mobility and social change of the nineteenth century. Was the gentleman to be identified by class and by money\ulcorner By behavior and clothing\ulcorner By religion and morality\ulcorner This essay focuses on the problem of the ″gentleman″ as it was debated in the Victorian era and as it was reflected in the biography and work of the mid-nineteenth century's most important English writer, Charles Dickens. I examine the critical debate surrounding the Victorian idea of the ″gentleman″ by comparing the arguments of Shirley Robin Letwin's The Gentleman in Trollope(1982) and Robin Gilmour's The Idea of the Gentleman in the Victorian Novel(1981). Letwin views the ″gentleman″ as largely transcending class structure, while Gilmour's more historically-conscious view locates the gentleman as emerging out of, and even enabling, the class negotiations of this period. Against the backdrop of such debates, I discuss Charles Dickens's struggles with the idea of the gentleman in theory and in practice. In his novels, especially his semi-autobiographical bildungsromane about the growth and development of boys into adulthood, Dickens prominently engages with the identity and definition of the gentleman. As I demonstrate in this essay, this interest originated from Dickens's own childhood trauma and his subsequent drive to attain gentility, a necessity complicated by the vicissitudes of his personal and professional life.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.189-203
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• 2003

This paper attempts to prove Dickens's hopeful view of the future in his last completed novel Our Mutual Friend. This novel has been usually regarded as one of the "dark" novels, "dark" in the sense of viewing social reality and the future negatively. However, although it has the dark descriptive color of society typical in Dickens's later novels, it still contains some elements that point to a better future. To prove this positive view of future, this paper will disentangle the intricate narrative structure of Our Mutual Friend and find out the true meaning of the dust--money. In addition, it will investigate how people react to dust(-like money). From a close study of several characters' lives, it will testify that the dark world of Our Mutual Friend, in the end, could be a world of regeneration, a world that will lead to a better future.

• Journal of English Language & Literature
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• v.64 no.4
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• pp.601-616
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• 2018

This article explores the ways Charles Dickens's roles as novelist and journal editor overlapped and influenced one another in the serial publication of A Tale of Two Cities (1859) and complicates recent historicist readings, which situate the novel in relation to the Indian Mutiny (1857-59), by calling attention to a double imperial logic used to construct British subjectivity not only against forms of Eastern Otherness but, moreover, against forms of Southern Otherness associated with the European South, especially Italy. Analyzing Dickens's historical representation of the French Revolution in relation to its contemporary international political context, this essay examines how the novel's serial publication draws upon political discourse from contemporary articles on the Second Italian War of Independence (1859-61) appearing concurrently in Dickens's journal, All the Year Round. Orientalism circulates simultaneously in the novel as a distant and exotic as well as a provincial and parochial representation of racial and cultural Otherness.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.141-153
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• 2023

In the global context, particularly in Christian nations, Christmas is considered a culturally and ethically significant time. In this study, we examine Charles Dickens' novel, "A Christmas Carol," and the celebration of Christmas in Korea. We explore the values of Christmas in Korea derived from the significance and importance of this novel. These values include repentance, empathy, compassion, and the importance of humanity. Korean Christmas is regarded as a time for practicing these values, bearing a message akin to the transformation of characters like Scrooge. Furthermore, "A Christmas Carol" conveys a message of improvement and change over time, emphasizing change and growth in Korean Christmas. People reflect on their past, correct their mistakes, nurture hope for the future, and experience personal growth and transformation. Additionally, the novel raises awareness of social injustice and inequality, offering alternatives. In Korean society, Christmas encourages the willingness to care for and help others, facilitating discussions and understanding of societal issues. For these reasons, "A Christmas Carol" is considered a culturally and ethically significant time in Korean Christmas, and the two are intertwined in various aspects. This study explores the interaction between cultural change and ethical teachings by 'A Christmas Carol' and investigates the impact of this work on Christmas culture and social change. It serves as the basis for emphasizing moral principles and humanity during the Christmas season, and this research provides suggestions for future research directions, aiming to deepen the understanding of Dickens' work and the importance of "A Christmas Carol." Through these efforts, it is expected that valuable insights into the connection between Christmas culture and moral messages will be gained. In this study, we will delve into the enduring appeal and cultural significance of "A Christmas Carol," discussing how this novel has evolved into a beloved holiday tradition and a true symbol of Christmas. We will also examine the adaptation of this novel into various media and its influence on holiday season celebrations. Insights into the impact of this novel on Korean society and its continued significance in modern times will be provided, suggesting a direction for a healthier and more desirable path for Korean society.

