Dickens shows the worst case and consequences of a family conflict here, but by
putting his main character, a child, into such a sad and difficult situation and
by drawing such a sharp contrast between the happy world before the marriage and
the cruel life afterwards, he makes a clear criticism.
He criticizes qualities,
like the thirst for power over others, suppressiveness and physical and mental
cruelty in a family. And shows how old-fashioned ideals, like the husband as the
boss of his family, can destroy family bonds and dissolve families. And though
the events in the book might seem to be a bit exaggerated, it cannot be denied
that this kind of behaviour was surely a social problem in the 19th century.
Finally there is one more remarkable fact: The name Murdstone seems to be made
up of two words: murderer and stone. This could describe a person who is on the
one hand relentless and calculating and on the other hand cold and emotionless.
So it is very likely that this name was chosen by Dickens on purpose to
criticize all the “Murdstones” in his time.
