---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The thing I love about Dickens is the…"
description: "\"The thing I love about Dickens is the omniscient, omnipotent narrator, and the great confidence of the narrator, which marks 19th-century novelists in ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55d/elizabeth-gilbert-131_19th-century_the-thing-i-love-about-dickens-is-the-om_1089427.jpg"
---

#  The thing I love about Dickens is the omniscient…

![“The thing I love about Dickens is the omniscient, omnipotent narrator, and the great confidence of the narrator, which marks 19th-century novelists in general and Dickens in particular.” quote by Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55d/elizabeth-gilbert-131_19th-century_the-thing-i-love-about-dickens-is-the-om_1089427.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55d/elizabeth-gilbert-131_19th-century_the-thing-i-love-about-dickens-is-the-om_1089427.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55d/elizabeth-gilbert-131_19th-century_the-thing-i-love-about-dickens-is-the-om_1089427.jpg)

> “The thing I love about Dickens is the omniscient, omnipotent narrator, and the great confidence of the narrator, which marks 19th-century novelists in general and Dickens in particular.”

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Dickens’s narrative voice is all‑knowing and confident, a hallmark of 19th‑century novelists that gives his stories authority.

**In simple terms:** Dickens’s confident omniscient narrator defines his style.

Key Takeaway

Recognize the power of narrative voice.

Themes

narrative voice confidence literary tradition

Mood

appreciative analytical

Type

literary educational

When to use this quote

- creative writing
- literary criticism

Key Concepts

storytelling techniques authorial authority

Questions to Reflect On

- How does narrative voice shape reader perception?
- When is an omniscient narrator effective?

A Different Perspective

Over‑reliance on omniscience can limit character depth.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) [Great confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-confidence/) [Narrators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrators/) [Novelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelists/) [Omnipotent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/omnipotent/) [Omniscient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/omniscient/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/)

## Related quotes

> [The thing about Dickens is you either love him or you hate him and I fell in love with Dickens, I fell in love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-brandis/the-thing-about-dickens-is-you-either-love-him-or-you-hate-him-and-i/)

[George Brandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-brandis/)

> [The sad fact is that I love Dickens and Donne and Keats and Eliot and Forster and Conrad and Fitzgerald and Kafka and Wilde…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/the-sad-fact-is-that-i-love-dickens-and-donne-and-keats-and-eliot-and/)

[David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/)

> [I love Dickens. I love the way he sets a scene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/i-love-dickens-i-love-the-way-he-sets-a-scene/)

[David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/)

> [I love Dickens because it makes me chuckle to myself so. He has taken me to another world and out of so many earthly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-birkin/i-love-dickens-because-it-makes-me-chuckle-to-myself-so-he-has-taken/)

[Jane Birkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-birkin/)

> [I don't think I had great confidence as a teenager.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-lewis/i-don-t-think-i-had-great-confidence-as-a-teenager/)

[Denise Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-lewis/)

> [Some forty years of experience in my field as a scholar and as a teacher have given me great confidence mixed with greater humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sarton/some-forty-years-of-experience-in-my-field-as-a-scholar-and-as-a/)

[George Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sarton/)

> [I have a great confidence in the revelations which holidays bring forth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/i-have-a-great-confidence-in-the-revelations-which-holidays-bring/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [Tis a great confidence in a friend to tell him your faults; greater to tell him his.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/tis-a-great-confidence-in-a-friend-to-tell-him-your-faults-greater-to/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [I have a great amount of confidence and faith in my abilities to write. There are other areas of my life where I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/i-have-a-great-amount-of-confidence-and-faith-in-my-abilities-to/)

[James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/)

> [But even considering these, I have great confidence in our young people as a whole. I regard you as the finest generation in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/but-even-considering-these-i-have-great-confidence-in-our-young/)

[Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/)

> [It gives us great confidence that our country is in safe hands if the number of youth who turned up in Maitland is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-goode/it-gives-us-great-confidence-that-our-country-is-in-safe-hands-if-the/)

Fred Goode

> [Finishing overall champion at the World Series in both the individual and synchro events has given me great confidence and I'm pleased I've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-daley/finishing-overall-champion-at-the-world-series-in-both-the-individual/)

