Although many literary historians regard Charles Dickens’ use of character names to denote personality as somewhat club-footed, you have to remember that he was writing for an audience of varied intelligence (and very high naivety) levels. While we often assume today that he appealed only to a minority – at least a third of all early Victorians were illiterate, and over 80% didn’t buy any books at all – this is to underestimate Dickens’ business acumen.
He knew that the trend towards lower-class education was growing – by 1900 literacy had more than doubled – but in the meantime he wanted to be famous and successful. So he embarked on exhausting tours of theatres and lecture halls to read the latest chapters of his novels….almost all of which were, prior to book publication, serialised in popular magazines of the time. On these public tours, the spoken word could tell his stories.
I’m not a Dickens fan myself (I find his work lachrymose and plot-repetitive) but the one thing I’ve always had a soft spot for is the character name/personality thing. Calling somebody Mr Gradgrind, Mrs Malaprop or Mr Bumble – like the era itself, many of his inventions were formal – I do find oddly engaging. My most vociferous critics in The Slog context are those who turn their noses up at names I use like Moral Tone, Avid Cameldung, Baroness Frunt-Botham, Teddy Testicles, and the Ed Miller Band, but I have never apologised for this and never will: these are all useful literary tools…..and if in the 21st century they are looked down upon and rarely used, then if nothing else they will be distinctive.
Anyway, there I was sitting on a Messinian beach the other day – pondering the witless nature of relativism, the way you do. And I thought how amusing it might be to overlay this Dickens technique onto some invented characters based on today’s Western politicians and public officials. So tonight’s star prize goes to the first Slogger who can identify all of the following:
Nickerless Fickleby
Adolf Balderdash
Dario Madbank
Wally Vague
Calumny Cutts
Blackamoor Suit
Nelly Choakumchild
Murdstone Oddcove
Hilda Lothemale
Ebeneezer Plumples
Jellyby Junta
Edwin Doubt
Ignitimus Bladdered
Heep van Merdepoet
Darius Cokenose
I leave you tonight with the news from Reuters that China’s banks will soon be able to operate branches in the UK that may not fall under domestic regulatory rules. So however silly you think tonights ATEOTD to be, at least it’s harmless.
The Slog 