Dr. White discusses sentimentality and its characteristics, explaining that it focuses on emotions and wallows in them for their own sake, and pointing out that true artistry allows one to respond on one’s own, without manipulation. Dickens’ work was touched by sentimentality, he explains, particularly in some of his death scenes. Dr. White discusses some of the episodes of his own life that Dickens put into this work, which was partly autobiographical. David’s influences and hero-figures are examined with their respective influences upon him. Dr. White also gives some time to the character of Mr. Micawber, whom he ranks as one of the three great comic characters of literature. Finally, Dr. White touches upon the effect that Dickens had in changing child labor laws and school conditions, the state of which he dramatized in his novels, thus raising awareness of them.
At the heart of Act Three is Othello doing all of the work to create the illusions of deception. He only needs subtle hints from Iago. Othello does all the rest, driving himself to madness. The audience witnesses the events, but it is the interpretation of these events that causes the trouble. Iago forces Othello to see what Iago wants him to see. This is a warning that throughout life we are constantly viewing the world through interpretation. We must be certain of our guides, our sources. And the only source of order and proper interpretation in life is in the setting of a patriarchy to teach us the truth. Othello is the story of order dissolving into disorder. The proper place for Desdemona is in the home. She is at a battlefield. Disorder. Othello’s suspicion of her infidelity causes him to give up the battle. Why? She has no virtue, hence, nothing to defend. More disorder. At the heart of civilization is the virtuous woman. Through her virtue she can rule over her realm, the home. Her virtue gives men the reason to defend, the home, and if necessary, the country. The realm of the man is outside the home, defending the home.
This last part of Dr. White’s conference on David Copperfield opens with a discussion of an episode at David’s school which emphasizes the importance of boys’ early friendships and how David chooses a bad model in Steerforth, who defies his teacher and leads the boys in rebellion. The other possible friend for David, Traddles, is presented by Dr. White as an important character by reason of his normality and decency. Dickens’ talent for foreshadowing is again touched upon, then Dr. White explains the duality running through the novel: David very often much choose between two people, and he always seems to choose the wrong one. Dr. White presents Uriah Heep as David’s “dark side,” and shows the influence of Scripture on Dickens. He treats of the meaning of marriage as illustrated by David’s rather foolish first marriage, and presents a central theme of the novel springing from this and other situations throughout the book: that one’s emotions must be educated and disciplined if one is to be happy. The lecture ends appropriately with a discussion of the ending of the book.
Dr. White uses Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s book The Gulag Archipelago to illustrate his points on King Lear, particularly in Lear’s speech calling to “allow not nature more than nature needs,” where he discusses how very little one technically needs in order to survive. The whole celebrated sequence where Lear is out in the storm is carefully examined. Lear’s fast-changing moods are noted as he goes from towering rage and futile commands to the sky to self-pity to cries for patience to bear his sufferings. Dr. White then speaks of the significance of Edgar’s progression of disguises, Edmund’s piteous desire for love, and finally, how Lear and the other sufferers in the play were actually blessed by their suffering.
Dr. White explores the theme of leadership and crisis of authority in this lecture on Shakespeare’s “dark comedy.” He uses the example of a recent scandal at the Naval Academy where he taught to show the consequences of the failure of authority, and ties this into the irresponsibility of the authority figures in Measure for Measure. Dr. White then discusses Shakespeare’s evident Catholicism, how it influenced his work and life, and how it made his plays relevant and popular for all time, despite the protestations of modern critics, who twist his words, and modern schools, who take his works off their students’ reading lists. From there, Dr. White gives examples of how the playwright worked around a ban against mentioning God in the theatre. Finally, he discusses the pattern of the play’s settings and their significance, as well as the main conflict of the piece.
Dr. White continues his discussion of the results of incompetence in authority figures as represented in Measure for Measure, showing how the corruption of their society affects the characters, especially Isabella, who seeks refuge in the restraint and order of a convent. The character of Claudio is discussed as “the only sane and sensible character in the play.” Dr. White discusses the biblical references and Christian imagery in the play, and proves it to be, in one sense a Christmas play. Special attention is given to Isabella’s decision to grant forgiveness to the man who wronged her, bringing the idea of Mary’s Fiat to the play’s climax and resolution. The lecture closes with a few thoughts on Shakespeare’s Catholicism and Dr. White’s conviction that, in the words of a contemporary Protestant minister, “Master Shakespeare died a Papist.”
