Editing David Copperfield (section)

====Pathos and indulgent humour====
[[File:David Copperfield, Steerforth and Mr Mell.jpg|thumb|300px|Steerforth and Mr Mell, by [[Hablot Knight Browne|Phiz]].]]
In ''David Copperfield'' idealised characters and highly sentimental scenes are contrasted with caricatures and ugly social truths. While good characters are also satirised, a considered sentimentality replaces satirical ferocity. This is a characteristic of all of Dickens's writing, but it is reinforced in ''David Copperfield'' by the fact that these people are the narrator's close family members and friends, who are devoted to David and sacrificing themselves for his happiness. Hence the indulgence applied from the outset, with humour prevailing along with loving complicity. David is the first to receive such treatment, especially in the section devoted to his early childhood, when he is lost in the depths of loneliness in London, following his punishment by Mr Murdstone. Michael Hollington analyses a scene in chapter 11 that seems emblematic of the situation and how humour and sentimentality are employed by Dickens.<ref name=Hollingotn1997p37>{{harvnb|Hollington|1997|p=37}}</ref> This is the episode where the very young David orders a pitcher of the best beer in a [[public house]], "To moisten what I had for dinner".<ref>{{harvnb|Dickens|1999|pp=132–133}}</ref> David's memory has retained the image of the scene, which is so vivid that he sees himself as from the outside. He has forgotten the exact date (his birthday). This episode release David's emotional pain, writes Michael Hollington, obliterating the infected part of the wound. Beyond the admiration aroused for the amazing self-confidence of the little child, in resolving this issue and taking control of his life with the assurance of someone much older, the passage "testifies to the work of memory, transfiguring the moment into a true myth".<ref name=Hollingotn1997p37 /> The tone is nostalgic because, ultimately, the epilogue is a true moment of grace. The wife of the keeper, returning David's money, deposits on his forehead a gift that has become extremely rare,<ref name=Hollingotn1997p38>{{harvnb|Hollington|1997|p=38}}</ref> a kiss, "Half admired and half compassionate", but above all full of kindness and femininity; at least, adds David, as a tender and precious reminder, "I am sure".