Dickens, Charles,--1812-1870.--Dombey and Son.

Considering the fervent Catholicism of convert G. K. Chesterton's societal views, his championship of Charles Dickens, a seemingly avid non-Catholic, may appear misplaced. Upon examination, however, the wisdom of Chesterton's rationale will manifest itself; in fact, rereading Dickens's Dombey and Son through the eyes of Chesterton's Orthodoxy will prove Dickens himself to be a champion, albeit an inadvertent one, of the very core of Catholicism. Presenting Florence Dombey as a heroine, as a paragon of religious strength, and as a path to salvation for her misguided father, I present her not only as Dickens's literary and moral contribution to readers of his age, but also as a symbolic Marian model to readers of any age. Through a Chestertonian reading of Dombey and Son, two things become overwhelmingly apparent: Dickens's own "orthodoxy" and his powerful optimism.