Introduction

Charles Dickens 's great satire on poverty, riches, and imprisonment, Little Dorrit is the story of Arthur Clennam, a man whose kindly interest in Amy Dorrit, his mother's seamstress, assures him nothing but trouble. Her father, William Dorrit, a man of shabby grandeur, has long been imprisoned for debt in the Marshalsea. A masterly evocation of the state and psychology of imprisonment, Little Dorrit is a supreme work of Dickens's maturity.

Coming to PBS in March 2009 a Masterpiece Classic production of Charles Dickens's Little Dorrit

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Excerpt

Chapter 1: Sun and Shadow

Thirty years ago, Marseilles lay burning in the sun, one day.

A blazing sun upon a fierce August day was no greater rarity in southern France then, than at any other time, before or since. Every thing in Marseilles, and about Marseilles, had stared at the fervid sky, and been stared at in return, until a staring habit had become universal there. Strangers were stared out of countenance by staring white houses, staring white walls, staring white streets, staring tracts of arid road, staring hills from which verdure was burnt away. The only things to be seen not fixedly staring and glaring were the vines drooping under their load of grapes. These did occasionally wink a little, as the hot air barely moved their faint leaves. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1. Imprisonment is a theme in many of Dickens’s novels, but is perhaps most fully realized in Little Dorrit. Discuss the attitudes of Mr. Dorrit and Little Dorrit toward the Marshalsea. How are they similar? Different? To what extent is either character able to overcome feelings of imprisonment once set free?
2. Critics have noted that, just as the text is divided into two books with opposing titles, “Poverty” and “Riches, ” Little Dorrit is organized according to numerous symmetries. (For instance, “Sun and Shadow” of the first chapter.) Identify and discuss some of these symmetries. In what specific ways do they help advance the novel’s complex plot.
3. As in many of his novels, Dickens uses Little Dorrit to criticize government agencies he finds corrupt or incompetent. Discuss Dickens’s portrayal of the Circumlocution Offic. What is the meaning of the office’s name? Did you find Dickens’ critique successful? Why or why not?
4. Discuss the role of female figures in Little Dorrit. In particular, how do figures such as Amy Dorrit compare to other female characters that you have encountered in other novels by Dickens?
5. Dicuss the character of Arthur Clennam. Do you consider him the novel’s hero? Why or why not?

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