ABSTRACT
Gissing'sstudyofDickens,writtenneartheendofhiscareer,canbereadinsome respectsasanimplicitvindicationofhisownpractice.Likehisnovels,itis markedbycontradictionswhichgiveitmuchofitsinterest.Somepassages suggestthatGissingratherenviestheeasyrelationDickensenjoyedwithhis readers.Attheoutset,henotesthatDickens''yearsofapprenticeshiptolifeand literaturewerethosewhichsawtheriseandestablishmentoftheMiddleClass, commonlycalled"Great"'(CharlesDickens,p.2).Sharedtastesandsentiments keptDickensclosetothisgrowingmiddle-classaudience,makinghim'the mouthpieceofhiskind,inallthatrelatestosimpleemotionsandhomelythought' (pp.77f;cf.pp.34and175f.).'Mouthpiece'is,however,anequivocalterm(and oneweshallencounteragain):Dickens'closenesstohisreadersmayhavegiven himacertainrepresentativeauthority,buthisreadyacquiescenceintheirworldviewisidentifiedasadamaginglimitation.
