# Preface of 1848 explained — Dombey and Son

> Chapter companion for Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens.

## What happens

Dickens bids farewell to his readers, acknowledging their warm sympathy throughout the story and expressing hope that the sorrowful incidents of the tale have created a bond between author and audience.

## Key lines

> I cannot forego my usual opportunity of saying farewell to my readers in this greeting-place, though I have only to acknowledge the unbounded warmth and earnestness of their sympathy in every stage of the journey we have just concluded.

I cannot pass up my customary chance to bid goodbye to my readers here, even though I only have to thank them for their immense and sincere support throughout the entire story we have just finished.

_Dickens expresses gratitude for the readers' engagement with the novel._

> If any of them have felt a sorrow in one of the principal incidents on which this fiction turns, I hope it may be a sorrow of that sort which endears the sharers in it, one to another.

If any reader has been saddened by a major event in this story, I hope that sadness is the kind that brings those who share it closer together.

_Dickens reflects on the unifying power of shared emotional experience._

> This is not unselfish in me. I may claim to have felt it, at least as much as anybody else; and I would fain be remembered kindly for my part in the experience.

This is not a selfless wish on my part. I can say that I have felt that sorrow as much as anyone, and I would like to be kindly remembered for my role in this shared experience.

_Dickens acknowledges his own emotional investment and desire for a lasting connection with readers._

## Links

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