ABSTRACT
Dickens’ affinity for gravesites is undeniable. Cemeteries and burial plots serve as symbolic points of interest throughout his canon, often invoking his contempt with a fervor rivaling his indignation for other social institutions; yet, Dickens also makes alternative use of churchyards as spots of refuge and revelation, often drawing members of the community together for a shared purpose. Churchyards are points of commemoration for the dead, frequently linking narrative elements. But they can be physical and metaphorical places of self-actualization. Characters such as Little Nell in The Old Curiosity Shop or Lady Dedlock in Bleak House are terminally bound to churchyards. They trek toward them as their final destination, endpoints on a journey that invoke the idea of pilgrimages intended to sanctify a burial site. Pilgrimages, improvised or as allusion, become physical acts of consecration embodying spiritual renewal or enlightenment even as they inevitably lead to places of death for amidst their duration and in their culmination at churchyards, characters find enlightenment or a transformed vision for life.
