On the paradox of women's and children's images in Ch. Dickens' novels

The article designates the problem of the paradox of women's and children's images in novels by Charles Dickens. One of the most popular themes of his novels is the one of the family. According to Dickens and other Victorian writers, the centre of the family is a woman, a wife, a mother, "an Angel in the House". On the other hand, the theme of the family is closely connected with the theme of childhood, up-brining and education. We see the paradox of women's and children's images in the fact that "Angles in the House" in Dickens' novels are almost always unhappy as children, their childhood is not ideal. Among the reasons for such paradox we name the didactic function of Dickens' prose, the method of contrasts and opposition, often used by Dickens, as well as Victorian ideology, and the system of characters in Dickens' novels ("Angles in the House" are often mentors and guides to young male characters).