Below, readers can explore a few of Dickens’ best quotes. These come from novels like Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, and A Christmas Carol. They speak on topics like eternal love, hope, economic prospects, and more. Readers are likely to connect with the words in a variety of ways.
Suffering
Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but – I hope – into a better shape.
This quote comes from Great Expectations, a novel that features the protagonist, Pip, who learns hard truths about the world as he grows up. This quote is spoken by Estella; the young woman Pip falls in love with. She was raised by Miss. Havisham to torment and never give into men. She was born to Magwitch, a criminal, and her introduction into a world of wealth does not improve her happiness.
Love her, love her, love her! If she favours you, love her. If she wounds you, love her. If she tears your heart to pieces – and as it gets older and stronger, it will tear deeper – love her, love her, love her!
This well-known quote is spoken by Miss. Havisham in Great Expectations. Here, she is encouraging Pip to love Estella and to pain himself over her, even if she never loves him. She’s going to hurt him, but she never wants him to turn away from the pain. This is a result of the pain she experienced herself.
It is said that every life has its roses and thorns; there seemed, however, to have been a misadventure or mistake in Stephen’s case, whereby somebody else had become possessed of his roses, and he had become possessed of somebody else’s thorns in addition to his own.
These lines are from Hard Times. In the quote, the speaker emphasizes that life has its pleasures and its suffering. In Stephen’s case, he seems to be missing out on the pleasures more often than usual. Dickens uses “thorns” as a metaphor for the negative aspects of life and the roses as a positive.
Change
Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before–more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle.
This quote also comes from Great Expectations. It is spoken by the protagonist, Pip. He says these words when he’s about to go to London with the hopes of improving his economic situation. He cries, experiencing the nostalgia of the moment and the life he is leaving behind.
Contemporary Society
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.
This very famous quote comes from A Tale of Two Cities, not one of Dickens’ best-loved novels. It is suggestive of the state of affairs in England during the time, as well as in France. It was a time of opposites. For some, the best, and for some, the word. It was filled with incredulity and belief in equal measure.
Happiness and Hope
It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour.
These hopeful lines come from A Christmas Carol. It speaks to the way that human happiness can rub off and spread like a “disease.” It’s possible, even in the darkest of times, something that many of Dickens’ characters learn.
The sun,–the bright sun, that brings back, not light alone, but new life, and hope, and freshness to man–burst upon the crowded city in clear and radiant glory. Through costly-coloured glass and paper-mended window, through cathedral dome and rotten crevice, it shed its equal ray.
These lines are featured in Oliver Twist. Here, the novel speaks on the warmth and joy of the sun. It brings with it “new life and hope.” No matter where it shines, it’s possible to experience the same joy. It doesn’t matter how rich or poor one is.
My meaning simply is, that whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with all my heart to do well; that whatever I have devoted myself to, I have devoted myself to completely; that in great aims and in small, I have always been thoroughly in earnest.
These lines can be found in David Copperfield, one of Dickens’ coming-of-age novels. They speak to good intentions, hard work, and devotion. They may inspire the reader to be “earnest” or caring and careful in everything they do.
FAQs
What is a meaningful quote from Charles Dickens?
One of the most meaningful quotes from Dickens is, “It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour.” These lines are from A Christmas Carol.
What is the famous line from Oliver Twist?
The famous line from this novel is “Please, sir, I want some more.” This, among other quotes, make this a very memorable book to read.
What is a famous quote from Charles Dickens?
A famous quote from the works of Charles Dickens is: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity […]” It goes on, suggesting other comparisons about his modern world.
