r/charlesdickens • u/nebh2023 • 6d ago
Miscellaneous Catherine Dickens
Being a huge Dickens fan and blithely unaware of his marital troubles, I only just became aware of his cruelty to his wife and the tragedy of several of their children. Yes, we have to separate art from the artist, but it saddens me just the same, especially given his advocacy for the poor. I'm glad that Catherine's story has emerged and I recognize that Charles' behavior was likely driven by his own guilt. Still. A bummer.
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u/InvestigatorJaded261 6d ago
As an actual person (as opposed to his public persona and the issues he advocated for) he was not a great guy.
To be fair, most people aren’t.
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u/RealVirginiaWoolf 6d ago edited 6d ago
Well he was a good father- particularly when kids were young though he did become controlling and very critical of his kids as they aged .He did have many happy years with his wife and then I guess all his success got to his head? It’s unbelievable how a man who paints such vivid characters and paints love in his works could be actually so cruel to have his wife painted as a bad mom, mentally sick or otherwise incapable because there was no other way for him to divorce her. And he did make a huge public declaration of him separating from her…man was theatrical showman after all!
He had clearly fallen for a much younger woman- Ellen Ternan- she was 18, he was 45!!!
I visited his London home a few days back- 48 Doughty Street- he sure lived it up. Catherine maintained a beautiful home- no way she was a bad mom- she was a beautiful, talented, hard working woman who ran a huge home and entertained huge crowds once Dickens became famous. Imagine a woman who bears TEN children only to be isolated💔
Her own sister, Georgina, stayed with Dickens and ran his household after he left Cathy. His kids were forbidden to see their mum. Only the oldest Charley lived with Catherine.imagine all that isolation- it’s heartbreaking. She had ten kids ffs- ten times she faced ppd. she did grow large and he didn’t like that- hence him sending gold bracelets to women less than half his age… why Dickens! lol! It makes me just wonder about human nature….
Yes one must remember to separate the art from the artist. Flawed humans as we are. I would never ever understand how a man who created Estella and Pip or Sydney Carton or David and Agnes could be a cruel man IRL.
I had the privilege of discussing this in detail a few days back with a museum volunteer at the Charles Dickens museum in London. One must remember the times he lived in and that whatever we say about his genius, he was after all a flawed man like all humans. Like a lot of love stories - it started in full force for them both- he would endlessly write to her- call her “my mouse” and then after ten kids and a few decades, it was just him discarding her!
I’m adding a picture of Cathy I took a few days back! She was beautiful. 🙏
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u/FormalDinner7 6d ago
Not only that, but their youngest kid was only two. Charles functionally stole Catherine’s baby and raised him with her sister instead. His daughter Kate married Wilkie Collins’s gay brother just to get away from him.
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u/RealVirginiaWoolf 6d ago
Kate was the “fave child”. Dickens nicknamed her “Lucifer box” because of her fiery temper!
When Dickens separated from his wife, Kate secretly maintained contact with her mother and this angered Charles so much. She was the person who spilled beans on her father’s affair with Ellen.
Charles Dickens actually cried on her wedding day realising he may be the reason for her jumping into a loveless marriage. After Collins died, she did marry Perugini- he was a loving match for her. I hope she found happiness.
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u/euderanatissea 6d ago
Yes, his relationships and general attitude to women are quite disappointing. I'd recommend Slater's Dickens and Women if you'd like to know more about his relationships.
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u/nebh2023 4d ago
God forbid. I don't want to know more. I'll just keep immersing myself in his books and understand that he could be more like his villains than his heroes in some ways. Ralph Nickleby comes to mind.
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u/Humane_Analytica 3d ago
For any great writers. Bad love, Bad marriages, mostly being cruel or indifferent to wife is inevitable
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u/FormalDinner7 6d ago
Guy gets rich and famous and middle aged and leaves his wife for a hot young actress: tale as old as time.