Charles Dickens’s utopic realism

Abstract

One of the most remarkable aspects of Dickens’ novels is his effort to depict the totality of daily life. Though flawed at times,
but always interesting, these descriptions contained a sharp criticism of the pragmatism and inequality present in Victorian society. There is, however, a peculiar aspect of Dickens’ social vision: for him, social structure and institutions could only be transformed through the purity of love and innocence, a belief
which is at the same time utopian and regressive.