David Copperfield (Plot Summary)

Plot Summary

Chapters 1-3

After a digression about the predictions concerning his future at the time of his birth, David, the adult narrator of David Copperfield, notes that he was born at Blunderstone, in Suffolk, England, six months after his father had died. David's greataunt, Betsey Trotwood, appeared at the Copperfield home just prior to David's birth, insisting that Clara, David's mother, would have a daughter and that Betsey would become her godmother. When Clara remembered her husband's kindness to her, she became upset, which started her labor. When Betsey discovered that she had delivered a boy, she said nothing, immediately walked out and never returned, vanishing "like a discontented fairy."

One day Clara brings home Edward Murdstone, whom, David later discovers, has been courting her. David and his beloved nanny, Peggotty, immediately dislike him, and David becomes jealous of his mother's attentions toward him. Peggotty insists that Clara should not marry a man that her husband would not like, which brings Clara to tears. Murdstone brings David into town with him in an effort to try to win him over, but David, who admits that his observational powers are keen, finds the man "clever and cold" in his dealings with his business acquaintances and later, "stern and silent."

One evening, Peggotty asks David if he would like to go with her to stay with her brother and his family for two weeks at Yarmouth, a seaside village. David worries about who will take care of his mother while they are gone, but after Peggotty's assurances that she has found someone to help Clara, David agrees to go.

David and Peggotty arrive at the beached, black barge that is the Peggotty family home, and David "could not have been more charmed with the romantic idea of living in it." There he meets all of Peggotty's family: her brother Dan Peggotty; Mrs. Gummidge, the widow of Mr. Peggotty's partner; and Little Em'ly and Ham, her niece and nephew. The family warmly receives David, and he spends an idyllic two weeks playing on the beach with Em'ly, with whom he falls in love. He is quite reluctant to leave them at the end of his stay but looks forward to being reunited with his mother.

When David arrives home, he discovers that his mother has married Mr. Murdstone, which fills him with trepidation. He immediately sees a change in her as she approaches him timidly. David soon discovers that Mr. Murdstone has taken control of her as well as the household, and he is unable to look at either of them.

Chapters 4-11

David is despondent about the radical changes in his home. When Clara tries to comfort her son, who feels as if no one wants him in this new family, Murdstone insists that she be firm with him. When the two are alone, Murdstone tells David that if he had an obstinate horse or dog, he would "conquer" him by beating him into submission. David recognizes this as a threat to him.

Jane Murdstone, Edward's sister, soon arrives and proves herself to be as harsh and unfeeling as her brother. In an effort to protect him, Clara tells David to try to love his new father and to obey him. Miss Murdstone begins to take control of the house just as her brother has taken control of Clara and David. When Clara tries to protest, insisting that she has never previously had any trouble running the house, Murdstone rebukes her sternly, for "everybody was to be bent to his firmness." Clara gives in, resigning herself to her loss of control.

Murdstone and his sister determine that they will educate David, forcing him to complete difficult and long daily lessons. Yet, under their stern and unforgiving eyes, he fails miserably. Miss Murdstone admonishes Clara every time she tries to slip David answers. One day, after David is unable to make any progress on his lessons, Murdstone determines that a beating will encourage him to perform more satisfactorily. When, in an effort to stop him, David bites his hand, Murdstone beats him brutally as Clara and Peggotty cry outside the door. David is then locked in his room for five days, forbidden to see anyone except Miss Murdstone.

On the fifth night, Peggotty informs him that he will be sent away to Salem House, a boarding school near London the next day. As David travels by coach to school, crying inconsolably, Peggotty appears along the side of the road and climbs in. She hugs him and crams food and money into his pockets before leaving. David determines to be brave like Roderick Random or the captain in the Royal British Navy, heroes of his father's adventure novels. He discovers a note from his mother folded around some money among the things that Peggotty has given him.

After David shares some of Peggotty's cakes with the driver, Mr. Barkis, the later inquires whether she is married and asks David to inform her that "Barkis was willin,'" his way of proposing to her, which David eventually passes on to her in a letter. David and Barkis soon stop at an inn where a waiter swindles David out of his dinner and a good portion of his money as a tip. David continues with an empty stomach to school on a new coach full of passengers who have assumed that he has eaten the large meal all by himself and so make fun of him.

David's excitement over seeing London, the city where many of his literary heroes experienced their most exciting adventures, is soon overcome by a feeling of abandonment and uncertainty about his future. Eventually, Mr. Mell, one of the teachers from the school, picks him up and takes him to his mother's house for breakfast before continuing onto Salem House.

