The Best Charles Dickens Quotes

Charles Dickens truly understood human nature and society. His books, full of unforgettable characters and lively scenes, still charm readers today.

Here are some of Dickens' best words, offering a look at his world and ours. We've grouped his ideas on life, relationships, and the social problems of his day, so you can see why they still matter.

Beyond the Narrative: The Lasting Power of Dickens's Words

Dickens's popularity stems not only from his storytelling but also from the way he articulated universal truths. His phrases often transcend their original context, standing alone as observations on human character, social structures, and personal experience.

These quotes serve as a window into the Victorian era, yet they reflect dilemmas and joys that remain familiar. They invite readers to consider their own lives, relationships, and place within society, demonstrating the lasting capacity of a well-turned phrase to provoke thought and recognition.

The Inner Life: Self-Discovery and Human Mystery

Dickens frequently explored the private landscape of thought and feeling, examining how individuals perceive themselves and the world around them. His characters often grapple with their personal narratives, reflecting on the mysteries inherent in every human heart and the difficulty of truly knowing another. The first steps in understanding one's life story are often marked by this kind of personal inquiry.

A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other.

If her eyes had no expression, it was probably because they had nothing to express. If she had few wrinkles, it was because her mind had never traced its name or any other inscription on her face.

I verily believe that her not remembering and not minding in the least made me cry again inwardly — and that is the sharpest crying of all.

When I have heard him talking to Papa during the sittings for the picture, I have sat wondering whether it could be that he has no belief in anybody else, because he has no belief in himself.

The cloud of caring for nothing, which overshadowed him with such a fatal darkness, was very rarely pierced by the light within him.

Prowling about the rooms, sitting down, getting up, stirring the fire, looking out the window, teasing my hair, sitting down to write, writing nothing, writing something and tearing it up...

Depth answers only to depth.

I know enough of the world now to have almost lost the capacity of being much surprised by anything.

I am not old, but my young way was never the way to age.

Regrets are the natural property of grey hairs.

Society's Mirror: Justice, Inequality, and Human Flaws

Dickens was a keen critic of social injustice and inequality, using his stories to expose the harsh realities faced by many in Victorian England. He examined the failings of institutions and individuals, particularly highlighting the plight of the vulnerable and the moral compromises made by those in power. He often argued that individuals are responsible for the systems they create and uphold.

They are man's and they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance and this girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree; but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased.

The aphorism "Whatever is, is right," would be as final as it is lazy, did it not include the troublesome consequence that nothing that ever was, was wrong.

Circumstances may accumulate so strongly even against an innocent man, that directed, sharpened, and pointed, they may slay him.

For not an orphan in the wide world can be so deserted as the child who is an outcast from a living parent's love.

But the mere truth won't do. You must have a lawyer.

Lawyers hold that there are two kinds of particularly bad witnesses — a reluctant witness, and a too-willing witness.

The Northern onslaught upon slavery was no more than a piece of specious humbug designed to conceal its desire for economic control of the Southern states.

In England, there was scarcely an amount of order and protection to justify much national boasting.

They are so filthy and bestial that no honest man would admit one into his house for a water-closet doormat.

Crush humanity out of shape once more, under similar hammers, and it will twist itself into the same tortured forms. Sow the same seeds of rapacious licence and oppression over again, and it will surely yield the same fruit according to its kind.

Many who serve charity seek almost as much excitement in their work as pleasure-seekers do in theirs.

Detestation of the high is the involuntary homage of the low.

A man in public life expects to be sneered at — it is the fault of his elevated situation, and not of himself.

A man has no right to be a public man unless he meets the public's expectations.

My hair stands on end at the cost and charges of these boys. Why was I ever a father! Why was my father ever a father!

He was touched in the cavity where his heart should have been, in that nest of addled eggs, where the birds of heaven would have lived if they had not been whistled away, by the fervour of this reproach.

At this time of the rolling year, the specter said, I suffer most. Why did I walk through crowds of fellow-beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode? Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me?

The universe makes rather an indifferent parent, I am afraid.

The Bonds We Forge: Love, Family, and Friendship

Central to Dickens's narratives are the various forms of human connection – from the loyalty of friendship to the complexities of family and romantic love. He explored the strength derived from these relationships, emphasizing the importance of open hearts and unwavering support. His observations extend beyond biological ties to encompass a broader understanding of who constitutes one's truest kin.

Never close your lips to those you have already opened your heart to.

What are the odds so long as the fire of the soul is kindled at the taper of conviviality, and the wing of friendship never molts a feather?

When I speak of home, I mean the place where, in default of a better, those I love are gathered together; and if that place were a gypsy's tent or a barn, I should call it by the same good name notwithstanding.

Friendless I can never be, for all mankind are my kindred, and I am on ill terms with no one member of my great family.

When you drink of the water, don't forget the spring from which it flows.

You are in every line I have ever read.

I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be.

Constancy in love is a good thing; but it means nothing, and is nothing, without constancy in every kind of effort.

If you should happen, by any unlikely chance, to know a man more blest in a laugh than Scrooge’s nephew, all I can say is, I should like to know him too. Introduce him to me, and I’ll cultivate his acquaintance.

"We are friends," said I, rising and bending over her, as she rose from the bench. "And will continue friends apart," said Estella. I took her hand in mine, and we went out of the ruined place; and, as the morning mists had risen long ago when I first left the forge, so the evening mists were rising now, and in all the broad expanse of tranquil light they showed to me, I saw no shadow of another parting from her.

