Social comedy
Abstract
Dickens’ interest in the structure of society was not restricted to indignation over social problems. He enjoyed the harmless human foibles exposed and canalised by the class system, and laughed as pleasantly at harmless snobberies and meannesses as he laughed angrily at larger and more dangerous examples of the same vices. When displaying a group of characters from the same stratum of society he could make the group itself take on an almost unanimous personality, yet with no sacrifice of comic by-play between individuals.
Fields of Study & Subjects
History
Medicine
and Leadership
Decadence
Literature
and Society
Thomas Hardy Literature Studies
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Routledge eBooks
- Pages
- 27–32
- Publication date
- 9 January 2026
- Language
- EN
- Document type
- Book chapter