NATURE VS NURTURE: DEVELOPING INDIVIDUALISM IN CHARLES DICKENS’S DAVID COPPERFIELD
NATURE VS NURTURE: DEVELOPING INDIVIDUALISM IN CHARLES DICKENS’S DAVID COPPERFIELD

Summary/Abstract: This paper explores the tension between individual will and external determinants in Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield, situating the novel within the context of Victorian individualism and the rise of the “self-made man.” Although often read as a Bildungsroman celebrating self-improvement and social mobility, the novel offers a more nuanced perspective, suggesting that personal success depends as much on circumstance as on merit. David’s advancement is shaped by external factors such as class background, education, and, most importantly, the protection of figures like Betsey Trotwood. In contrast, Uriah Heep’s overt and obsessive ambition exposes the moral limits imposed on social climbing, as his calculated pursuit of advancement leads to narrative punishment. The contrast between the two characters reveals that upward mobility is acceptable only when it appears natural and morally justified rather than strategically pursued. Moreover, David’s career as a writer functions less as a passionate vocation than as a practical means of economic stability. Ultimately, the novel challenges the Victorian myth of autonomous self-creation, portraying identity and success as the product of a complex interplay between individual resilience and social forces.

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