Who Was the Hero of David Copperfield’s Story?
“Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.
A Personal History of David Copperfield, tells the story of a middle-aged novelist taking inventory of his own life, so far. As a retelling of Charles Dickens’s semi-autobiographical work, it highlights both the challenges and joys of the lead character’s journey to becoming an author. Along the way, he negotiates the challenges of antagonists like oppressive relatives, tyrannical employers, and cruel debt collectors.
At the beginning of the film, we find Copperfield on the stage of a crowded Victorian theatre, preparing to read his autobiography. The opening remarks of the novel are some of the most famous in literature:
Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show. To begin my life with the beginning of my life, I record that I was born (as I have been informed and believe) on a Friday, at twelve o’clock at night.
But Copperfield does not face life alone. As he shares his story, alongside the challenges, we are introduced to countless colorful characters that accompanied him on his journey. There is Mr. Dick (who is obsessed with thoughts of King Charles’ detached head), Betsey Trotwood (who has an unusual disdain for donkey’s), and the Peggotty family (who reside in an upside-down beached boat). And near the end of the film, Copperfield concludes his story this way:
And now I have nothing left to tell. Unless indeed I were to confess that this narrative is far more than mere fiction, it is in fact written memory wherein loss and love are forever side by side. Its people are as real as Earth. And my truest hope is that I might grow half as strong in the telling of their story as they have grown in the living of it.
Like Copperfield, you probably know how your story began. To begin your life with the beginning of your life, you can record that you were born. But how your story will unfold, and how it will conclude, are part of the suspense. The one thing you can be sure of is that you are not the hero of your own story. That station belongs to another. We are all tempted to think of ourselves as the hero of our story. When we arrive at the end of our story, we will have nothing left to tell than that our loss and his love walked side by side.
(Bonus application: Loss and love are forever side by side. In the providence of God, we are accompanied through life by a community of often the most colorful characters. God uses these individuals to shape our story and mold us into the image of Christ.)
Key Texts
Ex 32:11; Dt 8:17; 9:4; Judges 7:2; 1Ch 29:11–16; Ps 115:1; Is 10:8–14; 48:11; Mt 16:17; Jn 1:12; 1:13; 1Co 15:10; 2Co 3:5; Ep 2:8–10; Rv 4:4-10
Key Topics
community end times heaven
Source
The Personal Life of David Copperfiled. Directed by Armando Iannucci, performances by Dev Patel, Aneurin Barnard, and Peter Capaldi. SearchLight Picture, 2020.
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