David Copperfield · Chapter
Blissful explained
David Copperfield, deeply in love with Dora Spenlow, confesses his feelings to Peggotty and arranges her affairs after Barkis's death.
What happens
David Copperfield, deeply in love with Dora Spenlow, confesses his feelings to Peggotty and arranges her affairs after Barkis's death. He joins a picnic with Dora, Mr. Spenlow, and Miss Mills, where he is tormented by a rival with red whiskers. After the outing, Miss Mills invites David to call on Dora, and he resolves to declare his love.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Marriage
David's intense, idealized love for Dora dominates the chapter, from his moonlit walks to the picnic and his resolution to propose.
Friendship and Loyalty
Peggotty's steadfast support and Miss Mills's benevolent matchmaking highlight the role of loyal friends in David's romantic pursuit.
Characters to notice
- David Copperfield
Narrator, deeply infatuated with Dora, manages Peggotty's affairs, and attends a picnic where he is jealous of a rival.
- Dora Spenlow
David's beloved, present at the picnic with her dog Jip, and later receives David's declaration of love.
- Clara Peggotty
David's former nurse, now a widow after Barkis's death; David helps her with legal and financial matters.
- Miss Mills
Dora's friend, a wise and experienced young woman who facilitates David's courtship by inviting him to call.
- Mr. Spenlow
Dora's father, a proctor who accompanies the party to the picnic and later invites David in for refreshments.
- Jip
Dora's little dog, present at the picnic and later in Miss Mills's room during David's visit.
Key passages
“I was not merely over head and ears in love with her, but I was saturated through and through.”
David is completely and utterly consumed by his love for Dora.
Illustrates the depth of David's infatuation.
“The sun shone Dora, and the birds sang Dora. The south wind blew Dora, and the wild flowers in the hedges were all Doras, to a bud.”
Everything in nature reminds David of Dora, showing his all-encompassing romantic obsession.
Highlights the idealized, almost mystical quality of David's love.
“I passed three days in a luxury of wretchedness, torturing myself by putting every conceivable variety of discouraging construction on all that ever had taken place between Dora and me.”
David spends three days in anxious misery, imagining the worst possible interpretations of his interactions with Dora.
Reveals David's insecurity and the emotional turmoil of courtship.