Bleak House by Charles Dickens - February Book Club Online

[PatH]

The Book Club Online is  the oldest  book club on the Internet, begun in 1996, open to everyone.  We offer cordial discussions of one book a month,  24/7 and  enjoy the company of readers from all over the world.  Everyone is welcome to join in
 

Bleak House                            
by Charles Dickens

                   

Bleak House is the 10th novel by Charles Dickens, published in twenty monthly installments between March 1852 and September 1853. It is held to be one of Dickens's finest novels, containing one of the most vast, complex and engaging arrays of minor characters and sub-plots in his entire canon. The story is told partly by the novel's heroine, Esther Summerson, and partly by an omniscient narrator. The story revolves around the mystery of Esther Summerson's mother and it involves a murder story and one of English fiction's earliest detectives, Inspector Bucket. Most of all, though, the story is about love and how it can cut through human tangles and produce a happy ending. The house where Dickens lived spent summers with his family, beginning in 1850, is said to have inspired his novel of the same name.  Among others, he wrote David Copperfield in this house.

Visitors to the Shooting Gallery  (click to enlarge)

INSTALMENT IX X

DATE of PUBLICATION    Nov. 1852 Dec. 1852

CHAPTERS 26-29  30-32

DISCUSSION DATES Mar.26-29  Mar.31-Apr.4

The Young Man  of the name of Guppy (click to enlarge)

               Some Topics to Consider

In this section we advance several of the previously started story lines, ending with a big plot development.  Again, if you've read ahead please be careful not to give anything away to the rest of us. Chapter  XXVI  Sharpshooter 1.  Phil reminds Mr. George of how they met.  What does this tell us about both men? 2.  Mr. Smallweed says of Captain Hawdon: "Didn't he take us all in?  Didn't he owe us immense sums, all round?"  What do you suppose this is about. Chapter XXVII  More Old Soldiers Than One 1.  Mr. Tulkinghorn is going to great lengths to gather information.  What does he know?  What is he trying to find out?  Whose interest is he looking out for? 2.  Mr. Bagnet uses subterfuges to hide the fact that he asks advice of his wiser wife.  Why?  Is she fooled?  Do you approve? Chapter XXVIII  The Ironmaster 1.  Can you think of a better way to handle a crowd of poor noble relations like Volumnia? 2.  Why does Mr. Rouncewell, the ironmaster, make Sir Leicester so angry and uneasy?  What is the underlying social and political climate at this time? 3.  Why is Lady Dedlock so desolate? XXIX  The Young Man 1.  What is Guppy up to? 2.  Lady Dedlock keeps her icy detachment no matter what.  Is this good? 3.  This chapter contains an important plot development.  Comment.

 

Related Links:
 Characters in Bleak House by Groups;  Map of London  1851 (double click); UNSOLVED MYSTERIES ; Interactive Map of London

 

                                                  

Bleak House  "A dreary name," said the Lord Chancellor. "But not a dreary place at present, my lord," said Mr. Kenge.

DLs:  JoanP, Marcie, PatH, Babi,   JoanK  

[marcie]

Jude and Jonathan, what interesting posts about the other great minds that were likely influenced by Dickens....Freud, Dostoyevsky, Engels.

I found a list of authors who were contemporaries of Dickens at http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Which_authors_were_contemporaries_of_Charles_Dickens:

    * Louisa May Alcott
    * Edward Bulwer-Lytton
    * Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle
    * Wilkie Collins
    * George Eliot
    * Ralph Waldo Emerson
    * Thomas Hardy
    * Leigh Hunt
    * Henry James
    * Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
    * William T. Sherman
    * William Makepeace Thackeray
    * Leo Tolstoy
    * Anthony Trollope
    * Mark Twain

PatH, you say, "Inspector Bucket is certainly willing to go to great lengths to get his man.  He is described as stout and middle-aged, but he climbs on the roof of the shooting gallery to peer through the skylight and find Gridley." LOL, yes, it must have been precarious to be on the rool peeking through the skylight! He is like a dog with a bone, following up on a case, but he has a very human side as he shows when trying to buck up Gridley when he sees how sick he really is. JoanP, you ask, " he wasn't really trying to rally him, was he?  He knew he was dying...wasn't he just trying to help him in his last moments." I don't know, perhaps Bucket did think that having a cause to fight for might rally Gridley. In either case, he showed a caring side. He isn't ALL business.

