# Good and Bad Angels explained — David Copperfield

> Chapter companion for David Copperfield by Charles Dickens.

## What happens

David attends a dinner party at Mr. Waterbrook's, where he reunites with his old schoolfellow Tommy Traddles and observes the pretentious conversation about 'Blood' and aristocracy. He also meets Uriah Heep, who is now working in London. After dinner, David walks home with Agnes Wickfield, who confides in him that Uriah Heep is forcing himself into a partnership with her father, Mr. Wickfield, having gained a dangerous ascendancy over him.

## Themes in this chapter

### Social Class and Respectability

The conversation at the dinner party centers on 'Blood' as a marker of status, with characters like Mr. Waterbrook and Hamlet's aunt asserting the superiority of inherited rank over intellect or service.

### Friendship and Loyalty

David's warm reunion with Traddles and his protective concern for Agnes highlight the value of loyal friendships in contrast to the manipulative behavior of Uriah Heep.

### Cruelty and Abuse of Power

Uriah Heep's subtle manipulation of Mr. Wickfield, exploiting his weaknesses to force a partnership, exemplifies the abuse of power through feigned humility and psychological control.

## Character check-ins

### David Copperfield

Attends Mr. Waterbrook's dinner party, reconnects with Traddles, and learns from Agnes about Uriah Heep's scheme to partner with Mr. Wickfield.

### Agnes Wickfield

Walks home with David after the party and reveals her distress over Uriah Heep's manipulation of her father, showing her selfless concern for Mr. Wickfield's peace.

### Uriah Heep

Present at the dinner in a suit of black, displaying obsequious humility; later revealed to be forcing a partnership with Mr. Wickfield through subtle manipulation.

### Tommy Traddles

Reunited with David at the party; described as a sober, steady young man reading for the bar, with a comic head of hair and retiring manners.

### Mr. Waterbrook

Hosts the dinner party, extols the virtue of 'Blood,' and speaks condescendingly of Traddles as a good fellow who is 'nobody's enemy but his own.'

## Key lines

> I confess I am of Mrs. Waterbrook's opinion," said Mr. Waterbrook, with his wineglass at his eye. "Other things are all very well in their way, but give me Blood!

Mr. Waterbrook declares that while other qualities have their place, he values aristocratic lineage above all else.

_Highlights the theme of social class and the absurd reverence for 'Blood' among the dinner guests._

> He has made himself indispensable to papa. He is subtle and watchful. He has mastered papa's weaknesses, fostered them, and taken advantage of them, until—to say all that I mean in a word, Trotwood—until papa is afraid of him.

Agnes explains that Uriah Heep has become essential to her father by exploiting his vulnerabilities, ultimately making Mr. Wickfield fearful of him.

_Reveals Uriah Heep's manipulative nature and the abuse of power central to the chapter's conflict._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/david_copperfield_se/chapters/xxv-good-and-bad-angels
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/david_copperfield_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/david_copperfield_se/chapters