Dombey and Son follows life of Paul Dombey, a wealthy owner of a
shipping company. Paul's dream is to have a son to continue his
business. His wife dies in childbirth and Paul ends up with a daughter
instead of the desired son. The book elaborates on a number of socially
significant themes. In particular the book deals with the then-prevalent
common practice of arranged marriages for financial gain. Other themes
to be detected within this work include social inequality, familial
relationships, and as ever in Dickens, betrayal and deceit and the
consequences thereof.