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dispute over an inheritance that
has already lasted several decades
by the time the novel begins,
and which has become “... so
complicated that no man alive
knows what it is.”Multiple layers
However, Bleak House is not
just an attack on the English
legal system: it is also a murder
mystery, a whodunnit, and a
searing exploration of the poverty,
disease, and neglect that were part
of 19th-century England. The novel
includes plots and subplots that
touch on themes of secrets, guilt,
greed, self-interest, love, and
kindness. Like all of Dickens’
novels, it includes a huge and
memorable cast of characters,
who interlink with each other in
ways that are both obvious and
extremely subtle (introducing
surprise into the serial form), most
of them drawn into each other’s
lives through the complex web
of Jarndyce and Jarndyce. Such
features grew out of the serial
nature of the work, its episodic
creation allowing for many subplots
involving numerous characters.
Dickens starts to lay the basis
for his story in the very first
episode, introducing the reader
to places, events, and several ofthe main characters. He also
provides clues to mysteries that
will eventually unfold.
The book’s memorable opening
describes London in November, fog
on the river seeping into the bones
of the characters, symbolizing the
confusion and corruption that
emanate from the fog’s densest
point—the High Court of Chancery.
Moving outward to Lincolnshire, it
reappears as mist around Chesney
Wold, the estate of the aristocratic
Lord and Lady Dedlock.
We are introduced to three main
characters: Esther Summerson,
Ada Clare, and Richard Carstone.
All are orphans, their lives already
affected by the long-running
Jarndyce and Jarndyce case.BLEAK HOUSE
They go to live in the eponymous
Bleak House with their guardian,
John Jarndyce, a kindly man and
benefactor who has resolutely
distanced himself from the infamous
lawsuit and warns his young wards
to do the same. But each is touched
by the case, and Carstone becomes
dangerously sucked into it.
Brought up as a child by a harsh
aunt, and with a shameful mystery
surrounding her birth, Esther plays
a central role in the novel. She is a
modest, shy, self-effacing young
woman, who says of herself, “I
know I am not very clever.”
Esther is also one of the two
narrators that Dickens uses. Her
first-person narrative weaves in and
out of the story, describing people
and events from a personal and
retrospective view. She provides
insight into and criticism of the
other characters. The other narrator
is an anonymous third-person voice
that describes events in the present
tense, creating dramatic tension
and highlighting social injustice—
the voice of conscience.Remarkable characters
Each member of Bleak House’s
large cast is carefully named and
presented to make social points;
characters are often larger than life,
but are never oversimplified. The
complexity of Dickens’ characters
made them compelling to readers,
who followed their fortunes in
installments in much the same
way that today’s television viewers
tune in to weekly soap operas.
Lord and Lady Dedlock
epitomize the deadness, sterility,
and aloofness of the aristocracy,Pea-soupers, heavy fogs containing
soot and other pollutants, were a
feature of 19th-century London. In
Bleak House, fog serves as a symbol
of confusion and oppression.Fog everywhere. Fog up the
river, where it flows among
green aits and meadows;
fog down the river...
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