Judgy

Rachel Vorona Cote just posted an essay called "The Many Bad Moms of Charles Dickens" over on LitHub. It's an interesting read, although anyone who truly wants to wrap their heads around Charles Dickens's opinions on True Womanhood really owes it to themselves to read Phyllis Rose's Parallel Lives. Alternatively, you could read the various Bella/John scenes in Our Mutual Friend, realize that they are meant to be taken at least semi-seriously, and accept that Charles Dickens was a man who had some creepifying notions about anyone's correct behavior.