Babi, you say "The scene of Gridley's death is a sad one. It really seems, though, to be a release he might have been grateful for.." I think you are right. Gridley finally gave up. Fighting the Courts seemed to become too much for him. I think that Dickens has really brought to life the extreme effects the legal system had on many people.

JoanP, you may be right in looking for more from Jarndyce. I think that I've been fairly satisfied with what we;ve seen so far. We've been shown a person who has been affected deeply by the court case. He's seen relatives ruined...to the point of committing suicide...over the case. He feels that he has to stay far away from it and do his best to warn Richard to keep away. He is someone who seems to provide for others in secret, when that is possible. His main stance is to avoid thanks, or even mention of his good deeds. He seems not to want anyone to be beholding to him. He is a somewhat reticent person and hides his feelings. He tries to avoid negative thoughts about anyone (he hides in the growlry when there is an "east wind"). How do the rest of you see Jarndyce so far?

[marcie]

I had to laugh a lot in Chapter XXV. Mrs. Snagsby has her husband all figured out!    While the preacher is talking and using his oratory technique to single out audience members, and has Mr. Snagsby in his focus, pointing his finger at  him, Mrs. Snagsby is interpreting every word the preacher says to confirm her fears that Mr. Snagsby is having an affair!

Poor Mr. Snagsby also is in the dark. "Mr. Snagsby cannot make out what it is that he has had to do with. Something is wrong somewhere, but what something, what may come of it, to whom, when, and from which unthought of and unheard of quarter is the puzzle of his life." The way that Mr. Bucket tried to distract and mislead Snagsby in his dealings with Jo and Hortense, has left Snagsby completely in the dark, feeling that "the secret [whatever secret that may be] may take air and fire, explode, and blow up--Mr. Bucket only knows whom."

Although Snagsby is in the dark about it, his feelings may portend something momentous. Dickens lines could be taken on two levels....on the one hand, funny exaggeration because of Snagsby's active imagination.. and on the other hand, a foretelling of some secret blowing up...and causing grave harm.

Anyone have other thoughts on this installment before we move on to the next one tomorrow?

[JoanP]

It has a humorous chapter, Marcie...a bit of comic relief coming right after Gridley's death scene.  It took me a while to realize the meaning of  "the light of Terewth"  in Rev. Chadband's sermonizing...I kept looking for a footnote, until it came to me that this was his exaggerated pronunciation of "the light of Truth."

Poor Mr. Snagsby had no idea what was the matter, but knew that something was the matter.  Poor Mrs. Snagsby too - in tears - "cataleptic"  is how Dickens describes her.  Exactly what is it that she suspects of Mr. Snagsby?  She shrieked at every mention of Jo's parents by the Rev. Chadband.

The Installment ended with Mr. Snagsby slipping Jo another half crown to keep quiet in the future about the woman.  Someone has heard this.  A ghostly shade, frilled and night-capped  follows the law stationer from the room and up the stairs.  Now there are two shadows following the poor man?  Who could this be in a firlled nightcap in his own home.  Guster?  hahah - Mr. Bucket in yet another disguise? Do we know what Hortense is up to these days?

[marcie]

JoanP, it took me a long while to figure out the "light of terewith/truth."  I have been assuming that Mrs.. Snagsby thinks that Mr. Snagsby is Jo's father. And I think that it is Mrs. Snagsby at the end (in her nightcap) who is following Mr. S. His giving the coin to Jo must reinforce what she thinks she has found out about him.

[JoanP]

Can't you just picture Jo sitting with the Rev. Chadband, as he sermonized - puzzling as we did on the meanting of "Terewth" - and probably everything else he was saying.
Yes, I thought too that was what was driving Mrs. Snagsby mad - the idea that her husband was showing such interest in this orphan boy - because he was his son.  Many orphans in this story, no?  Do you suppose we will learn of Jo's parentage before Dickens puts down his pen?

