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Stained Glass Window
When David reconnects with Tommy Traddles as an adult, he learns that Traddles is not only engaged, but also storing up household items for his future life as a married man. So far, he has managed to collect a flower pot and a small marble-top table, which he then nearly loses after acting as a guarantor for Mr. Micawber (the items are taken to a pawnshop, though Peggotty fortunately helps to recover them). Sophy and Traddles are finally able to marry toward the end of the novel, and the flower pot and table do in fact end up furnishing their rooms. The objects therefore symbolize the patience, hope, and dedication the novel depicts as necessary for securing a comfortable life in the future. They also speak to the kind of domesticity the novel values. Neither the flower pot nor the table are particularly practical items, but they lend a decorative and personal touch that helps make the Traddles' apartment a home. They can also be seen as status symbols that express the Traddles' aspirations toward middle-class life: precisely because they don't serve a useful purpose, they indicate that the couple has at least some money to spare on "luxury" items.
Flower Pot and Table Quotes in David Copperfield
The David Copperfield quotes below all refer to the symbol of Flower Pot and Table. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 27
Quotes
"However," he said, "it's not that we haven't made a beginning towards housekeeping. No, no; we have begun. We must get on by degrees, but we have begun. Here," drawing the cloth off with great pride and care, "are two pieces of furniture to commence with. This flower-pot and stand, she bought herself. You put that in a parlor-window," said Traddles, falling a little back from it to survey it with the greater admiration, "with a plant in it, and—and there you are! This little round table with the marble top (it's two feet ten in circumference), I bought."
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Flower Pot and Table Symbol Timeline in David Copperfield
The timeline below shows where the symbol Flower Pot and Table appears in David Copperfield. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 27: Tommy Traddles
...they have begun to plan for their eventual home together, and he shows David a flower pot and a side table he has collected for this purpose. Traddles acknowledges that furnishing a house requires much more...
(full context)
Chapter 34: My Aunt Astonishes Me
...Micawbers, although he was sorry to see the furniture he'd been saving repossessed (including the flower pot and table ). Fortunately, he has found the pieces at a local pawnshop, and asks whether Peggotty...
(full context)
...and Traddles go find Peggotty and carry through with their plan to buy back the flower pot and table . Afterwards, Traddles returns home while Peggotty goes with David back to his apartment. When...
(full context)
Chapter 59: Return
...Traddles up in a "little room in the roof." Traddles also points out the old flower pot and table , although he admits they still have many household items they need to save up...
(full context)