• Journal of English Language & Literature
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.457-472
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• 2011

The word "subject," like its apparent antonym "agent" is ambiguous. By "speaking subject" I intend both meanings: the spoken about, and the speaker, and the spoken about, in more or less that order. The paper contrasts the way women are spoken about in the 19^th Century debate over the role of women between John Ruskin and John Mill, and then in literary criticism of feminists nearer our own time, Kate Millet and Elizabeth Langland. I then move on to women as speaking subjects, first in the form of an imaginary speaking subject created by a male speaker, Charles Dickens channeling the confessional journal of Esther Summerson in Bleak House. The comparison with Elizabeth Gaskell, a genuine speaking subject, is highly instructive. I draw attention to symmetrical, in the sense of opposite, narrative strategies. Where Dickens begins in journalese, with a gritty, realistic opening that only gradually reveals a Cinderella in the ashes, Gaskell begins with a nursery rhyme, in an actual nursery, but goes on to reveal some rather sordid economic facts. Where Dickens creates a ventriloquist's doll, Gaskell succeeds in creating recognizable, if not always admirable, female voices. I conclude that just as the novel may be read as a real utterance in a real conversation, it is also possible to read the true emergence of women novelists in the 19^th Century as nothing more and nothing less than the creation of the first truly womanly words about women: women as speaking subjects in both senses of the word.

• English & American cultural studies
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.185-219
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• 2009

This article aims to illuminate the comic characters and their humor in Dickens's novel David Copperfield in Bakhtinian point, and to clarify what the humorous characteristics are, and how they contribute to his reinforcement of socially critical messages in this novel. So far this novel has been called the only one of Dickens's comic novels, even though it includes lots of social critical meanings. But it is true that Dickensian critics couldn't make sure of the clear reasons why it is both very interesting and critical. Furthermore, it is also true that this novel has been criticized as a clumsy one in the realistic, psycho-analytic, dramatic angle. This approach to Dickensian comic characters through Bakhtinian fool, clown, and rogue concepts here could make up for or correct such criticisms, and reevaluate Dickens's humor and social criticisms in the context of general public culture. Bakhtin believes oppression by social ideologies prevent us from having good mutual relationships and divides our society. He thinks laughter liberates us from such oppression and restores our good relationships. As he applied his concepts based on the laughter of Middle Ages to Rabelais's novels, and examined what the authentically liberating power in Rabelais's laughter is, this article could clarify the liberating power of laughter by Dickens's comic characters, such as Mr and Mrs Micawber, Dick, Miss Betsey Trotwood and Miss Mowcher. In this novel, they often lead comic happenings, and such happenings are very similar to carnival-amusements including burning the dummy of the czar who has oppressed his or her citizenry. Especially, Dickens's comic characters's social criticisms, in the case of this novel, contain many complaints of social marginers, even though he has been labelled as being conservative politically. They always criticize the ideological absurdities in their society through the humorous words and behaviors in their comic happenings, like those of a carnival fool or clown in his or her amusements. This shows Dickens achieves both laughter and social criticism in David Copperfield by using Rabelaisian characterization-devices based on his general public culture. Like Bakhtin and Rabelais, Dickens seems to have believed that when we all truly liberate ourselves from the oppression of social ideologies, we can have desirable relationships between ourselves, and also solve social problems positively.

• Journal of English Language & Literature
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.993-1011
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• 2009

Generally, the parts narrated by Esther in Bleak House has been considered less convincing and reliable than those by the anonymous narrator for some problematic qualities in her character and narration. However, Esther's narrative shows Dickens' masterly depiction of emotional deprivation, the psychic consequences of the Victorian sexual repression on its victim. Therefore, to restore the reliability of Esther's narrative is the prerequisite for claiming its value as an appropriate locus of the meanings of the text. On the other hand, the anonymous narrator is not so omniscient as he has been regarded. As the chapters proceed, his omniscient power and authority is conspicuously weakened, and even transferred to other characters such as Esther and Mr. Bucket. This shows that the identity of the omniscient voice is unstable and that Dickens does not intend his voice to be the sole center of meanings of the text. In short, these two narratives are the necessary partners in imagining and understanding the society in its wholeness. Alternating and sometimes intersecting each other throughout the novel, these opposing viewpoints make us see the contradictory multi-leveledness of the Victorian society. The equality of them implies Dickens' notion that more than single unified voice is needed to portray ideological conflicts of his age.

• Sim-seong Yeon-gu
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.39-76
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• 2019

This article is about the film titled <The Man Who Invented Christmas> written from the perspective of analytical psychology. The film shows the changes in Charles Dickens while he wrote the book 『A Christmas Carol』. 『A Christmas Carol』 was published when the Christmas traditions were almost forgotten. The book enlightened the value of love-thy-neighbor and revived the tradition of having Christmas meals with family. The article illustrates the process of recognizing shadow while a man overcomes the life crisis of losing his persona. Referring to the biography of Charles Dickens and the historical background of his time, the article explores how the collective issues of capitalism influence his personal life. Christmas is a timeless symbol of death and rebirth then becomes a solace for those who suffer from capitalism.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.199-219
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• 1993

This paper analyzes how a social status is symbolized by clothing in Charles Dickens' novel 「The Tale of Two Cities」. The result shows that clothing symbols of he upper class people are splendid, perfect, good material, beautiful, younger looking, and fashionable. Meanwhile, those on the middle class people are neat, unpretentious, simple, practical, following fashion, and graceful. Finally, those on the lower class people are unfitted, disordered, careless, worn and shabby, unclean, disharmonious, coarse, and uniform.