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Compare and contrast the characters of Dora and Emily in David Copperfield.

Dora and Emily both want to be ladies. Dora, having come from a well-to-do family, was born into and brought up in this lifestyle. She is concerned about what a lady should do and should not do. Emily, however, is from a working-class family. Though she does not know exactly what a lady should do and act like, her main goal is to keep her family safe, instead of risking their lives at sea. Her misunderstanding of what a lady is leads her to a life that no lady would countenance: she elopes with Steerforth, who eventually deserts her. She is forced into prostitution, as far from being a lady as she can be. Dora marries David, but fails in that most important “duty” of a woman (as conceived in that time period): having children. Emily rejoins her family and does the best she can, especially after Ham dies.

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