David Copperfield has two friends that David admires throughout the novel: Mr. Heep and Mr. Steerforth. David is always chasing after one of these friends, but David’s relationship with Heep is a little more complicated than David’s relationship with Steerforth because David does not know what to do about his feelings towards both of them. David meets Mr. Heep when David first comes to London as a child, and David initially takes a liking to him because David sees an opportunity in having a friend so close to his uncle’s household (David 1).
Not much later though, David learns from Betsey Trotwood that he should be wary of Mr. Heep because “Heep [is] a wicked man, David” (David 1). David ignores Betsey Trotwood’s warning and continues to get close with Mr. Heep anyways because David likes the attention that Heep gives him. David even goes so far to lose his friend, Steerforth, in order for Heep to have more time with David. When David is older though, David finally learns from Wickfield how truly evil Mr.
Heep actually is when David discovers that Mr. Heep has been embezzling money from Wickfield for months. It seems odd at first glance how much time David spends with someone like Mr. Heep who repeatedly shows himself to be invalidating towards everyone around him whom he believes are beneath him. David does not take such treatment lightly as he is shown to defend those who are treated poorly by Heep, such as Dora and the servants employed at the Wickfield household (David 2). David’s feelings towards Mr. Heep can be explained by David’s history of neglect.
David’s father died before David was born and David’s mother died shortly after giving birth (David 2), which left David an orphan until his aunt Betsey Trotwood took him in. David spent most of his time with Betsey Trotwood, but she is very domineering, impatient, unreasonable, and harsh; all things that David does not like about people (David 1). So when David finds out that Mr. Heep is kind to David, David views this as someone David can finally trust because David does not know what an adult male looks or acts like.
David has never known a father figure in his life so David continues to be Heep’s friend for the sake of having a father figure in his life. Mr. Steerforth is David’s other friend that David admires throughout David Copperfield, but while the relationship between David and Mr. Heep might have been complicated, David seems to know what he should do when it came down to how he actually feels about Mr. Steerforth. The reader first meets Mr. Steerforth when David arrives at Salem House where Steerforth picking on David immediately (David 1).
David is very intimidated by Steerforth throughout David Copperfield, but David continues to spend time with Steerforth because David admires his confidence and the fun that David has when he spends time with Steerforth. When David goes to live with Agnes after his experience at Murdstone and Grinby’s warehouse, David misses spending time with people so David goes out of his way to visit Mr. Steerforth because David wants to have a good time again (David 3).
David gets along very well with Mr. Steerforth as shown by how close they are in age and how much fun they have together. Even though David likes spending time with Mr. Steerforth, does not stop him from noticing that David is too young to be spending time with David (David 3). David, thus, does not spend as much time with Steerforth after David grows up and David’s feelings for Steerforth go from admiration to something different. Mr. Heep and David make a very odd pair because they obviously do not match up well personality wise, but David cannot help himself around Mr.
Heep because David needs the attention of an adult male figure in his life; David is starved for fatherly affection after having lost both of his parents before he could even remember them (David 2). David’s relationship with Steerforth seems more sincere than just situational because David starts out idolising Steerforth when he first meets him and David looks up to Steerforth’s confidence and his ability to have fun (David 3).
David and Steerforth’s relationship may seem a bit more deeply rooted than David and Heep’s because David admires the way that Steerforth acts, but David’s feelings for Mr. Heep seem to be a bit more complicated where David is attracted to what David feels Mr. Heep represents: a father figure who David has always wanted in his life, but because David needs this from someone so desperately from David Copperfield, it becomes increasingly obvious how little of a true friend Mr. Heep actually ends up being when he embezzles money from Wickfield for months after Wickfield falls ill.
