"'Some local irritation, ma'am?'
..."See in text(Chapter 1 - I Am Born)
Mr. Chillip assumes she has placed cotton in her ears because of a medical condition; he doesn't know she has stopped her ears with cotton so that she won't hear the cries of Mrs. Copperfield while she is in labor.
The adjective "portentous" refers to one's giving a sign or warning of imminent unpleasantness. It can also refer to someone having a very grave, solemn, and serious demeanor. In this context, the suggestion is that Miss Betsey appears pompous and superior and evidently important.
"('Much he knew about it himself!') said Miss Betsey in a parenthesis..."See in text(Chapter 1 - I Am Born)
The passage can be interpreted two ways. It indicates what Miss Betsey is thinking, or it is the author's intruding into the story to humorously suggest what Miss Betsey is probably thinking.
"There was a twitch of Miss Betsey's head, after each of these sentences, as if her own old wrongs were working within her, and she repressed any plainer reference to them by strong constraint..."See in text(Chapter 1 - I Am Born)
The implication is that Miss Betsey is remembering how she had been hurt in the past and is struggling to control her emotions. She intends to protect the unborn child—she is certain the baby is a girl—from the wrongs that had been done to her by a man's "trifling with her affections" and betraying her.
"'Why then I'll as good as bet a guinea,' said Peggotty..."See in text(Chapter 2 - I Observe)
Peggotty expects that Davy's mother will will surely let him go and she is so sure that she could even place a bet and win. A guinea was money (a coin) in circulation at the time.
"supposititious..."See in text(Chapter 2 - I Observe)
The adjective "supposititious" means that something is based on wondering or supposing. Seeing that Peggotty is not happy to be taking Davy away and leaving his mother with Murdstone makes Davy wonder if he is being taken away for good and, if that is the case, if he would be able to find his way back home.
"Quinion,' said Mr. Murdstone, 'take care, if you please. Somebody's sharp..."See in text(Chapter 2 - I Observe)
The expression "somebody's sharp" serves as a warning that Davy might understand what the men are talking about. The suggestion is that Mr. Murdstone has designs on Mrs. Copperfield and perhaps her inheritance.
"Indeed, we were all more or less amused, except that miserable Mrs. Gummidge, whose courtship would appear to have been of an exactly parallel nature, she was so continually reminded by these transactions of the old one..."See in text(Chapter 10 - I Become Neglected, And Am Provided For)
Mrs. Gummidge is not amused or entertained by watching Mr. Barkis court Peggotty because Mrs. Gummidge's husband, now dead, once courted her in the same manner. Watching Barkis and Peggotty reminds Mrs. Gummidge of the husband she misses.
"a club in the prison, in which Mr. Micawber, as a gentleman, was a great authority..."See in text(Chapter 11 - I Begin Life On My Own Account, And Don't Like It)
Mr. Micawber has more authority in the prison club than others because of his social class.
"He connects his illness with great disturbance and agitation, naturally, and that's the figure, or the simile, or whatever it's called, which he chooses to use..."See in text(Chapter 14 - My Aunt Makes Up Her Mind About Me)
In fixating on King Charles I, Mr. Dick is essentially struggling with his own tragic experiences; the king has assumed symbolic meaning for Mr. Dick.
"AND TO RUB HIS OFF..."See in text(Chapter 15 - I Make Another Beginning)
Numerous details in the chapter associate Uriah Heep with evil; ending the chapter with Davy's being repelled and frightened by him emphasize the strangeness of Heep's character.