David arrives at school, deeming it, "the most forlorn and desolate place [he] had ever seen" and finds the boys, along with Mr. Creakle, the proprietor, all gone for the holidays. Mr. Mell has been instructed to tell David that he must wear a sign on his back that reads: "Take care of him. He bites." The sign causes him great suffering during his early days at school, but he gains some support from Mr. Mell who speaks only a little but provides some company for him.

David meets the proprietor of Salem House, Mr. Creakle, a cruel man who beats the children for the slightest infraction or just to exercise his power. He then meets Tommy Traddles, a goodnatured boy who, much to David's relief, makes a game of the sign on his back. David is brought before the most powerful boy at the school, James Steerforth, who declares the sign " ‘a jolly shame,’" sparking David's undying devotion to him. The older boy convinces David to give him all of his money, claiming that he can get what ever he wants from the outside and that he will take care of him.

On the first day of school, Mr. Creakle chides David about the sign and strikes him with his cane, as he does eventually with most of the other boys, except Steerforth, due to his family's social status and wealth. David is extremely flattered by the protection and attention Steerforth offers him, yet he fails to recognize that the older boy is taking advantage of him, insisting that David hand over Peggotty's food baskets and spend half the night telling stories from his father's books. He also fails to recognize his friend's class prejudices when Steerforth tries to humiliate Mr. Mell and eventually engineers his dismissal. David's devotion to him is instead redoubled after Steerforth charms Mr. Peggotty and Ham during a visit.

David returns home during school break and finds that his mother has given birth to a boy. They all have a warm reunion since Murdstone and his sister have gone out for a visit that day. Yet, David notes that his mother looks much more tired and worn. The next morning, David apologizes to Murdstone for biting him, but while the man accepts it, it does not remove the "sinister expression in his face." David's days at home are filled with melancholy and discomfort under the Murdstones' domination. As a result of his ill treatment there, David is happy to return to school.

Two months later, he learns that his mother and brother have died and that he is now an orphan. David returns for the funerals where he is comforted by Peggotty. After Miss Murdstone fires Peggotty, she invites David to Yarmouth for a visit with her family. David is reunited with Little Em'ly who has grown more pretty and "both sly and shy at once," which captivates him "more than ever." He feels, however, a distance between them. After David and Em'ly attend Peggotty's wedding to Barkis, he swears his undying devotion to her and she allows him to kiss her.

When he returns home, he is neglected but is allowed to visit Peggotty occasionally. In an effort to get rid of him, Murdstone sends ten-year-old David to London to work in his wine bottling warehouse where he finds decayed floors, rats, and general "rottenness." David is despondent over his situation, especially since he now sees no hope of regaining his status in the world. His introduction to Mr. Micawber, however, with whom he is offered lodging, provides him with some relief from his gloom. Micawber takes him to his rather shabby home where he meets his wife and children. Although Mrs. Micawber complains that the creditors will not leave them alone, she and her husband have full confidence that their situation will soon change for the better.

While David is happy to live with the Micawbers, his feelings of abandonment and lack of support cause him much misery. He gradually, however, learns how to fend for himself in the city and to master the work at the warehouse, and his loneliness is eased by his growing attachment to the Micawbers. After his numerous attempts to raise money fail, Micawber is sent to debtors' prison where his family eventually joins him, leaving David, once again, on his own.

Chapters 12-15

After Micawber is discharged, he decides to move out of London in an effort to improve his fortunes. David, despondent over losing the only friends he has, determines to run away from the warehouse and find his aunt, Betsey Trotwood, who lives in Devon. On the road, his trunk and money are stolen, so he must walk the entire way. He sells his coat to earn some money for food but must sleep out in the open, sometimes near rough travelers, who threaten his physical safety. By the time he arrives in Devon, he is dirty and disheveled and thoroughly exhausted.

David pours his heart out to his aunt, telling her how he has suffered and been mistreated since his mother died and begging her to take him in. After listening to his story, Aunt Betsey asks Mr. Dick, an eccentric elderly man who has been living with her, what they should do with him. They decide at that point to give him a bath and put him to bed. The next morning, Aunt Betsey tells David that she has written to Mr. Murdstone, informing him that David is with her. Upon hearing the news, David's heart sinks.

