This past week I was finally able to start our book club at church, when another classic book was thrust into my consciousness.  My daughter brought home from the local library, a movie of Charles Dickens’, "Little Dorrit”. I have read some of Dickens work before, as one’s schooling usually acquaints us with, “A Christmas Carol”, “A Tale of Two Cities”, and “Oliver Twist”. I have to admit that in my ignorance, I thought that this novel must not be one of his better works. What a mistake! Indeed, this book appears to have more depth than his more popular fiction.
The overall theme focuses on “prison”. On the surface it is a tale based on Dickens’ own experience with the debtor prison at Marshalsea in London. The story has Mr. William Dorrit as an inmate of this institution for failure to pay his debts. His daughter, Amy, also known as “Little Dorrit”, remains with there to care for him. She is able to go outside and work at sewing jobs in order to pay for food and other needs, as prison in the 1800’s did not include free room and board as it does today. Thus, Amy has the choice to stay there or not. She chooses to remain with her father. Obviously, she is the heroine of the tale. Moreover, this situation is exactly what Dickens’ experienced as a twelve year old boy with his father and family in this same prison.
The hero of the book is a man named Arthur, who returns from China after his father dies. He returns to visit his mother, who displays little love for her son, or for the memory of her deceased husband. She is now wheelchair bound, and she has hired “Little Dorrit” to do mending around the house. Arthur meets Amy there, and he determines that he ought to try to help improve the Dorrit’s impoverished situation.
Dickens’ books love to deal with the changing fortunes of people. The poor are raised up. The orphans find happiness. The rich are ruined. In “Little Dorrit", fortune is represented by the banker, Mr. Merdle. He has tricked everyone into investing into his pyramid scheme. When the bubble bursts, all the families in the book are affected. Yes, the debtor, Mr. Dorrit, is eventually freed after finding out he is an heir to a fortune through Arthur’s help, but his fortune is lost as well. Finally, Arthur now finds himself in debtor’s prison. The good news is that even in their present poverty, Amy (Little Dorrit) and Arthur find happiness in each other.  Importantly, other characters are revealed to be in a prison of their own making, whether actually physically free or not. Mr. Dorrit is imprisoned by the new social status upon his new found wealth. Mr. Merdle is imprisoned by his financial scheme. Arthur’s mother is imprisoned by her wheelchair because she has manipulated all the people around her. The only characters who are truly “free” are Amy and Arthur, who despite all their changes in fortune do the most good they can for others with whatever resources they have.
It reminds us that in the gospels, Jesus tells us that in order to lead, we must serve. Jesus continually puts forth contradictions that appear to confound human reason. Give away your extra tunic. Walk an extra mile. Bless your enemies. Turn the other cheek. The last shall be first. “Little Dorrit” is one of the best novels that I have come across to help us understand how freedom can be found through servitude to Christ and others. It is over 800 pages in length, so it is almost as daunting as reading the Bible. Still I think that you will find it worthwhile. It’s almost a “gospel according to Dickens”.