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Chapter companions for Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens.

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  1. Chapter 1

    Dedication

    The chapter is a brief dedication of the story to The Marchioness of Normanby, expressing great esteem.

  2. Chapter 2

    Preface of 1848

    Dickens bids farewell to his readers, acknowledging their warm sympathy throughout the story and expressing hope that the sorrowful incidents of the tale have created a bond between author and audience.

  3. Chapter 3

    Preface of 1867

    Dickens reflects on the rarity of correctly observing human character, noting common mistakes such as confusing shyness with arrogance and misunderstanding obstinate natures. He explains that Mr. Dombey's character undergoes no violent change but rather a long internal struggle with his own injustice. Dickens also recalls the places where he wrote the book—beginning by the Lake of Geneva, continuing in France, and finishing in England—and how the settings remain vividly associated with the story in his mind.

  4. Chapter 4

    Dombey and Son

    The chapter introduces Mr. Dombey, a wealthy and proud businessman, as he welcomes the birth of his son and heir, Paul Dombey. The birth is overshadowed by the death of Mrs. Dombey, who passes away shortly after. Mr. Dombey's focus is entirely on his son and the continuation of the family firm, while his daughter Florence is neglected. The chapter establishes the central themes of pride, ambition, and the coldness of a family driven by commercial interests.

  5. Chapter 5

    Dombey and Son

    Mr. Dombey rejoices in the birth of his son, Paul, as the fulfillment of his life's ambition to perpetuate the family firm, Dombey and Son. He dismisses his daughter Florence as insignificant, while his wife lies gravely ill. Mrs. Chick and Miss Tox celebrate the event, but Mrs. Dombey's health declines, and she clings to Florence in her final moments.

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  1. Chapter 6In Which Timely Provision Is Made for an Emergency That Will Sometimes Arise in the Best-Regulated Families
  2. Chapter 7In Which Mr. Dombey, as a Man and a Father, Is Seen at the Head of the Home-Department
  3. Chapter 8In Which Some More First Appearances Are Made on the Stage of These Adventures
  4. Chapter 9Paul's Progress and Christening
  5. Chapter 10Paul's Second Deprivation
  6. Chapter 11A Bird's-Eye Glimpse of Miss Tox's Dwelling-Place: Also of the State of Miss Tox's Affections
  7. Chapter 12Paul’s Further Progress, Growth and Character
  8. Chapter 13In Which the Wooden Midshipman Gets Into Trouble
  9. Chapter 14Containing the Sequel of the Midshipman's Disaster
  10. Chapter 15Paul’s Introduction to a New Scene
  11. Chapter 16XII: Paul's Education
  12. Chapter 17Shipping Intelligence and Office Business
  13. Chapter 18Paul Grows More and More Old-Fashioned, and Goes Home for the Holidays
  14. Chapter 19XV: Amazing Artfulness of Captain Cuttle, and a New Pursuit for Walter Gay
  15. Chapter 20What the Waves Were Always Saying
  16. Chapter 21Captain Cuttle Does a Little Business for the Young People
  17. Chapter 22Father and Daughter
  18. Chapter 23Walter Goes Away
  19. Chapter 24Mr. Dombey Goes Upon a Journey
  20. Chapter 25New Faces
  21. Chapter 26A Trifle of Management by Mr. Carker the Manager
  22. Chapter 27Florence Solitary, and the Midshipman Mysterious
  23. Chapter 28The Study of a Loving Heart
  24. Chapter 29Strange News of Uncle Sol
  25. Chapter 30Shadows of the Past and Future
  26. Chapter 31Deeper Shadows
  27. Chapter 32XXVIII: Alterations
  28. Chapter 33XXIX: The Opening of the Eyes of Mrs. Chick
  29. Chapter 34The Interval Before the Marriage
  30. Chapter 35The Wedding
  31. Chapter 36The Wooden Midshipman Goes to Pieces
  32. Chapter 37Contrasts
  33. Chapter 38Another Mother and Daughter
  34. Chapter 39XXXV: The Happy Pair
  35. Chapter 40Housewarming
  36. Chapter 41More Warnings Than One
  37. Chapter 42Miss Tox Improves an Old Acquaintance
  38. Chapter 43XXXIX: Further Adventures of Captain Edward Cuttle, Mariner
  39. Chapter 44Domestic Relations
  40. Chapter 45New Voices in the Waves
  41. Chapter 46Confidential and Accidental
  42. Chapter 47The Watches of the Night
  43. Chapter 48A Separation
  44. Chapter 49XLV: The Trusty Agent
  45. Chapter 50Recognizant and Reflective
  46. Chapter 51The Thunderbolt
  47. Chapter 52XLVIII: The Flight of Florence
  48. Chapter 53XLIX: The Midshipman Makes a Discovery
  49. Chapter 54Mr. Toots's Complaint
  50. Chapter 55Mr. Dombey and the World
  51. Chapter 56Secret Intelligence
  52. Chapter 57LIII: More Intelligence
  53. Chapter 58The Fugitives
  54. Chapter 59Rob the Grinder Loses His Place
  55. Chapter 60Several People Delighted, and the Game Chicken Disgusted
  56. Chapter 61Another Wedding
  57. Chapter 62After a Lapse
  58. Chapter 63LIX: Retribution
  59. Chapter 64LX: Chiefly Matrimonial
  60. Chapter 65LXI: Relenting
  61. Chapter 66Final