Worlds Made in the Hearts of Men: Symbolism of Environment in the Works of Charles Dickens

This thesis examines the symbolism in aspects of environment and other background elements in the works of Charles Dickens. Phenomena such as the weather, rural landscapes, urban landscapes, factories and machines, and fire serve as symbols that reveal Dickens's view of the human condition. The author uses insights by other scholars to provide a foundation for a larger edifice that connects these symbols to each other, to the idea of twinned moral and physical worlds across the Dickens canon, and to the larger question of how this reflects on Dickens both as a storyteller and as a social critic.