David Copperfield: Chapter 55 Summary & Analysis

David says that he has now reached a section of his story that he has been dreading from the beginning. He still dreams about the event in question, and thinks about it whenever there is a "stormy wind, or the lightest mention of a sea-shore." In fact, he says, he does not even need to remember the event, because he can "see" it.

Not long before the ship for Australia is set to sail, Peggotty comes to London to see not only David, but also Mr. Peggotty and little Em'ly. David himself does not see Emily, but he spends a lot of time with the Peggottys, and one evening, Peggotty begins to talk about Ham's kindness and strength. As David walks home that night, he begins to reconsider leaving Ham's message for Emily on the day she will depart, since he thinks she might want a chance to respond.  He therefore writes her a letter that same night relaying Ham's message.

Miss Betsey wakes David up the next morning, saying that Mr. Peggotty has come to see him. Mr. Peggotty gives him a letter that little Em'ly has written and asks him to look it over and give it to Ham, if he feels it is appropriate. In the letter, Emily thanks Ham for his message, saying she will keep it with her until she dies. She has also prayed over it, because when she thinks of Ham's goodness, she thinks of "what God must be." Finally, she bids Ham farewell, saying that she "may wake a child and come to [him]" in "another world," though she isn't sure that God will forgive her. David says that Mr. Peggotty can tell Emily he is delivering the message: in fact, he intends to go for a quick trip to Yarmouth before the ship sets sail for Australia.

That night, David takes a coach to Yarmouth. On the way, he remarks to the driver that the sky looks strange, and the driver predicts that a storm is coming. The wind continues to pick up throughout the night, and the sky grows darker and darker, until it begins to rain in "sweeping gusts […] like showers of steel." The weather—particularly the wind—grows even worse the following day, and when David reaches Ipswich, people in the marketplace tell him about trees being uprooted and roofing being torn off. By the time David reaches the coast, the wind is creating massive waves at sea.

David checks into an inn and then heads toward the beach, where a crowd has gathered, concerned for the safety of boats currently at sea. The size and strength of the waves unnerves David, and he feels as if the whole town will be swept away in a "rending and upheaving of all nature."

Ham is not in the crowd on the beach, so David goes to his house, which he finds shut up. He then goes to the yard where Ham works, where he hears that Ham has gone to Lowestoft to repair a ship but will return the next day. David therefore returns to the inn, where he hears from a waiter that two ships have already sunk, and several others have been spotted in distress. The news deepens David's gloominess: the storm has put him on edge, and he feels uneasy about Ham's absence. David also finds that the storm has disturbed his sense of time and space, and he thinks that he would not be "surprised" to go outside and see someone from his life in London.

David cannot shake the fear that Ham will drown trying to attempt to return from Lowestoft by sea, so he goes back to see the boat-builder and asks his opinion. The boat-builder assures him that no experienced sailor would go out in such a storm, and David returns to the inn. Meanwhile, the wind continues to pick up and seems to shake the entire building. David finds he can't concentrate on anything, because "something within [him], faintly answering to the storm without, tossed up the depths of [his] memory." He finds it difficult to sleep, first starting awake in a state of "objectless" terror, and then tormented by the noise of the storm. He eventually gets up and goes downstairs to talk to the kitchen staff. A few hours later, he returns to bed and finally falls asleep.

The next morning, David wakes up to the sound of someone knocking on his door, saying there has been a shipwreck involving a "schooner, from Spain or Portugal." David hurries down to the beach to see what is happening, and finds the sea stormier than ever. A man on the shore points him to the boat, which has lost one of its masts and, according to one of the spectators, is in danger of splitting in two. Nevertheless, the people on board are still trying to prevent the boat from sinking, including an "active figure with long curling hair" that David particularly notices. Two men are swept overboard, and David begs some of the other spectators to do something. They explain that a lifeboat was already sent out but couldn’t accomplish anything.

At that moment, the crowd parts, and David sees Ham walking out toward the sea, apparently intending to do what the other spectators have just said is too dangerous—namely, wade out to the wreck with a rope tied around himself. Ham's determined expression reminds David of the look he had when little Em'ly ran away, so David attempts to hold him back. As David is speaking, however, two more men are swept overboard, leaving only the curly-haired figure, and Ham tells David that either his time has come or it hasn't. The crowd then separates David from Ham, and David watches from a distance as bystanders help prepare Ham to enter the water. Meanwhile, the boat is breaking apart, and the man on board waves to those ashore, reminding David of a "once dear friend."

Ham runs out into the water and is immediately hit by a wave. The men holding the other end of the rope pull him back to shore, and David sees that he is bleeding. Nevertheless, Ham goes back out into the water, nearly reaching the wreck when a particularly large wave pulls the boat under. The men on shore pull Ham back in, and David sees that he is dead. David follows as Ham’s body is brought to a nearby house. Soon, a fisherman asks David to come with him. David guesses that a body has washed ashore, but the fisherman won't tell him whose it is. When they reach the beach, however, David sees Steerforth's body "lying with his head upon his arm, as [David] had often seen him lie at school."