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Originally Posted by Victoria
It that light, it might have been interesting to see where he was going with the Jasper character. I thought Jasper’s description to Edwin of how mundane and suffocating he found his life had the ring of truth to it. I wonder if Dickens identified with Jasper at all? Obviously he didn’t commit murder, but according to one of his biographers, there were references to personal unhappiness in the correspondence of his later years.
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Thanks for the links, Victoria! Dickens did have a very interesting personal history.
Matthew Pearl’s introduction suggests that there are some biographical elements in the book. Pearl suggests that the way Jasper views Edwin with resentment and disappointment could be compared to the way Dickens viewed his sons. He thought they lived extravagantly expensive lives and were unfocused, engaging in exotic colonial pursuits. Dickens also could have been reflecting regrets about his own marriage on to Edwin and Rosa’s anxiety about their engagement. Dickens also had brothers who lived dark lives and could have been inspiration for Jasper’s character. Pearl also states that Dickens relied on medical opiates in his final years, which could have been relevant to Jasper’s opium use. Lastly he alleges that Dickens could have projected his secret affair with Ellen Ternan (older man, young actress) onto Jasper’s pursuit of Rosa Bud.