David Copperfield Dora Spenlow Quotes

I was very happy, very. But, as years went on, my dear boy would have wearied of his child-wife. She would have been less and less a companion for him. He would have been more and more sensible of what was wanting in his home. She wouldn't have improved. It is better as it is. (53.42)

As Dora is dying, she lies there and tells David not to worry: in a way, she's glad she's dying. Because that saves David from getting tired of her. What?! We find this ethically suspect: Dickens is making a character release her husband to go off and be happy because she's about to die, just so that David can get the happy family life that is the goal of this novel.