Orwell on Dickens’s Limited View of Progress and Technology
6 reported
According to an article on marginalrevolution.com, George Orwell observed that Charles Dickens showed little interest in machinery or the technological advances of his era. Orwell noted that Dickens rarely described railway journeys with enthusiasm, preferring stage-coach travel, and that his books often feel set in the early 1800s despite being written later. Orwell pointed out that inventions like the electric telegraph and breech-loading gun appeared in Dickens’s lifetime but were scarcely noted in his works. In the novel Little Dorrit, a character’s invention is described as important but never specified, which Orwell found striking. Orwell contrasted Dickens with H.G. Wells, who focused heavily on the future, while Dickens lacked a mechanical mindset and showed little consciousness of progress. Orwell concluded that Dickens had an infallible moral sense but very little intellectual curiosity, and that he had no idea of work.
What’s reported
Orwell stated that Dickens was not mechanically minded and showed no interest in machinery or its capabilities.
Dickens rarely described railway journeys with enthusiasm, preferring stage-coach journeys, according to Orwell.
Several inventions from Dickens’s lifetime, such as the electric telegraph and breech-loading gun, are scarcely noted in his books.
In Little Dorrit, the character Doyce’s invention is described as important but never specified.
Orwell contrasted Dickens with H.G. Wells, who focused on the future, while Dickens lacked consciousness of the future.
Orwell said Dickens had an infallible moral sense but very little intellectual curiosity.
Key figures
George Orwell (author of the observations)
Charles Dickens (subject of the observations)
H.G. Wells (modern analogue mentioned)
Gissing (referenced as remarking on Dickens)
Doyce (character in Little Dorrit)
Sources: marginalrevolution.com
