a A.Naef-Hinderling, The Search for the Culprit, p.16.
b A.Naef-Hinderling, The Search for the Culprit, p.17.
Edgar Johson beschreef dit uitvoerig: "Fanny was learning
to play piano, and they would sing comic songs to gether,
such as "The Cat's Meat Man' with its recurrent chorus of
'Down in the street cries the cat's meat man, Fango
dango, with his barrow and can.'" In the Mitre Inn and
Clarence hotel, zongen zij (Charles begon) "'Long time
I've courted you, miss, And now I've come from sea; We'll
make up no more ado, miss, But quickly married be.' Then
the youngsters would join in a 'Sing fol de rol' chorus,
she [Fanny] would take the next stanza, and the two would
continue alternately: 'I ne'er will wed a tar, sir,
Deceitful as yourself; Tis very plain you are, sir, A
good for nothing elf.' etc.". (Vol.1, Part I,ch.2,p.l4-
15)
a Letter 27/12/1844 to John Forster, Pilgr Ed.IV,p243-4
reactie op de poging van zijn moeder, om
hem naar zijn werk in het
schoensmeerfabriekje terug te sturen,
vervolgt zij:
We can conjecture that the child's despair was intensified because it was not only a
response to the blacking warehouse as such but recalled the sting of earlier wounds or,
in other words, that his early childhood had not been entirely happy after all. The
following reflections can, of course, be no more than speculations since Dickens himself
is not in a position to correct any misinterpretations as a patient in analysis could, but it
is hoped that the speculations acquire some sort of probability by the circumstantial
evidence produced. However, it is patendy impossible to take into account the whole
complex psychological set-up of the human being called Charles Dickens; emphasis will
have to be laid on a few characteristic and conspicuous features.(a)
Dickens, schrijft Naef-Hinderling, heeft allebei zijn ouders ervaren als:
extremely histrionic personalities. Apparendy they both craved for admiration and they
sometimes reached this goal vicariously through their children. Charles and his elder
sister Fanny often had to give litde performances for the benefit of their father, i.e. for
the enhancement of his selfesteem. They used to sing comical ballads, songs of love
between a sailor and his bride, and thus amused John Dickens's friends, (b)
Maef-Hinderling wijst op verschillende brieven van Charles Dickens waarin hij de
breedsprakerigheid van zijn vader beschreef. In 1844 schreef Dickens vanuit Genua, toen zijn
arts deze stad verliet, aan Forster:
We are very sorry to lose the benefit of his advice - or, as my father would say, to be
deprived, to a certain extent, of the concomitant advantages, whatever they may be,
resulting from his medical skill, such as it is, and his professional attendance, in so far as
it may be so considered.(a)
Naef-Hinderlin vervolgt dan:
