David Copperfield was born into a loving family; he had a loving mother who would have done anything for him and a doting nanny. But early in David’s life all of this changes; David’s mother, alone since her husband died, found interest in a new man, Mr. Murdstone, and was soon married to him. The drastic changes this marriage brought about destroyed David’s home and came close to destroying David himself.

Before Murdstone came along the Copperfield house was a fun and loving place, there was always laughter and dancing. David’s mother may have been a child wife and mother, but she loved David with all she had and she was never shy about showing David that love. Murdstone had very different ideas on how to raise a child. He believed in firmness and loved nothing more than himself. Eventually David is sent away to school, and after his mother dies he’s sent off to work in a dismal wine bottling plant. After some time there he decides to run away and hopefully find his aunt who he hopes will take care of him. Fortunately his aunt takes him in and shapes his identity by providing direction and education.

Dickens offers a glimpse at what kind of man David would have grown up to be in Dora. David would have been spoiled and would not have been able to cope effectively in the world if he was left to grow up in his boyhood home. As cruel as Murdstone is, his actions forced David to find his own way in the world and saved him from the fate he would have endured had he been left to grow up with his mother and Peggotty.

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