Was the family prostrated by grief?

When the death scene in Dombey and Son was published, all of England was apparently prostrated by grief.

Lucie is prostrated by grief, Lorry is old, Pross and Cruncher can't speak the language.

And who, prostrated by grief and the shock of Ylsa's death, which she had experienced no less than Talia, might very well lose her hold on responsibility and duty long enough to succeed in death-willing herself.

When the fifth installment of Dombey and Son was published in 1847 — the chapter in which the fragile young heir to the great Dombey import-export firm breathes his last — the entire nation of England was apparently prostrated by grief.