It seems to me unlikely that he expected his wife to do everything for the kids. Having a nurse was common in those days. The complaint seems to be that his wif

It seems to me unlikely that he expected his wife to do everything for the kids. Having a nurse was common in those days. The complaint seems to be that his wife did nothing for the kids. His wife also wasn't earning any money, presumably. So Dickens had to work to provide for everyone. Also, they had ten kids.