David Copperfield · Chapter
LVIII: Absence explained
David Copperfield recounts his three-year self-imposed exile following the deaths of Dora and Steerforth.
What happens
David Copperfield recounts his three-year self-imposed exile following the deaths of Dora and Steerforth. He describes his initial overwhelming grief, his aimless travels through Europe, and his gradual recovery through hard work, writing, and the restorative power of nature. He confesses his growing love for Agnes Wickfield but concludes that it is too late, as he had squandered his chance in his youth.
Themes in this chapter
Memory and Nostalgia
David's narrative is a written memory; he reflects on past hopes, regrets, and the 'ghosts of many hopes.'
Love and Marriage
David grapples with his love for Agnes and the realization that he has lost the chance to marry her.
Redemption and Forgiveness
David seeks to become a better man, to 'cancel the mistaken past,' and to find redemption through work and self-discipline.
Characters to notice
- David Copperfield
Narrates his three-year absence, his grief, his travels, his writing, and his unrequited love for Agnes.
- Agnes Wickfield
David reflects on his love for her and the realization that he has lost the chance to marry her.
- Dora Spenlow
David mourns his 'child-wife' who died young.
- James Steerforth
David mourns Steerforth, who might have won admiration but died in a shipwreck.
- Tommy Traddles
David sends his manuscript to Traddles, who arranges for its publication.
Key passages
“It was a long and gloomy night that gathered on me, haunted by the ghosts of many hopes, of many dear remembrances, many errors, many unavailing sorrows and regrets.”
A dark period of sorrow and regret settled over me, filled with memories of lost hopes and past mistakes.
David describes the onset of his grief after leaving England.
“I resorted humbly whither Agnes had commended me; I sought out Nature, never sought in vain; and I admitted to my breast the human interest I had lately shrunk from.”
I followed Agnes's advice and turned to nature, which always helped, and I began to engage with people again.
David's recovery begins as he heeds Agnes's guidance and reconnects with the world.
“I cannot so completely penetrate the mystery of my own heart, as to know when I began to think that I might have set its earliest and brightest hopes on Agnes.”
I cannot fully understand when I first realized that my deepest hopes had always been for Agnes.
David reflects on his growing awareness of his love for Agnes.
“I endeavoured to convert what might have been between myself and Agnes, into a means of making me more self-denying, more resolved, more conscious of myself, and my defects and errors.”
I tried to use the thought of what could have been with Agnes to become more self-disciplined and aware of my own flaws.
David resolves to learn from his lost chance with Agnes.