Mr. Murdstone arrives with his sister on donkeys, which Aunt Betsey tries to shoo off, not knowing who they are. When they all eventually sit down to discuss David's situation, Aunt Betsey upbraids Murdstone for treating David's mother so badly. Murdstone ignores her and offers instead an extremely negative assessment of David's character, concluding that he "is the worst boy." When Aunt Betsey asks David if he wants to return with the Murdstones, he pleads with her to not let him go, reminding her of their ill-treatment of him and his mother. After consulting with Mr. Dick, Aunt Betsey tells Murdstone that she will keep David, insisting that she does not believe a word of what he has said about the boy and rebuking him for breaking Clara's heart. After she quickly dismisses the man and his sister, David thanks her and Mr. Dick heartily. Aunt Betsey determines that she will call David, Trotwood Copperfield.

David, and Mr. Dick, who have become good friends, often fly a kite together. Aunt Betsey, who now calls him Trot, decides to send David to school in nearby Canterbury, which pleases him. They stop first at the home of Mr. Wickfield, Aunt Betsey's friend and lawyer, who advises them about the best schools in the area. There, David meets Uriah Heep, a strange young man with a "cadaverous face" who works as a clerk for Mr. Wickfield, and Wickfield's lovely daughter, Agnes. Wickfield chooses a school and suggests that David stay with him until he can find other lodgings. Aunt Betsey leaves him at the Wickfields, confident that he is in good hands. After she leaves, David offers his hand to Uriah but finds it so clammy and ghostly that he is repelled by it.

Chapters 16-18

David begins at the Canterbury school, which is run by Dr. Strong, although it takes him a while to adjust since he has been out for so long. David is happy to stay with the Wickfields, especially since he is quite close with Agnes, whom he trusts and respects. Uriah tells David that he is studying law and insists, "I'm a very umble person," as is, he claims, his mother.

David adapts well to Dr. Strong's school, which he finds is an excellent one, and to life at the Wickfields. One evening a party is given at the Strongs for the doctor's birthday and for Jack Maldon, who is leaving for India. Annie, Dr. Strong's young wife, appears nervous and pale during the evening, and after Jack leaves, she collapses. The guests assume that she was overcome by saying goodbye to her childhood friend.

During a visit, Mr. Dick talks to David about a mysterious man whom he has seen lurking around Aunt Betsey's house, frightening her. He has seen her give money to the man and wonders why. David goes to Uriah's home for tea, not wanting him to think that he is too proud, where he meets Uriah's mother, who has a striking similarity to her son in appearance and mannerisms. She also continually calls attention to their humbleness. During the evening, David sees Mr. Micawber pass by and invites him in but is eager for his friend to keep private many details of his past life. They soon leave to find Mrs. Micawber, who greets David warmly. David is surprised by a letter the next morning from Micawber, noting their destitute situation and the probability that they will never see each other again.

David recalls incidents during his school years, including his falling in love with first a girl and then an older woman, and fistfights with a local butcher. The love affairs turn out badly for him, but he is eventually able to best the butcher, and he is proud that he has become the top boy at school.

Chapters 19-30

David is sorry to leave his school since he feels distinguished there. He tells Agnes how important she has become to him, and she informs David of her concerns about her father's welfare. Observing a tension between Annie and Mr. Wickfield, David becomes bothered by Agnes's friendship with Annie. On a trip to London, David runs into Steerforth, who has been attending school at Oxford, and accompanies him home to meet his mother and her companion, Rosa Dartle. He and Steerforth make plans to meet later at Yarmouth, where they find Em'ly engaged to Ham. David notices that Em'ly sits far away from Ham during the evening. After they leave, Steerforth criticizes Ham to David, which shocks him, but David maintains his faith in his friend.

When David finds Steerforth brooding one night in front of the fire, the latter declares, "you come upon me like a reproachful ghost." Steerforth's mood soon passes and he admits that he sometimes suffers from depression. Later David runs into Ham, Em'ily, and a friend of hers who has been disgraced and has come for help. After the friend leaves, Em'ly breaks down, crying, "I am not as good a girl as I ought to be," and asks Ham and her aunt to help her be more thankful for what she has.

David tells his aunt that he has decided to make law his profession, which pleases her. As they are walking in town, David sees a shabbily dressed man watching them. Aunt Betsey insists that she must talk to him alone and refuses to explain who he is. David soon takes a position with Spenlow and Jorkins, and his aunt provides him with lodgings. He runs into Steerforth in the city and the two go out and get drunk. Agnes spots them and later warns David about Steerforth's character and influence. David contradicts her but listens to her judgment, which he values highly. Agnes expresses her fears that her father is in financial trouble and that Uriah has made himself indispensable to him. She concludes that Uriah's goal is to use her father to gain power and position and blames herself for putting her father in this dire position. She persuades David not to confront Uriah since she is not sure of her judgment of him and she does not want any more trouble for her father.

