Charles Dickens was known for womanizing. Due to his mistreating of women, people believe that it is important to disassociate the judgement of his writings from from his behavior. Charles Dickens was not only a womanizer, he was also an alcoholic. Due to being addicted to alcohol, how he acted around people, especially his with, was affected. It is very important to be aware of Charles Dickens’ actions towards women before reading his writings. I believe that it is important to disassociate some of the judgements of Dickens from his writings due to his unethical behavior.
Even though Dickens writings were insightful and thought of as great, his personal life was not necessarily thought of as “great”. Charles Dickens married Catherine Dickens in London on April 2, 1836. However, he was not good nor loyal to his wife. Dickens cheated on Catherine without her knowing more times than can be counted. Dickens thought that being sexually active with other women besides his wife was good to maintain sexual hygiene as most men thought in the 19th century.
The most known example of Charles Dickens going behind his wife’s back was his affair with 18 year old Ellen Teran. Ellen Teran, also known as Nelly Robinson, was an English actress in the 19th century. Dickens had an affair with the 18 year old actress when he was 45 years old. When the public found out about the affair, it angered them. The public eventually found out about the other affairs that he had been having and it made them begin to question whether they should continue to support his writings or not.
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Another thing that Dickens did that shows his unethical behavior is that he was trying to cut off his wife, Catherine, completely. According to indiatimes.com, “He built a wall across the middle of their bedroom, cutting Catherine off completely.” Dickens went to a whole new level just to not see Catherine, his wife. He cut their room in two so that he would not need to see her, that is a little over the top extreme.
In an article written by the great-great-great-granddaughter of Catherine and Charles that can be found on bbc.com, she says, “Charles had gone from a journalist working for Catherine’s father to a man so famous that his works were read by Queen Victoria.” This shows that Dickens became very famous because of his writings. Most of his writings that made him become well known like he is today are the following: Hard Times, a Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, a Tale of Two Cities, and many more.
Some people think that you should disassociate political leaders’ behavior from their political ambitions. I believe that this is not true. Although the behaviors of people can make them seem like a bad person, people should not disassociate political leaders’ ambitions.
