David Copperfield

Martha arrives at David’s home, encourages him to follow her, and leaves a note for Mr. Peggotty telling him they’ve gone. Martha and David move swiftly until they reach the building where Little Em’ly is staying: once grand but now decayed, foul smelling, with boarded-up windows.

When they arrive on Little Em’ly’s floor, they find Rosa Dartle. Rosa exclaims that she has come to see the ruin of Steerforth’s mistress. Little Em’ly emerges and tearfully urges Rosa to stop taunting her. Rosa declares that she and Little Emily have nothing in common, and Little Em’ly agrees that they have no common ground but their womanhood.

Little Em’ly cries, “I have deserved this […] but it’s dreadful! Dear, dear lady, think what I have suffered, and how I am fallen! Oh, Martha, come back! Oh, home, home!” (1,676). Rosa cruelly replies, “YOUR home! […] You were a part of the trade of your home, and were bought and sold like any other vendible thing your people dealt in” (1,678). Rosa orders Little Em’ly to leave, threatening to expose her as fallen to the other women in her building.

Mr. Peggotty arrives, and Little Em’ly faints into his arms. He tenderly carries her down the stairs, grateful to have found her alive.

Mr. Peggotty tells David the story of Little Em’ly’s experiences. After fleeing from Littimer in France, Little Em’ly ran along the beach, deliriously believing she would find Peggotty’s houseboat there. A young, childless woman whose husband was away at sea discovered her. The woman took pity on Em’ly and let her stay in her cottage, where she nursed her back to health.

In Little Em’ly’s delirium, she temporarily lost the ability to speak French, and could only communicate with the young woman in hand signs. Little Em’ly recalls rambling feverishly in English, trying to convince the woman that Peggotty’s houseboat was nearby. Little Em’ly’s French-speaking abilities were re-triggered, however, by a French girl playing on the beach. As Mr. Peggotty explains, the little girl approached Little Em’ly, presented a shell, and said in French, “Fisherman’s daughter, here’s a shell!” (1,697). Without thinking, Little Em’ly replied in French, and her French returned.

When the young woman’s husband returned from sea, Little Em’ly earned some money waiting on traveling ladies at the port. One day, she saw Littimer there, and ran away to London. Soon after Little Em’ly’s return to London, Martha found her desperately turning to prostitution for survival. Martha bid Little Em’ly to avoid her own fate, crying, “Rise up from worse than death, and come with me!” (1,700).

Mr. Peggotty decides that he and Little Em’ly must begin a new life in Australia, where no one will know her. Together, they go to Yarmouth to prepare for the move. David visits Ham and offers him a parcel of money Mr. Peggotty has put aside. Filled with emotion, Ham tells David that he is deeply in love with the memory of who Little Em’ly was. He claims he can only be happy if he forces himself to forget her, though he begs David not to tell her that. Unable to bear the thought of living without Mr. Peggotty, Mrs. Gummidge decides to accompany him and Little Em’ly to Australia.

The day of Mr. Micawber’s planned confrontation with Uriah Heep arrives, and Traddles, Agnes, and David join him. Miss Betsey initially refuses to go, feeling she must care for Dora. Dora, however, insists that Miss Betsey must go, saying she will throw a fit if she does not.

The group confronts Uriah Heep at his home. Mr. Micawber reads from a long list of Uriah’s frauds and misdeeds, revealing that he has enough evidence to ruin Uriah. Miss Betsey also reveals that Uriah caused her own financial distress, and she demands the return of her property. Realizing the gravity of his situation, Uriah finally abandons his pretense of being humble and lashes out at David. He growls and curses ferociously: “Copperfield, I have always hated you. You’ve always been an upstart, and you’ve always been against me” (1,771).

After the confrontation is resolved, Miss Betsey warmly converses with the Micawbers and helps them plan a move to Australia, where they can start anew, just like Little Em’ly.

David pauses his narrative for another retrospective. He notes that in his memory, Dora—the Little Blossom—calls out for him to observe her as she “flutters to the ground” (1,782).

As Dora grows more and more ill, Jip also grows old and feeble. David greatly misses her company, and sadly resigns himself to the idea that she will never be restored to her former self. They content themselves by recalling the early days of their love, though Dora sadly reflects that she was too young to marry when she did. David also wonders if it would’ve been better not to marry and to let their love remain a childish infatuation.

At Dora’s request, Agnes comes to visit. While she speaks with Dora upstairs, David waits downstairs with Jip. Sensing that Dora is dying, Jip goes upstairs and tries to enter her room. Jip then walks back down the stairs, licks David’s hand, and passes away in front of him. Soon after, Agnes emerges from the room and tells David that Dora is dead.

Mr. Micawber’s family decides to move to Australia, and Miss Betsey financially assists them. Agnes, Traddles, and David also collaborate on the Micawbers’ behalf. Traddles reveals that he will be able to recover both Miss Betsey’s and Mr. Wickfield’s money from Uriah Heep. Agnes plans to assist her father by running a school and renting out their house. David decides he will go abroad to distract himself from his grief.

Soon after, Traddles learns that Uriah Heep and his mother have fled, and no one knows where they are. Miss Betsey also reveals that her estranged husband has died, so she is now emotionally and financially free.

Once again, David pauses his narration to reflect on a haunting event he does not want to write about: “so indelible, so awful, […] that, from the beginning of my narrative, I have seen it growing larger and larger as I advanced […]” (1,829). He relives the event every time he thinks of it.

David goes to Yarmouth to give Ham a letter from Little Em’ly. Just before David arrives, a deadly storm hits Yarmouth, generating harsh winds and massive waves. With a group of onlookers, David watches as a ship crashes against the cliffs. He feels a deep sense of foreboding about Ham.

Everyone on board the ship perishes except for one man, who hangs onto the mast of the boat. Ham attempts to rescue the man, swimming out with a rope tied around his waist. Just before Ham reaches the man, an enormous wave sweeps over them, drowning them both.

The next morning, a local fisherman beckons David to the shore. He gestures to one of the washed-up bodies and asks David if he knows him. David observes that the body is “lying with his head upon his arm, as [he] had often seen him lie at school” (1,855). He realizes that it is Steerforth.

David sadly contemplates Steerforth’s death. He reflects that there was no need for Steerforth to request that he remember him at his best, as he was inevitably bound to do so.

David visits Steerforth’s mother, who is sick and bed-bound, lying in Steerforth’s old room. He tells Mrs. Steerforth and Rosa Dartle that Steerforth is dead. Upon hearing the news, Rosa Dartle flies into a grief-driven rage against his mother. Gesturing to the scar on her face, she asks, “is your pride appeased, you madwoman? Now has he made atonement to you—with his life!” (1,863). She claims that just like the scar on her face, Mrs. Steerforth “disfigured” her son by “pampering […] his pride and passion” (1,864). Rosa suggests that Mrs. Steerforth is responsible for her son’s death. 

Mr. Peggotty, Little Em’ly, and the Micawbers gather with their friends for a last farewell before heading to Australia. They optimistically drink to happiness, success, and a new life. David takes Mr. Micawber aside and tells him about Ham’s death, asking for his help in keeping the tragedy secret from Mr. Peggotty and Little Em’ly. Mr. Micawber agrees.

Before Mr. Peggotty’s ship departs, David asks what he should do for Martha. Mr. Peggotty reveals that Martha is traveling to Australia with them.