David sees Traddles at a dinner party and the two get reacquainted. Uriah tells David that Mr. Wickfield is facing disgrace and that Uriah is trying to help him. He also admits that he is in love with Agnes and hopes to marry her, which disgusts David. When Uriah subtly warns David not to divulge his secret or he will cause problems for her father, David determines that he has no choice but to comply.

David is invited to Mr. Spenlow's home where he meets his daughter Dora, with whom he immediately falls in love. He discovers that Dora's guardian is Miss Murdstone, who informs David that she will not bring up the past. David visits Traddles who is studying for the bar and trying to earn enough money to get married. At his rather shabby lodgings, he runs into the Micawbers. During a dinner party David gives for Traddles and the Micawbers, Steerforth's servant appears looking for his master. Later the Micawbers assure David that they are doing well financially, but David discovers that they have used Traddles' name to obtain credit.

After David's guests leave, Steerforth appears and tells David that he has been to Yarmouth and that Mr. Barkis is near death. Steerforth convinces him to spend a day with him at his mother's home before he goes to see Peggotty. At the end of the evening, he finds a letter Micawber has left behind, informing David that he does not have the money to repay Traddles. The next day, after David arrives at Mrs. Steerforth's home, Miss Dartle watches him and Steerforth intensely. She asks David why he has kept Steerforth away for so long, but David denies having spent any time with him lately and insists that he does not know where he has been. Later, Steerforth gets David to swear that he will always think the best of Steerforth.

Chapters 31-42

When David arrives at Peggotty's, he greets Em'ly, who appears quite unsettled and cannot look at him. He and Peggotty go up to Barkis's room and stay with him until he dies. David later discovers that Barkis has left Peggotty and her brother a large inheritance. At Mr. Peggotty's, David discovers that Em'ly has run away with Steerforth, which has broken Ham's heart. She left a note, expressing her hope that Steerforth will marry her and so make her a lady, and her deep love for her uncle. Mr. Peggotty insists, "I'm a going to seek her. That's my dooty evermore," and bring her back home. David blames himself and curses Steerforth.

David accompanies Mr. Peggotty to Mrs. Steerforth's home. Mrs. Steerforth insists that her son cannot marry Em'ly since she is "far below him uneducated and ignorant." Later, Miss Dartle explodes with rage against David, blaming him for Steerforth's relationship with Em'ly and calling the Peggottys a "depraved worthless set." After they leave, Mr. Peggotty reaffirms his commitment to finding Em'ly and asks David to tell her that he forgives her, if anything should happen to him.

David turns to Dora for relief from this troubled situation, and the two soon become engaged. He learns from Traddles that Mr. Micawber has changed his name to Mortimer to avoid his creditors and that all of his possessions, along with Traddles's, have been taken by the authorities. Later, Aunt Betsey, along with Mr. Dick, appears at David's lodgings with all of her things, explaining that she is financially ruined.

David is quite depressed because he thinks that his turn in fortunes will prevent him from buying Dora presents. He and his aunt visit the Wickfields where Agnes tells them that Uriah and her father are now partners and that he and his mother have moved in with them. She fears the control that Uriah has over her father and how much he has changed under it. David later accepts a position as secretary to Dr. Strong and Traddles finds transcription work for Mr. Dick. Later, David runs into Mr. Micawber, who informs him that he is now working for Uriah.

David tries to explain his financial situation to Dora, but she refuses to listen to him. She claims that she still loves him, but whenever David talks of how they will have to economize, she becomes frightened and tells him to go away. Mr. Spenlow discovers the engagement and tries to break it off, but that evening he is killed in a carriage accident. Overcome by grief, Dora refuses to see David.

Mrs. Heep hovers over David and Agnes all evening, preventing them from talking about her father. After Uriah admits later that he was afraid that David was his rival, David insists that Agnes is too far above him for him to consider marrying her. When Uriah declares his intentions in front of Mr. Wickfield, the latter becomes hysterical, blaming himself for his daughter's predicament. Later, Agnes reassures David that she will never marry Uriah.

