Note 1 to Chapter 3 of the author's Dickens and the Rhetoric of Laughter which Clarendon Press published in 1972. It has been included in the Victorian Web with the kind permission of the author and of the Clarendon Press, which retains copyright.
Dickens explicitly says of Rose Maylie that she was "so mild and gentle -- so pure and beautiful; that earth seemed not her element" (XXIX). Similarly, Oliver's joy when he is rescued for the second time is expressed in terms of a yearning for death: "he felt calm and happy; and could have died without a murmur" (XXX).
Last modified: 1 May 2001