Last minute comments/questions on this Installment before moving on - 

Do we know for a fact that Mr. George is George Rouncewell - Mrs. Rouncewell, the housekeeper of Chesney Wold's son?

Did you notice that Mr. Guppy was in the company of Mrs. Chadband, the former Miss Rachael, at the Chancery - and the long-awaited meeting between Esther and her childhood housekeeper at Miss Barbary's came and went without this being a big scene.  They recognized one another, had  a polite conversation.  I suppose this is all 'Mr. Guppy wanted to confirm.
BUT WHY WAS she in the Chancery?  Is she the guest of Mr. Guppy?  I don't remember how that was explained...

[JoanP]

Now looking through that list of Dickens' contemporaries, Marcie.  Thank you for that.  Dickens counted a number of them his close friends - certainly Wilkie Collins - one of his best friends - they even collaborated on stories for Household Words..  Dickens' daughter Katie married Wilkie's brother Charles.

The coming Installment is huge - I hope everyone is in the mood to catch up - it will be hard to discuss the fourth chapter without giving anything away.

[Laura]

How do the rest of you see Jarndyce so far?

I think Mr. Jarndyce is a man of many secrets.  He is a man who cares deeply about people and does everything he can to help others.  Yet, he is a man with a great burden of some sort.  I am not sure it is just the law case that burdens him.

I read Woman in White by Wilkie Collins and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Was it with this group?

[JoanP]

Yes, we did "Woman in White" here, Laura.  I sense the Wilkie influence in Lady Dedlock's character and the misty, mysterious settings whenever she appears, do you?

I agree about the John Jarndyce's "burden" as you put it.  Surely Dickens is planning a big expose of just what it is he is carrying.  I think it's more than Tom Jarndyce's suicide.

[PatH]

Laura, I checked the archived Woman in White discussion.  Indeed, you were in it; it was a really good discussion.  As it happens, I had to reread the Collins a few weeks ago for a course I'm taking at Politics and Prose.  It was interesting reading the two books simultaneously.  For one thing, the feel, or mood, of the two books was very similar.  I really felt soaked in the mid-1800s.  (W in W was written 7 years after Bleak House.)  There are some similarities of plot and approach too, though Dickens is much the better writer.

[PatH]

We're starting the next section today, but don't let that stop you from talking about previous sections.  There's plenty left to say.

[Babi]

 I think Jude was right about why Freud and Dostoyevsky admired Dickens, JONATHAN. His
insight into human nature and motivations is truly great.

 I think that must have been Esther speaking, JOANP. She is comparing the two 'departures',
Gridley and Richard. I don't have Richard's parting words in my notes, so I don't know
what he said that echoed Gridley. If you have time, maybe you could remind me.
 Oh, and yes, Mr. George is Mrs. Rouncewell's son, the one who went into the Army.
You'll find him listed in the index of characters. Army...do you suppose that is where
he knew Capt. Hawdon?

 MARCIE, I entirely agree with you summary of John Jarndyce. I have yet to come across a
single jarring note in anything I've read about him. I think he is exactly what he appears
to be.

[pedln]

LOL, moment of truth!!  I’ve been sitting here trying to pronounce it as Chadband would say it.  Can’t.  I’m with you all, poor Jo – and Mr. Snagsby, too.

2.  Mr. Bagnet uses subterfuges to hide the fact that he asks advice of his wiser wife.  Why?  Is she fooled?  Do you approve?

I don’t think she’s fooled one minute. “The old girl” is on top of everything.  I loved Chpt. 27, it was like a breath of fresh air.  A normal, happy, loving family, albeit one with their own idiosyncracies.  Two little girls who loved their “Bluffy.”  A son willingly following in his father’s footsteps.  Good friends getting together for fellowship, as well as for consul and confidences.

Babi and Marcie, I'm with you about Mr. Jarndyce.  He is as he appears.