The next day David runs into Mr. Peggotty, who has been traveling around Europe looking for Em'ly. The only contact he has had are a few letters from her, which tell him how much she loves him. Recognizing Dora's changed financial position, her aunts encourage David to see her but to proceed slowly. That evening, David finds Dr. Strong despondent in his study after Uriah has told him that Annie has feelings for Mr. Maldon. Uriah tricks Mr. Wickfield and David into admitting that they had suspected these feelings. Dr. Strong blames himself for marrying Annie when she was so young. When they are alone, David strikes Uriah for what he has done to Dr. Strong, and Uriah makes him feel guilty for doing so. David receives a letter from Mrs. Micawber complaining that her husband has changed while working for Uriah, becoming morose, severe, and estranged from his children.

Chapters 43-52

David, now twenty-one, marries Dora and reports parliamentary debates and writes stories for a local newspaper. Mr. Dick discovers what Dr. Strong has been told about Annie and brings the two together to talk. Annie admits that she had feelings for Maldon in the past but realized that they were not right for each other and that she is completely devoted to her husband.

A year later, Steerforth's servant tells David that he had been with his master and Em'ly in different countries in Europe. After Steerforth grew restless and suggested that she marry his servant, she became hysterical and left the house. No one knows what has happened to her. David passes this information on to Mr. Peggotty. That evening, he finds the strange man who had been following his aunt in her house. After the man leaves, Aunt Betsey admits that he is her husband and that she has been giving him money since they separated because he has been destitute.

Six months later, David realizes that he will never be able to expand Dora's mind and resigns himself to a less than happy marriage. In the meantime, Dora's health has declined, and David has to carry her up and down the stairs. Em'ly's friend Martha contacts David and Mr. Peggotty and asks them to meet her at her home. When David arrives, he witnesses Miss Dartle's vicious, verbal attack on Em'ly before Mr. Peggotty rescues her. Later, Em'ly tells her uncle how she made her way back to London and Martha's home. Mr. Peggotty decides to take her and Mrs. Gummidge to Australia where Em'ly can start a new life.

Micawber arranges a meeting with Traddles, Aunt Betsey, Mr. Dick, and David at the Wickfields, where he insists that he will expose Uriah as a villain and a fraud. With great theatrics, Micawber confronts Uriah there with evidence of the latter's illegal activities during his partnership with Mr. Wickfield, including those that caused Aunt Betsey's financial ruin. Uriah responds violently to the accusations, immediately dropping his "umble" persona, but he calms down when Traddles threatens to call the authorities. After the confrontation, Mr. Micawber insists, "The cloud is past from my mind," and he feels restored to his old self again. Aunt Betsey suggests that he emigrate to Australia with Mr. Peggotty, which he agrees to do.

Chapters 53-64

As Dora's health worsens, she tells David that he would have grown tired of "his child-wife," and so "it is better as it is." One evening soon after, Jip, Dora's beloved dog, dies at David's feet at the same time that Dora dies upstairs. Traddles has been able to recover Aunt Betsey's and Mr. Wickfield's money, and Uriah and his mother have disappeared. Mr. Peggotty and Aunt Betsey, whose husband has recently died, provide Mr. Micawber with funds to pay off his debts and to relocate to Australia.

David leaves for Yarmouth to see Ham and finds that a storm on the channel has wrecked a ship from Spain. David sees a lone man hanging on the mast that looks like Steerforth. Ham goes out to rescue him, but they both drown. When David goes to Mrs. Steerforth's to tell her that her son has died, the news strikes her dumb. Miss Dartle then launches invectives at her, insisting that she corrupted him through her "pampering of his pride and passion." She admits that she loved him and that he loved her and curses David, declaring, "It was in an evil hour that you ever came here!"

The Micawbers, Mr. Peggotty, Em'ly, and her friend Martha leave for Australia, and David leaves for Switzerland, where he will spend the next few years mourning his losses and thinking about his future. At the end of this time, he realizes that he loves Agnes. After he returns, he finds that Traddles has become a successful lawyer and is happily married and that Peggotty lives with Aunt Betsey and Mr. Dick in Dover. After some misunderstandings, David and Agnes profess their love for each other and are soon married. Traddles discovers that Uriah is in prison for bank robbery and that Mr. Creakle is the warden. When he and David visit the prison, Mr. Creakle shows off Uriah as his model prisoner. Ten years later, as David and Agnes sit in front of the fire with their children, Mr. Peggotty arrives and tells them that he and his family have created successful lives for themselves in Australia, as has Mr. Micawber who has become a magistrate. The novel closes with David expressing his great love for Agnes.

Media Adaptations

• There have been several television and film versions of the novel dating from 1911. One version, available as of 2006 on DVD, was a television series produced in 2000, starring Hugh Dancy as David.
• Several abridged and unabridged audio versions are also available. Books on Tape put out a popular, full-length cassette audio version in 1977.