Episodes of solitary, interior wandering regularly punctuate the otherwise busy, peopled novels of Charles Dickens; critically, however, they are moments that have been left relatively unexplored. Their significance lies partly in their unusual quietude and solemnity and also in the authentic and often profound insights into the most private worlds of his characters, insights which in turn reflect aspects of the contemporary world beyond his novels. Focusing on key instances of solitude in Dombey and Son (1846-48), this essay investigates Dickens's portrayal of the contemporary relationship between interior spaces, individual identity and psychology. On the first such occasion, young Paul Dombey is suffering under the harsh, academic regime of his new boarding school in Brighton. He seeks solace by sitting alone on the stairs but his solitude becomes double-layered when it is invaded by a gamut of lively, exotic characters:
