David Copperfield: Chapter 12 Summary & Analysis

Mr. Micawber successfully secures his release from prison, and while he celebrates with his fellow inmates, David visits Mrs. Micawber. Mrs. Micawber proposes a toast to her parents, and explains that both are now deceased, her father having died after bailing Mr. Micawber out of prison several times. David asks what the Micawbers plan to do now, and Mrs. Micawber says that her surviving family feels they should move to Plymouth and be on hand in case anything "turns up." She then begins to cry, protesting that she will never leave her husband, despite his faults. Alarmed, David goes to fetch Mr. Micawber, who begins crying himself when his wife reiterates her intention to stay with him. Later, Mr. Micawber tells David that Mrs. Micawber is "very low," and David speculates that the Micawbers are so used to being in financial straits that they find anything else disturbing.

The realization that the Micawbers will soon leave London reminds David of just how lonely and unhappy his current life is. This sense of desperation only mounts as David watches the Micawbers begin to plan for their departure, but he knows he cannot count on Mr. Murdstone to help him into a better situation.

On the Sunday before they leave, Mr. Micawber and Mrs. Micawber have David over for dinner, and both thank him for being a friend to them in difficult times. Mr. Micawber urges David to spare himself similar difficulties by avoiding procrastination, though he also notes that "applying that maxim" to his engagement to Mrs. Micawber led him to go into debt to get married. He then reiterates that David should never spend more than he earns, and David promises to heed this advice.

David says goodbye to the Micawbers as they board a coach the next morning, and Mr. Micawber reiterates that he hopes his "blighted destiny" will serve as a warning to David. He also promises to help David if anything "turns up," which he says he is sure it will.

The coach drives away, and David goes to work. He plans to run away soon, however, in the hopes of finding Miss Betsey. He has been thinking about this for some time, and mulling over the story of Miss Betsey's presence at his birth: he suspects that his aunt had a soft spot for Clara, and might help David on her account. He therefore writes to Peggotty and learns that Miss Betsey lives somewhere near Dover.

Not wanting to cheat his employer out of any money, David waits until the end of the week, and then attempts to arrange for a box with his things in it to be taken to a coach office until he can send for it. The man he entrusts with taking the box tricks him, however, and drives away with David's money and belongings. David therefore sets off for Dover  empty-handed.