[PatH]

I think that must have been Esther speaking, JOANP. She is comparing the two 'departures',
Gridley and Richard. I don't have Richard's parting words in my notes, so I don't know
what he said that echoed Gridley

That's right, Babi.  We don't hear what Richard said, but it makes Esther think of Gridley's almost-last words to Miss Flite.

[JudeS]

Before we go on to the next chapters, which are absolutely wonderful, I want to bring up two very small points that perhaps show how Dickens pays as much attention to tiny details as well as seeing the broad picture.

I wrote down this sentence:
"My little woman says Snagsby to the sparrows, likes to have her religion rather sharp,you see."
With those few words we see what kind of person we are dealing with in Mrs. Snagsby and the fact that Mr S. has only the sparrows to tell what he thinks.

When the policeman has Jo in his hands he calls him a "gonoph" which is the Yiddish word for
thief. I was so struck by this that I went to a couple of sites regarding the use of that word in the context of this book. Almost every site that mentions the word refers back to Bleak House .
Some sites push the envelope and say that it is from the two words Gone Off. Most sites agree that this yiddish word entered the British language because of so many Jewish immigrants who had push carts which were constantly being robbed and the owners yelling,"GONOPH,GONOPH !!!

[PatH]

I'm glad we're reading this book so carefully, Jude; we catch more of these nifty details.

[PatH]

We've got 3 more or less comic couples.

The Snagsbys: she pokes into his business and inflicts unbearable religion on him, finally pursuing him with her inept but thorough detecting, concluding that Jo is his son. I love the end of chapter XXV, with its ominous reference to Adam and Eve as Mrs. S follows him around.  "For the watchful Mrs. Snagsby is there too--bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh, shadow of his shadow."

The Smallweeds: I don't find them funny, I find them creepy and depressing.  He sits there, almost incapacitated, doing little but thinking about money and yelling and throwing pillows at his childish and even more incapacitated wife, sliding down in his chair and being shaken up again.

The Bagnets: as pedln says, they're a breath of fresh air--wholesome and loving, funny only in their harmless idiosyncrasies.

[Jonathan]

'BUT WHY WAS she in the Chancery?  Is she the guest of Mr. Guppy?  I don't remember how that was explained.'

Good question, JoanP. I think the love-smitten Guppy saw an opportunity to get close to the one he loved...for a moment. Trying to read Esther's mind is always interesting. Those last two paragraphs of Chapter 24, I believe, have Esther revealing her premonition that Richard will end up like Gridley. Chancery will kill him too. He already has the Chancellor  describing him as a 'vexatious and capricious infant', and has 'seriously reproved him for trifling with time and not knowing his mind.' (beginning of Ch 24) And that, said Richard, is 'a pretty good joke, I think.'

That is interesting detail, Jude. Gonoph caught my eye, too. The Hebrew meaning is thief. But in Yiddish the word is much more nuanced. There is a meaning that would suggest another aspect of, as Marcie points out, the caring side of Mr Bucket. From Leo Rosten's book, The Joys of Yiddish, gonef could also mean, an ingenious child, or a mischievous, fun-loving prankster, as well as a clever person, or a shady tricky character.

[JoanK]

Jonathan: I love that you quoted Leo Rosen: "The Joys of Yiddish", an old favorite of mine. Any of you who don't know it, you're missing something. I'll nnever forget getting kicked out of a restaurant because I was quoting passages to friends, and we were laughing so hard, we almost rolled out of our seats.

Dickens is the last person I would have thought of using a Yiddish phrase, so when I saw "gonoph", I thought "No, it must mean something else."

Do you think Dickens put the Bagnets in as an "antidote" to the Smallwoods and Snagbys? Especially in reguards to his description of the women in the family. I'll bet he got complaints from his women readers about portraying all these stupid wives.

[JudeS]

Joan K
Lest we forget....How about two other wives:  Mrs Jellyby and Mrs. Pardiggle.
And not a wife but pretty awful anyway: Volumnia Dedlock.
Every time I see that name I giggle. And more come to mind.....Hortense for one and then the girl with no childhood-Judy Smallweed.
To balance them out we have Esther and Caddy and perhaps lady Dedlock. And of course Mrs.Rouncewell with her successful sons.

