Chapter 3

[kev67]

In chapter 3, I thought there were some good touches when David and Peggotty go to stay with Peggotty's brother in Great Yarmouth for two weeks. Peggotty's brother lives in a boat that was converted into a house, along with his orphaned nephew, his orphaned little niece and the widow of his partner, Mrs Gummidge. The mortality rate in their line of business was quite high. David is put into a little room at the stern of the boat. He says the walls were nicely whitewashed, and that there was a mirror placed just at the right height for him, decorated around the frame with oyster shells. I thought this was a good touch because this must have been little Em'ly's room. I suppose she had to share a bed with her aunt, while David was with them. Being a lovely little girl, she did not complain. It also shows how thoughtful Mr Peggotty was of his niece. I suppose Mrs Gummidge could have decorated the room, but it seems unlikely. Sometimes Mrs Gummidge gets depressed and starts moaning a lot. When she is in this mood, Mr Peggotty says she is thinking of the Old Un, her drowned husband and his ex-partner. It is like he does not want to think badly of people, so puts up this excuse for her.

[Danik 2016]

One thing I think that is important in this chapter, besides introducing a group of interesting characters, is that they are a sort of second family to David before he founds his aunt. If you keep in mind that this is probably the most authobiographical Dickens book, it is remarcable to see the many good and bad parental substitutes for a very difficult son x parents relationship. Just remembering that the hero´s father dies very early in the novel and is substituted by someone called Murdstone. His mother when still alive is overshadowed by a male and a female Murdstone. Poor David (and poor Charles)!