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David Copperfield Martha Endell Quotes

Martha Endell > Emily

Quote 1

"How can I go on as I am, a solitary curse to myself, a living disgrace to everyone I come near!" Suddenly [Martha] turned to my companion. "Stamp upon me, kill me! When she was your pride, you would have thought I had done her harm if I had brushed against her in the street. You can't believe—why should you?—-a syllable that comes out of my lips. It would be a burning shame upon you, even now, if she and I exchanged a word." (47.39)

When David and Mr. Peggotty manage to track down Martha Endell in the streets of London, she lets forth this torrent of guilt and self-reproach. She thinks that she brings disgrace to everyone she's close to, and worries that she somehow inflicted shame on Emily just by talking to her. Does the degree of Martha's shame strike you as realistic? Are there any reasons we can think of for why Dickens might want to exaggerate the dramatic effect of this scene?