[marcie]

This is great that so many of you catch, and pursue, details that I miss. I appreciate discussing this book with each of you. "Gonoph" is so interesting. I would not have thought that Dickens would have used a Yiddish word but your explanation makes sense, JudeS, "Most sites agree that this yiddish word entered the British language because of so many Jewish immigrants who had push carts which were constantly being robbed and the owners yelling,"GONOPH,GONOPH !!" I love the first few of the alternative meanings, Jonathan, "an ingenious child, or a mischievous, fun-loving prankster, as well as a clever person, or a shady tricky character."

[Babi]

 I love Mrs. Bagnet. Speaking of favorite characters, for me she ranks up there with Esther,
Mr. Jarndyce, and Detective Bucket. She is a little larger than life, but so hearty,
cheerful and wise.

 What a sharp eye, JUDE! That brief sentence from Snagsby does reveal so much. I hadn't
thought of that, but it is a sad reflection that the poor man is talking to birds. I do
hope he will find a friend.
 Gonoph is Yiddish?  I'm glad you pointed that out; I thought it was just some bit of
slang of the day and gave it no further thought. And then JONATHAN found some more for us.
Great!!

 Speaking of odd words, Mr. Smallweed, uttering sounds like a ‘paviour’s rammer’???   This,
from what I can discover, is a paver’s rammer.  The machine that paver’s use to set paving
stones. Doesn't that bring up a picture of a loud, angry, sputtering man, too furious to
speak clearly?

[JoanP]

Who needs the Norton Critical footnotes with the input from all of you here. I went right by the constable's description of Jo as "an obstinate young gonoph" who refused to move on...without any thought to the meaning or derivation of the word.  Norton's footnote defined "gonoph"  as a pickpocket, which fit - as Jo was thought to have stolen the half crown in his pocket.

Jonathan - this is the second time that Mrs. Chadband/Miss Rachael's presence has strained credibility.  The first, that she was present at that crucial moment in the Snagsbys' parlor when Guppy turned up to hear her say that she cared for Esther as a child.  Then, she turned up at the Chancery with Guppy and spoke to Esther, confirming Guppy's suspicions that there was a link to...well, a link.  Of course this could be esplained - Guppy worked for Kenge and Carstone - knew that Richard was to appear in court that morning, assumed that Esther would be with him and then found some pretext to bring Mrs. Chadband to court.  I wonder if we will ever learn how he did that.   Can't you see Dickens puzzling out this whole scenario before putting it to paper?

Babi - I'm not surprised that Mr. George turned to his friend Matt for advise about what to do about Mr. Tulkinghorn's request...but was tickled at how he took Mrs. Bagnet's advice without question.  I think she told him to do what he was inclined to do in the first place - turn down Tulkinghorn's request to hand over Captain  Hawdon's letters.

I'm a bit  puzzled over Mr. George's relationship with his mother.  His full name is not Mr. George, but Mr. George Rouncewell?  He sounds as if he hasn't seen his mother who lives in the country for quite a long time.  Did I forget something?  Does Mrs. Rouncewell believe Mr. George is dead?  Help!  Her grandson, who is sweet on Rosa, is the son of another son?  Do we know  the other son's name?

Mr. George is a character who also belongs in the "good guys"  column - even if he owes Mr. Smallweed - which is not a good thing.  Mr. Smallweed seems to hate him - not so Judith.  I'm thinking that Mr. Smallweed may have seen Mr. G put some papers in his breast pocket.  They may even try to take these papers by force when he returns to Mr. Tulkinghorn's with his negative answer to turn them over.  Dickens may have taken the opportunity of the visit to the Bagnets to leave those papers with them, rather than carry them back when he returns to Tulkinghorn's place.

I'm really getting into the plot, sitting right at Dickens' elbow as he writes...

