Little Dorrit Letdown?

While we await the final guestblog, I have to say it's hard to believe the saga of Arthur and Amy and Pancks is over! I thought this was really the BBC/PBS at its finest: every year they do something like this (North and South, Jane Eyre, Cranford) and every year it rocks!. Although there are some problematic elements to the book and film, overall it was incredibly, lushly filmed and acted and the themes were insanely relevant. Dickens hates capitalism and thinks that money=a prison. Shocking!

As to the romance, I wish that some of the exquisite lingering longing from the first three episodes had lasted through the last one. Andrew Davies has a habit of wrapping up those tremulous romances rather pat-ly (see Middlemarch, 1994). Maybe it's his way of commenting on the artificial "end with a wedding" trope or maybe for him, as for all of us, the journey is more fun than the destination. But I was still thoroughly satisfied.

I wanted to point you to a great wrap-up post of the whole series by regular reader and commenter gettsr at reading list of a book pusher. Here is her take on some of the financial goings-on in the series:

Which brings me to Mr. Merdle and Mr. Casby, as well as the Circumlocution office. It is crazy how relevant this story is to our current situation. Mr. Merdle is clearly "the Bernie Madoff" of his age, screwing all the rich folk out of their money while inviting them to dinner. Again if someone is telling you a story that’s too good to be true, it probably is. At the same time Mr. Casby is squeezing the poor out of every nickel so they stay poor. With Pancks as his muscle he works to keep those in Bleeding Heart under his thumb. Clearly Dickens felt that the current economic system in the 19th century only served to hurt the laborer/tradesman. This form of capitalism only served to create another feudal system with Casby as the lord at the top. Dickens caps off his indictment with his portrayal of the bureaucratic horror that is the Circumlocution Office, which actually reminded me of financial aid.

Be sure to read the rest. And don't forget that this is the last day to vote in the Little Dorrit poll!