Dombey and SonPaul Dombey is a cold, unbending, pompous merchant, and a widower with two children - Paul and Florence. His chief ambition is to perpetuate the firm-name. He dreams of passing his business on to his son. Dombey dotes on his son, and neglects and mistreats his daughter.The "son" in the title of the book is incapable of ever joining the firm. A sickly and odd child, Paul dies at the age of six. Dombey pours his resentment and anger out on his daughter, whom he pushes away despite her efforts to earn her father's love.Eventually Dombey remarries, after literally acquiring his new wife from her father in a commercial transaction. Dombey is as bad a husband as he is a father and his marriage is loveless. His new bride hates Dombey and eventually runs off with Canker, his business manager. Dombey characteristically blames Florence for this reversal, and strikes her, causing Florence to run away as well.Abandoned by everyone, Dombey loses his business and goes half insane, living in his decaying house. Dombey is eventually reconciled to his daughter, who always a doormat forgives her father........ |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
asked better brother Bunsby Captain Cuttle Carker the Manager chair Chick child Cleopatra Cousin Feenix cried dark daughter dear dinner Doctor Blimber Dombey and Son Dombey's door Edith eyes face father Feeder feel felt Florence gentleman glance gone Grinder hand head heart hope inquired knew Lady Skettles little Paul looked Louisa Ma'am Mac Stinger Major Bagstock midshipman mind Miss Blimber Miss Dombey Miss Floy Miss Nipper Miss Tox morning mother never night observed old Sol Papa Paul's Perch Pipchin Polly poor replied returned Richard Whittington Richards round seemed shaking sister sitting Skewton smile Sol Gills Solomon Gills stairs stood sure Susan Nipper tears tell thing thought to-morrow Toodle took Toots Tox's turned Uncle Sol voice Wal'r walked Walter Walter Gay watch Wickam window words young gentlemen
Popular passages
Page 152 - with our first garments, and will last unchanged until our race has run its course, and the wide firmament is rolled up like a scroll. The old. old fashion—Death ! Oh thank GOD, all who see it, for that older fashion yet, of
Page 152 - each other, and the golden light came streaming in, and fell upon them locked together. " Now lay me down," he said ; " and Floy, come close to me, and let me see you ! " , " How fast the river runs, between its green banks and the rushes, Floy ! But
Page 149 - leaning his poor head upon her breast, he told Floy of his dream, and smiled. When the sunbeams struck into his room through the rustling blinds, and quivered on the opposite wall like golden water, he knew that evening was coming on, and that the sky was red and beautiful. As
Page 151 - breast, as one who had some right to fondle it. No other woman would have so forgotten everybody there but him and Floy, and been so full of tenderness and pity. " And who is this ? Is this my old nurse ? " said the child, regarding with a radiant smile, a figure coming in.
Page 152 - her by the face ! But tell them that the print upon the stairs at school, is not divine enough. The light about the head is shining on me as I go ! " The golden ripple on the wall came back again, and nothing eke
Page 151 - Yes, yes. No other stranger would have shed those tears at sight of him, and called him her dear boy, her pretty boy, her own poor blighted child. No other woman would have stooped down by his bed, and taken up his wasted hand, and put it to her
Page 38 - were knocked down ; streets broken through and stopped ; deep pits and trenches dug in the ground ; enormous heaps of earth and clay thrown up ; buildings that were undermined and shaking, propped by great beams of wood. Here, a chaos of carts, overthrown and jumbled together, lay topsy-turvy at the bottom of a steep unnatural
Page 64 - of a stooping figure, with a mottled face, like bad marble, a hook nose, and a hard grey eye, that looked as if it might have been hammered at on an anvil without sustaining any injury. Forty years at least had elapsed since the Peruvian mines had been the death of Mr. Pipchin ; but his
Page 151 - with those words, and fell asleep. When he awoke, the sun was high, and the broad day was clear and warm. He lay a little, looking at the windows, which were open, and the curtains rustling in the air, and waving to and fro : then he said,
Page 149 - When ( day began to dawn again, he watched for the sun ; and when its cheerful light began to sparkle in the room, he pictured to himself—pictured ! he saw—the high church towers rising up into the morning sky, the town reviving, waking, starting into life once more,