[Jonathan]

Feel free to give him some advice now and then, JoanP. Tell him that he may have a credibility problem with some readers. No doubt he will remind you on any specific that he prepared the reader some hundred pages earlier. And the book being so convoluted, the reader will probably give him the benefit of the doubt. I read somewhere that Henry James described BLEAK HOUSE as a construction job.

'I'll bet he got complaints from his women readers about portraying all these stupid wives.'

Wonderful, JoanK. No doubt the author got some feedback from women readers regarding the portrayal of wives. Nevertheless, I believe, on balance, intelligence in the book is weighted in favour of women. The majority of his readers would have been women. It's their lives and their problems that make up a big part of the story. Dickens does seem to put a lot of effort into keeping things balanced, doesn't he? My heart bleeds for some of the male characters. Including Mr Bagnet. Reduced to the role of domestic policeman. And Snagsby has only the birds for company!

[PatH]

I feel very sorry for Snagsby, but I don't feel sorry for Bagnet.  I think he has what he wants.  Their relationship is loving, not adversarial.  She is wiser than he, but he takes her advice willingly, and without losing his dignity in the process, and he's still the head of the household.

And I really feel sorry for Mr. Pardiggle and Mr. Jellyby.  In fact, sometimes when you look at Dickens' couples, you wonder if marriage is really a happy ending.

[PatH]

The Rouncewells are confusing.  George is the younger son, and has been estranged from the family for some time.  I don't remember if they know he's still alive.  The older son is the father of Watt, the grandson who is sweet on Rosa.  He is also the ironmaster of chapter XXVIII.  I agree that George is a 'good guy'.  He isn't very respectable, and has some shady dealings, but he is good-hearted and honorable.

JoanP, you're right that Smallweed saw George put some papers in his pocket. I kept expecting S. to get Tulkinghorn to have the papers taken from George, but he didn't.

[Laura]

I am caught up on the reading, but short on time today and tomorrow.  I am trying to piece everything together by thinking back on what we have already read.  I think I may read the Spark Notes summaries to remind myself.  There is so much to remember with this book!  Honestly, I could not get through this book without you all.

[Laura]

JoanP and Pat, yes, I agree that Bleak House often has the same mysterious feel that Woman in White had.  I can’t remember enough of the plot of Woman in White to recall if Lady Dedlock reminds me of her though.  I do have Wilkie Collins’ The Moonstone, planning to read it someday.

[PatH]

There is so much to remember with this book!

I think I'm really reading the book twice, I go back so much to check things or straighten them out.

Laura, you'll like The Moonstone whenever you get to it.

Anyone who hasn't finished this section (through XXIX) will not want to read beyond the next 2 posts.

[Babi]

George Rouncewell's status is still unclear, isn't it, JOANP?  We have strong evidence that
he ran away to the Army and was gone for many years. We still need some explanation as to
why he hasn't seen his mother. He has family; why is he all alone except for Phil Squod?
 (Another very interesting name. I wonder if it means anything?)  The eldest son, so far,
would simply be Mr. Rouncewell.  

  We have in Ch. 28 a summary of Lord Leicester’s view of society, station, education for the masses, and duty.  All in all, what did you think of this  capsule summary of the upper class viewpoint of the times?

 BTW, I found no definition for a word "squod", but 'quod' is British slang for jail.  Probably means
nothing in terms of this  story, but it does open doors for the imagination.

[Jonathan]

The talk of Wilkie Collins and his books recalls to mind my reading of The Moonstone when I was very young. I was absolutely thrilled. It would never have occurred to me to compare his writing style with Dickens'. Then I would have disagreed with you, Pat, about Dickens being the better writer. Not now. Your activity at Politics and Prose sounds interesting. Bleak House, it seems to me, could be made to fit both categories. It's more social and judicial than political, but there is the aside that the author allowed himself in the Moving On chapter, when he suggests that it is the guys in parliament should be told to move on, rather than crossing sweeper boys.

Babi, your right about Sir Leicester's views on the state of the country's foundations is little more than a capsule summary. Dickens probably thought it was enough to convery this aristocrat's concerns. People forgetting their places in a class society made him nervous. He wanted no part of being a part of a vanished ancien regime like in France.

