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<p>Building on recent scholarship on Victorian clubs, this article delves into the portrayal of club life and social interactions in Charles Dickens’s <i>Dombey and Son</i>. It initially examines how Major Bagstock and Cousin Feenix, two lingering Georgian gentlemen, utilize club sociability to signify social status and assert their distinction, conflicting with the emerging bourgeois values that emphasize hard work and self-discipline. The article then explores the contrasting perspectives on sociability exhibited by Mr. Dombey and James Carker, representing divergent versions of the Victorian middle-class economic man. While Dombey regards social engagements as wasteful expenditures of time and money, Carker strategically leverages them to enhance his social mobility. Both characters perceive sociability through a narrow, utilitarian lens, with Dombey disdaining it as fruitless and unprofitable, while Carker manipulates it for personal advancement. The article concludes by praising the club participation of Morfin, a lower-middle-class clerk, who strikes a balance between Dombey’s antisocial stance and Carker’s instrumental use of social activities. Morfin exemplifies a more harmonious approach to club sociability that reconciles individual competition with community involvement in Victorian society.</p>

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“I Can Afford To Despise”: Club Life, Social Interactions, and the Middle-Class Work Ethic in Charles Dickens’s Dombey and Son

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年8月30日

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  • Houliang Chen

摘要

Building on recent scholarship on Victorian clubs, this article delves into the portrayal of club life and social interactions in Charles Dickens’s Dombey and Son. It initially examines how Major Bagstock and Cousin Feenix, two lingering Georgian gentlemen, utilize club sociability to signify social status and assert their distinction, conflicting with the emerging bourgeois values that emphasize hard work and self-discipline. The article then explores the contrasting perspectives on sociability exhibited by Mr. Dombey and James Carker, representing divergent versions of the Victorian middle-class economic man. While Dombey regards social engagements as wasteful expenditures of time and money, Carker strategically leverages them to enhance his social mobility. Both characters perceive sociability through a narrow, utilitarian lens, with Dombey disdaining it as fruitless and unprofitable, while Carker manipulates it for personal advancement. The article concludes by praising the club participation of Morfin, a lower-middle-class clerk, who strikes a balance between Dombey’s antisocial stance and Carker’s instrumental use of social activities. Morfin exemplifies a more harmonious approach to club sociability that reconciles individual competition with community involvement in Victorian society.