"I have myself directed some attention, during the past week, to the art of baking." Fifty-second illustration by Fred Barnard for the 1872 Household Edition of David Copperfield (Chapter LIV, "Mr. Micawber's Transactions," but positioned on p. 377). Descriptive Headline: "Mr. Micawber's Opinion of His Wife's Family" (385). 9.3 x 13.9 cm (3 ⅝ by 5 ½ inches), vignetted. [Click on the image to enlarge it. Mouse over text for links.]
Passage Illustrated: The Domestic Micawber Hones His Baking Skills
"In reference to our domestic preparations, madam," said Mr. Micawber, with some pride, "for meeting the destiny to which we are now understood to be self-devoted, I beg to report them. My eldest daughter attends at five every morning in a neighbouring establishment, to acquire the process — if process it may be called — of milking cows. My younger children are instructed to observe, as closely as circumstances will permit, the habits of the pigs and poultry maintained in the poorer parts of this city: a pursuit from which they have, on two occasions, been brought home, within an inch of being run over. I have myself directed some attention, during the past week, to the art of baking; and my son Wilkins has issued forth with a walking-stick and driven cattle, when permitted, by the rugged hirelings who had them in charge, to render any voluntary service in that direction — which I regret to say, for the credit of our nature, was not often; he being generally warned, with imprecations, to desist."
"All very right indeed," said my aunt, encouragingly. "Mrs. Micawber has been busy, too, I have no doubt." [Chapter LIV, "Mr. Micawber's Transactions," 384]
Commentary: Preparation Underway for the Micawbers' Emigration
In response to Aunt Betsey's question about Emma Micawber's preparation for the Australian voyage and subsequent experiences as a colonist, the reader is tempted to respond, "Or not." Barnard depicts Emma Micawber's encouraging her husband from the left margin in his practising culinary skills in preparation for "roughing it in the bush," or at least becoming a settler in Port Middlebay, New South Wales. The twins observe their father more closely, but clearly only Micawber himself is involved in the art of baking. The next scene, the shipwreck which takes the lives of Ham Peggotty and James Steerforth, will foil the domestic comedy of the present illustration. Even as Micawber in his business clothes tries to become a baker in preparation for the months' long voyage, Barnard reminds readers of the perils of such a voyage in They drew him to my very feet — insensible — dead (positioned very near the kitchen scene in the letterpress). Once again, the illustrator emphasizes Dickens's "streaky bacon" alternation of comic and melodramatic scenes as he prepares readers for one of the key moments in the novel's plot.
The reversal of Aunt Betsey's misfortunes has made her Australian emigration scheme for the Micawbers possible. Traddles has sorted out Mr. Wickfield's affairs without the necessity of the attorney's declaring bankruptcy, and recovered the investment funds expropriated by Uriah Heep. In gratitude, Betsey Trotwood has arranged to pay off Micawber's debts and provide financial backing for the family's relocation Down Under.
Related Material
- David Copperfield (homepage)
- Phiz's 40 serial illustrations for David Copperfield (May 1849 - November 1850)
- O. C. Darley's Frontispiece in the New York edition (Vol. 1, 1862)
- O. C. Darley's Frontispiece in the New York edition (Vol. 2, 1862)
- O. C. Darley's Frontispiece in the New York edition (Vol. 3, 1862)
- Sol Eytinge, Junior's 16 Diamond Edition Illustrations (1867)
- W. H. C. Groome's 7 illustrations for the Collins Clear-type Pocket Edition, Vol. I (1907)
- Kyd's five Player's Cigarette Cards, 1910
- Harry Furniss's 29 Illustrations for Dickens's The Personal Experience and History of David Copperfield in the Charles Dickens Library Edition (1910)
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham. [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned the image and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
The copy of the Household Edition from which this picture was scanned was the gift of George Gorniak, Editor of The Dickens Magazine, whose subject for the fifth series, beginning in January 2010, is this novel.
Bibliography
Bentley, Nicolas, Michael Slater, and Nina Burgis. The Dickens Index. Oxford and New York: Oxford U. P., 1988.
Dickens, Charles. David Copperfield. Illustrated by Hablot Knight Browne ("Phiz"). The Centenary Edition. 2 vols. London and New York: Chapman & Hall, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1911.
_______. The Personal History of David Copperfield. Illustrated by Sol Eytinge, Jr. The Diamond Edition. 14 vols. Boston: Ticknor & Fields, 1867. Vol. V.
_______. David Copperfield, with 61 illustrations by Fred Barnard. Household Edition. London: Chapman and Hall, 1872. Vol. III.
_______. The Personal History and Experiences of David Copperfield. Illustrated by Harry Furniss. The Charles Dickens Library Edition. London: Educational Book Company, 1910. Vol. X.
Created 17 August 2016 Last modified 24 August 2022