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Unit 4: Charles Lamb-Dream Children : A Reverie-A Critical Analysis

impression that nothing bad or disturbing has taken place in her life. Yet the reckless manner Notes
in which she rides her stallion through the fields causes wonderment among some of the
locals, such as Mrs. DePuy and her husband, who own the old Patroon farm near the McNairs’
land.

Dream Children: Themes

Expressed as a directive, a major theme of this story is “Measure a person by his or her sense
of loss.” The young wife whose infant was stillborn is utterly transformed by the tragedy,
going off on a new life course which is largely regulated by her ongoing need to penetrate by
whatever means the unbreachable time-space wall of human existence and, in defiance of all
logic, reason, and conventional wisdom, to be reunited with her lost baby son. Her husband,
clearly not needing replacement therapy comparable with hers, reconstructs his life in the
most convenient and thoughtful fashion...
Godwin’s “Dream Children” examines themes of marriage, self-definition, and loss.
1. Taking into account its subject matter and Godwin’s handling of the narrative structure,
were you particularly affected emotionally by “Dream Children”? If so, explain.
2. Was the ending of the story, with its rhetorical question about Mrs. McNair’s happiness,
effective in “wrapping up” the story of her life? Comment either way, or both ways.

3. What in your opinion is the purpose of all the italicized passages throughout the story?
Who is saying or thinking those things? How do...

Self Assessment

1. Choose the correct options:
(i) The Adventures of Ulysses was published in
(a) 1808 (b) 1809
(c) 1810 (d) 1812
(ii) The last essays of Elia were published in
(a) 1823 and 1833 (b) 1820 and 1830
(c) 1815 and 1820 (d) 1813 and 1823
(iii) ‘Elia’ essays first appeared in the
(a) Dream Children (b) London Magazine
(c) Children Stories (d) None of these
(iv) The style of Lamb is

(a) Gentle (b) Old-fashioned
(c) both (a) and (b) (d) None of these
4.7 Summary

• In Lamb’s writing wit, humour and fun are interwoven and it is humour which is most
notable for its extreme sensitiveness to the true proportion of things. Lamb often brings
out the two sides of a fact and causes laughter at our own previous misconceptions.
Therefore it borders on the painful realization. Thus his humour is very nearly allied
to pathos. They are different facts of the same gem.

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