# Blissful explained — David Copperfield

> Chapter companion for David Copperfield by Charles Dickens.

## 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.

## Character check-ins

### 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 lines

> 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._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/david_copperfield_se/chapters/xxxiii-blissful
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/david_copperfield_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/david_copperfield_se/chapters