Finding Light: Hope, Resilience, and Everyday Joys

Despite often portraying grim circumstances, Dickens's works are frequently infused with a sense of hope and the capacity for individuals to find joy and strength. He celebrated the power of resilience, the beauty in small, everyday pleasures, and the potential for compassion to brighten even the darkest lives. This perspective encourages finding light, even when overshadowed by difficulties.

There was nothing remarkable in this. They were not a handsome family, not well dressed; their shoes were far from waterproof, their clothes were scanty, and Peter had likely known the inside of a pawnbroker’s. But they were happy, grateful, pleased with one another, and contented with the time.

Happiness is a gift and the trick is not to expect it, but to delight in it when it comes.

Being that rare sort of old girl who receives good to her arms without a hint that it might be better, and catches light from any little spot of darkness near her.

As an emotion of the mind will express itself through any covering of the body, so the paleness which his situation engendered came through the brown upon his cheek, showing the soul to be stronger than the sun.

Captain Cuttle, like all mankind, little knew how much hope had survived within him under discouragement, until he felt its death-shock.

In London he had expected neither to walk on pavements of gold nor to lie on beds of roses; he expected labour, he found it, he did it, and made the best of it. In this his prosperity consisted.

This was my only and my constant comfort. When I think of it, the picture always rises in my mind, of a summer evening, the boys at play in the churchyard, and I sitting on my bed, reading as if for life.

The privileges of the side-table included the small prerogatives of sitting next to the toast, and taking two cups of tea to other people's one.

To a young heart, everything is fun.

It opens the lungs, washes the countenance, exercises the eyes, and softens the temper; so cry away.

Pride is one of the seven deadly sins; but it cannot be the pride of a mother in her children, for that is a compound of two cardinal virtues – faith and hope.

May I tell you why it seems to me a good thing for us to remember wrong that has been done us? That we may forgive it.

Gold, for the instant, lost its luster in his eyes, for there were countless treasures of the heart which it could never purchase.

Every baby born into the world is a finer one than the last.

There are many things which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited.

He was by no means opposed to hard labour on principle; he would work away at a cricket-match all day — running, catching, batting and bowling, and revelling in toil which would exhaust a galley-slave.

I looked at the stars, and considered how awful it would be for a man to turn his face up to them as he froze to death, and see no help or pity in all the glittering multitude.

The flowers that sleep by night opened their gentle eyes and turned them to the day. The light, creation's mind, was everywhere, and all things owned its power.

Time's Unfolding: Memory, Change, and Witty Observations

Dickens often reflected on the passage of time, the influence of memory, and the inevitability of change. His writing frequently touches upon how past events shape the present and future, and the long arc of consequences. Interspersed with these deeper thoughts are his sharp, often humorous, observations on the peculiarities of life, human behavior, and the world around him.

I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!

Life is made of ever so many partings welded together.

Now I return to this young fellow. I must tell him that he has great expectations.

Vengeance and retribution require a long time; it is the rule.

There was no pause, no pity, no peace, no interval of relenting rest, no measurement of time. Though days and nights circled as regularly as when time was young, and the evening and morning were the first day, other count of time there was none.

Annual income: twenty pounds; annual expenditure: nineteen pounds six shillings — result: happiness. Annual income: twenty pounds; annual expenditure: twenty pounds and sixpence — result: misery.

We lawyers are always curious, always inquisitive, always picking up odds and ends for our patchwork minds, since there is no knowing when and where they may fit into some corner.

I do not know the American gentleman—God forgive me for putting two such words together.

What an immense impression Paris made upon me. It is the most extraordinary place in the world!

I had seen the damp lying on the outside of my little window, as if some goblin had been crying there all night, and using the window for a pocket-handkerchief.

There are books of which the backs and covers are by far the best parts.

The last trumpet ever to be sounded shall blow even algebra to wreck.

Oh, a dainty plant is the ivy green, That creepeth o'er ruins old! Of right choice food are his meals, I ween, In his cell so lone and cold. Creeping where no life is seen, A rare old plant is the ivy green.

Up the two terrace flights of steps the rain ran wildly, and beat at the great door, like a swift messenger rousing those within.

Consider This

When reflecting on a Dickens quote, consider its original context in the novel or story. This often adds layers of meaning to his character observations and social critiques.

Key takeaways

Dickens believed in the power of human connection and loyalty over material wealth.
His writings consistently advocated for social justice and warned against societal indifference.
Joy can be found in small moments and the resilience of the human spirit.
Understanding oneself and one's past is a continuous, complex process.
Dickens's sharp observations on everyday life remain pertinent for self-reflection.

Frequently asked questions

What are Charles Dickens's most famous quotes about life?

Many of his observations on life, responsibility, and the human spirit are famous, such as those concerning the chains we forge or the nature of happiness.

Did Charles Dickens write about social issues?

Yes, social injustice, poverty, and the legal system were central themes in his work, often expressed through the harsh realities faced by his characters.

Where can I find more quotes from Dickens?

The best source for his quotes is to read his original novels and short stories, which offer the full context of his memorable lines.

What is the meaning of 'Great Expectations'?

The phrase often refers to the hopes and ambitions a person has for their future, particularly concerning wealth or social standing, as explored in his novel of the same name.

Charles Dickens explained tricky things simply, which is why his words still connect with people. These aren't just quotes; they invite us to see human nature clearly and kindly, just as Dickens did with his stories.

All Charles Dickens quotes on Power Place