[Tom Daley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-daley/)

> [Confidence comes naturally with success but, success comes only to those, who are confident so, begin ur day with great confidence. HAVE A NICE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexia/confidence-comes-naturally-with-success-but-success-comes-only-to/)

[Alexia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexia/)

> [ After years of training \[as astronaut\], you have great confidence in the technology. When you get in your car, you probably feel safe too,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-walter/after-years-of-training-as-astronaut-you-have-great-confidence-in-the/)

[Ulrich Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-walter/)

> [I have great confidence in the common sense of mankind in general.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-have-great-confidence-in-the-common-sense-of-mankind-in-general/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

## More by Elizabeth Gilbert

> [That's your friend. My husband is my best friend. He's not the mirror that holds up my flaws. He's just the guy who's like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/that-s-your-friend-my-husband-is-my-best-friend-he-s-not-the-mirror/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [“Not to mention that I have finally arrived at that age where a woman starts to question whether the wisest way to get over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/not-to-mention-that-i-have-finally-arrived-at-that-age-where-a-woman/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [“The Buddha taught that all human suffering is rooted in desire. Don't we all know this to be true? Any of us who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-buddha-taught-that-all-human-suffering-is-rooted-in-desire-don-t/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [ “And while \[we\] do have possibilities that are vast and magnificent and almost infinite in scope, it's important to remember that our choice-rich lives… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/and-while-we-do-have-possibilities-that-are-vast-and-magnificent-and/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [Learn your way around loneliness. Make a map of it. Sit with it, for once in your life. Welcome to the human experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/learn-your-way-around-loneliness-make-a-map-of-it-sit-with-it-for/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [If we never leave our house except to drive to work, do we need to be even remotely aware of this powerful, humbling, extraordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/if-we-never-leave-our-house-except-to-drive-to-work-do-we-need-to-be/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [I will tell you why we have these extraordinary minds and souls, Miss Whittaker," he continued, as though he had not heard her. "We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-will-tell-you-why-we-have-these-extraordinary-minds-and-souls-miss/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [Both the five-year-olds looked at me with bewilderment and a bit of fearful uncertainty. I had a sudden horrifying image of the woman I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/both-the-five-year-olds-looked-at-me-with-bewilderment-and-a-bit-of/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [“Clearing out all your misery gets you out of the way. You cease being an obstacle, not only to yourself but to anyone else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/clearing-out-all-your-misery-gets-you-out-of-the-way-you-cease-being/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [The ingredients of both darkness and light are equally present in all of us,...The madness of this planet is largely a result of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-ingredients-of-both-darkness-and-light-are-equally-present-in-all/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [I was full of a hot, powerful sadness and would have loved to burst into the comfort of tears, but tried hard not to,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-was-full-of-a-hot-powerful-sadness-and-would-have-loved-to-burst/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [“I live in nature where everything is connected, circular. The seasons are circular. The planet is circular, and so is the planet around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-live-in-nature-where-everything-is-connected-circular-the-seasons/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [“His spelling was several degrees beyond arbitrary, and his punctuation brought reason to sigh with unhappiness. But”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/his-spelling-was-several-degrees-beyond-arbitrary-and-his-punctuation/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [Before you realize this truth, say the Yogis, you will always be in despair, a notion nicely expressed in this exasperated line from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/before-you-realize-this-truth-say-the-yogis-you-will-always-be-in/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [I actually have a great deal of respect for antidepressants; I think they can be enormously mighty tools toward recovery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-actually-have-a-great-deal-of-respect-for-antidepressants-i-think/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

[Explore all 1,156 Elizabeth Gilbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

## More 19th century quotes

> [Though my grandmother had picked up modern ideas in America, she still had some conflicting 19th-century Irish notions. She believed that daughters, educated though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-mahoney/though-my-grandmother-had-picked-up-modern-ideas-in-america-she-still/)

[Rosemary Mahoney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-mahoney/)

> [Nineteenth-century English literature I know; 19th-century sewage systems, not so much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/nineteenth-century-english-literature-i-know-19th-century-sewage/)

[Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/)

> [“Washington was no politician as we understand the word," replied Ratcliffe abruptly. "He stood outside of politics. The thing couldn't be done today. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/washington-was-no-politician-as-we-understand-the-word-replied/)

[Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/)

> [Then years back, when I moved to California, I happened to see a book about fashions of 19th-century Victorian England, only four pages of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/then-years-back-when-i-moved-to-california-i-happened-to-see-a-book/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Like the railroads that brought us together in the 19th century, these trails will bring us together in the 20th and 21st centuries. (at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/like-the-railroads-that-brought-us-together-in-the-19th-century-these/)

[Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/)

> [By tracing the careers of the four members of the Philosophical Breakfast Club, Laura Snyder has found a wonderful way not just to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-standage/by-tracing-the-careers-of-the-four-members-of-the-philosophical/)

[Tom Standage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-standage/)

> [If you look back on the history of the 20th century, the 19th century or even to the ancien régime of the 18th, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/if-you-look-back-on-the-history-of-the-20th-century-the-19th-century/)

[Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/)

> [If you look at that incredible burst of fantastic characters that emerged in the late 19th century/early 20th century, you can see so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/if-you-look-at-that-incredible-burst-of-fantastic-characters-that/)

[Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/)

> [ . . . Luddites were those frenzied traditionalists of the early 19th century who toured \[England\] wrecking new weaving machines on the theory that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-michener/luddites-were-those-frenzied-traditionalists-of-the-early-19th/)

[James A. Michener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-michener/)

> [“The Victorian era was an age of superlatives and larger-than-life characters, and as far as that goes, Dr. Wildman Whitehouse fit right in: what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/the-victorian-era-was-an-age-of-superlatives-and-larger-than-life/)

[Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/)

> [Take any writer you want in the 19th century: they wrote with quill pens, dipping a piece of goose feather in ink and writing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-murch/take-any-writer-you-want-in-the-19th-century-they-wrote-with-quill/)

[Walter Murch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-murch/)

> [There are real issues that the president Donald Trump and particularly Steve Bannon, his political adviser, are pushing. It's a vision, a rather dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-franklin-jeffrey/there-are-real-issues-that-the-president-donald-trump-and/)

[James Franklin Jeffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-franklin-jeffrey/)

> [While every historical era has its unique appeal as a setting for tales of crime and detection, the 19th century is exceptional - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-weinman/while-every-historical-era-has-its-unique-appeal-as-a-setting-for/)

[Sarah Weinman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-weinman/)

> [Adolescence was invented in the 19th century to enable middle-class families to keep their children out of sweatshops. But it has degenerated into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newt-gingrich/adolescence-was-invented-in-the-19th-century-to-enable-middle-class/)

[Newt Gingrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newt-gingrich/)

> [An ethic of maternalism was central to the utopianism of 19th century feminists. I don't think that today's women see motherhood as a source…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-wright/an-ethic-of-maternalism-was-central-to-the-utopianism-of-19th-century/)

Clare Wright

Browse all 383 19th century quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The thing I love about Dickens is the omniscient, omnipotent narrator, and the great confidence of the narrator, which marks 19th-century novelists in general and Dickens in particular.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Elizabeth Gilbert"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-thing-i-love-about-dickens-is-the-omniscient-omnipotent-narrator/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "19th century"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-thing-i-love-about-dickens-is-the-omniscient-omnipotent-narrator/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55d/elizabeth-gilbert-131_19th-century_the-thing-i-love-about-dickens-is-the-om_1089427.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55d/elizabeth-gilbert-131_19th-century_the-thing-i-love-about-dickens-is-the-om_1089427.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55d/elizabeth-gilbert-131_19th-century_the-thing-i-love-about-dickens-is-the-om_1089427.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The thing I love about Dickens is the omniscient, omnipotent narrator, and the great confidence of the…” — Elizabeth Gilbert",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Elizabeth Gilbert",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The thing I love about Dickens...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-thing-i-love-about-dickens-is-the-omniscient-omnipotent-narrator/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-thing-i-love-about-dickens-is-the-omniscient-omnipotent-narrator/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
