Quote 31
We thought this intention [of finding the fired Mr. Mell a job] very noble in Steerforth, whose mother was a widow, and rich, and would do almost anything, it was said, that he asked her. [...] But I must say that when I was going on with a story in the dark that night, Mr. Mell's old flute seemed more than once to sound mournfully in my ears; and that when at last Steerforth was tired, and I lay down in my bed, I fancied it playing so sorrowfully somewhere, that I was quite wretched. (7.95)
After Steerforth gets Mr. Mell fired, he convinces the other boys that he plans to find Mr. Mell another job so they'll feel better about the whole thing. But at night, when David is alone, even this comfort can't make his sorrow for Mr. Mell go away. Being alone makes David's guilt and sadness worse, which is perhaps one reason why he values family life and community above all other achievements.
Quote 32
The Doctor was very fond of music. Agnes sang with great sweetness and expression, and so did Mrs. Strong. They sang together, and played duets together, and we had quite a little concert. But I remarked two things: first, that though Annie soon recovered her composure, and was quite herself, there was a blank between her and Mr. Wickfield which separated them wholly from each other; secondly, that Mr. Wickfield seemed to dislike the intimacy between her and Agnes, and to watch it with uneasiness. And now, I must confess, the recollection of what I had seen on that night when Mr. Maldon went away, first began to return upon me with a meaning it had never had, and to trouble me. The innocent beauty of her face was not as innocent to me as it had been; I mistrusted the natural grace and charm of her manner; and when I looked at Agnes by her side, and thought how good and true Agnes was, suspicions arose within me that it was an ill-assorted friendship. (19.79)
David suddenly stops trusting Annie, when he notices that Mr. Wickfield suspects her and that Annie herself is aware of Mr. Wickfield's suspicions. Blame appears to be contagious, and it's the easy spread of blame that keeps Doctor Strong and Annie apart needlessly for so long. We're also interested in the fact that sin also seems to be contagious – David remarks that Mr. Wickfield doesn't like "the intimacy between [Annie] and Agnes," perhaps because he worries that Annie will be a bad influence on Agnes. This protective instinct echoes Mr. Peggotty and Ham Peggotty's concern when Emily meets with Martha Endell (before Emily runs away). At the same time, we later discover that Agnes visits Emily repeatedly before she sails to Australia. Sure, people can influence you to do the wrong thing, but Agnes's morals are so firmly grounded that we seriously don't think just talking to Annie, Emily, or Martha Endell is going to change them. Do women appear to be particularly vulnerable to certain kinds of social crimes? What does it say about the society in the book that it thinks that women are so easily "corrupted?"
Quote 33
It rarely happened now that Mr. Maldon accompanied them. Sometimes my aunt and Dora were invited to do so, and accepted the invitation. Sometimes Dora only was asked. The time had been, when I should have been uneasy in her going; but reflection on what had passed that former night in the Doctor's study, had made a change in my mistrust. I believed that the Doctor was right, and I had no worse suspicions. (45.16)
David's mind is so easily changed: he suspects Annie of being a cheater when Mr. Wickfield shows his suspicions, but he changes his mind about Annie when Doctor Strong refuses to doubt her. What are we to make of this social component of blame? Why can't David make his moral judgments of Annie on his own, without input from those around him? Does David make any moral judgments without looking to the responses of his friends? Does David ever disagree with the moral judgments of his friends? And do you ever disagree with David's assessments?