Charles Dickens as Social Reformer

     In almost all novels of Charles Dickens he is found attacking the social evils and flaws of age, like imprisonment for debt, the miserable condition of public school and punishment of children by the hands of school masters, the condition of labour and working class and delay in justice.

     In “Great Expectations” the perverting affect of money in natural habit of Pip and getting isolated from his loved ones has been made a target. Pip believes that the money to which he owes has come from Miss Havisham, and it is the irony of fate when he comes to know that the money has come from a criminal Magwitch, a convict which he had met when he was a young boy.

     In “Hard Times” industrialization has been made a target, throwing light on the tussle between labour and capital. He himself went there to see everything with his own eyes and attacked the capitalist as he liked and pointed out the flaws that he found there.

     Nevertheless, many contemporary critics of his attacked Dickens for what they called his “Prophetic Mission”. James Stephen said that Dickens mission should only be to make the world laugh not to recreate and rehabilitate society. However, Dickens remained adamant to and continued to give answers and carried on the crusade in his own periodicals.  

     To Sum Up, The novels of Dickens belong entirely to the humanitarian movement of the Victorian Age. He was from first to last a novelist with a purpose. In nearly all his books he set out to attack some specific abuse or abuses in the existing system of things. Humanitarianism was indeed the keynote of his work.