LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Copperfield, David: Dora Spenlow
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In Chapter LVIII, in contrast, the act of writing about recent traumatic events - the deaths of Dora and Steerforth and the emigration of the Micawbers, Mr. Peggotty and Little Em'ly - is therapeutic and cathartic for David. It rouses his depressed energies and marks the end of his need to live abroad. When he has finished, he makes plans to return to England.
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The second part of this novel shows the grown-up David Copperfield, he has completed his education and is apprenticed as a clerk to work in a law firm. He meets his boss's daughter Dora and falls in love. His feelings are returned, but Dora's father is furious when he finds out about the engagement. Meanwhile, David's aunt goes bankrupt, the family loses most of their possessions, and David has to work even harder in order to provide for himself and his loved ones.
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During this time, David meets his boss's daughter, Dora Spenlow. He immediately falls in love with her. While he is courting Dora, his aunt goes bankrupt. David takes on extra work in order to make ends meet. Eventually, this leads him to take up writing as an additional way to make money.
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David recognizes that his heart is undisciplined for loving Dora, who is so childish and undisciplined herself; ... he does nothing to remedy the situation. Because he lacks discipline, he abandons his defenses and leaves himself vulnerable to disaster. "Decidedly he is not 'the hero of his own story'"(Gissing) and he is "blind, blind, blind" (467) because he does not have enough discipline to find someone to "sustain and improve him" (467); instead, he is married to Dora, who has "childlike beauty" (Needham, 47) and little else. Since David refuses to exhibit proper discipline, he cannot achieve contentment. He shows his discontent and misunderstanding of discipline when he thinks:
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Characters in the third group include David. He first marries the unsuitable Dora, and must learn through an unsatisfactory and unequal marriage to make wiser choices in future. Once he acquires a disciplined heart, he is able to appreciate the more settled love between himself and Agnes, and marries her. Another character who learns discipline is Little Em'ly, who, after her undisciplined escapade with Steerforth, repents. In her new life in Australia, she devotes herself to hard work and acts of charity, refusing offers of marriage. A third character in this group is Betsey, who made an unwise marriage when she was young and paid for it long afterwards.
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David Copperfield – the protagonist; later called "Trotwood Copperfield" by some ("David Copperfield" is ... the name of the hero's father, who died before he was born). He has many nicknames: James Steerforth nicknamed him "Daisy", Dora called him "Doady", and his aunt referred to him, as a reference to his would-be sister (if he had been born a girl), as "Trot" - as in Betsey Trotwood Copperfield.
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Dora Spenlow