Tensions are rising all around in this instalment. The major characters all fear something, want something, hide something, work toward something or show some dramatically intersting tendency. Suspicion. Dread. Love.

[JudeS]

Finally, at the end of chapter 29 we get a real breakthrough..one to tear at the heartstrings if you will.
Lady Dedlock:"Oh, my child,my child! Not dead in the first hours of her life, as my cruelsister told me, but sternly nurturedby her, after she had renounced me and my name!
O my child, O my child!"

So one BIG mystery put to rest. However in reading these last few paragraphs of this chapter I felt the soul of The Grimm Brothers invading me (or Dickens). Very powerful but slightly overdramatic.

[Laura]

So one BIG mystery put to rest. However in reading these last few paragraphs of this chapter I felt the soul of The Grimm Brothers invading me (or Dickens). Very powerful but slightly overdramatic.

Overly dramatic --- yes!  That''s the melodrama promised by the blurb on the back of the book!

[Laura]

OK, I think I have finally got everything straight!  I cut and pasted key segments of Sparknotes into a Word document, by chapter.  I would be happy to share it, but it is six pages long and I thought too long to post.  If one of the discussion leaders would like to post it in a link in the heading, I would be happy to help do that.  After that exercise, my brain needs a rest.  I'll comment on this section tomorrow.

[JoanP]

I read somewhere that Henry James described BLEAK HOUSE as a construction job.

 Jonathan, I'll agree with Henry James on that - to a point.  A carefully worked out, carefully constructed plot.  Everything bit of information has a part in the drama - like one of those Lego kits the kids are building these days.  Did you notice George explainging the types of people who come into his shooting range - he mentioned French women coming in to practice.  Do you think that was mentioned for a reason?

But I'm sure you'll  agree there is so much more than the plot and the mystery surrounding Esther Summerson...The plot kept some of Dickens' readers interested - but there were the social issues they were concerned about...
 -AND there was Dickens' prose - which tells more of the story than meets the eye.

I loved the way he opened the most dramatic chapter in the book  - the contrast between Chesney Wold when Lady Dedlock is not in residence - "dead, cold, somber" - and then the house in town when she arrives - "warm and alive."  All the time Sir Leicester sits in another room, happily reading his paper, while Guppy reveals his detective work and Lady Dedlock is confronted with evidence that will ruin her.  I'm thinking that Sir Leicester will not want a life without her.  I think he needs her warmth in his home and will forgive her anything to keep her.  None of this is said here in so many words, but I think Dickens prose conveys this message... I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that Sir Leicester knew the child hadn't died all along... and that he has retained Mr. Tulkinghorn to keep that information from his wife...

I'm away from home this week - will try to peep in whenever possible.  This discussion  is addictive!

[PatH]

Yes, Dickens liked his melodrama at times.

We were all becoming more and more certain that Lady Dedlock would turn out to be Esther's mother, but this tells us something else important.  She didn't know that Esther had lived.  That's hugely important to her character.  Whatever her motives for marrying Sir Leicester and becoming the rich, bored leader of society, she wasn't selfishly abandoning her own child.

[PatH]

Laura, if you've got everything straight, you're ahead of the rest of us.  If you want to share your cut-and-paste, if you don't mind emailing it, you could just send it to me and I'l take it from there.  If you click on my name in the heading, you get an email.  If you click on it anywhere else where it's blue, you get my profile, which includes the email address.  If you don't want to do that, we'll work out something.

[JoanP]

PatH - do you think she really did NOT recognize the resemblance between herself and Esther when they met for the first time that morning in the church in Lincolnshire?  She showed such interest in Ada and Rosa's beauty - perhaps wondering if her daughter, had she lived, would be as beautiful...but did she recognize the resemblance that struck Guppy as so remarkable.  Did anyone else see the resemblance?  John Jarndyce?  Sir Leicester?

[PatH]

I think she must have recognized the resemblance on some level--her behavior toward Esther was somewhat odd--but it probably wasn't quite conscious.  Esther, too, wasn't quite sure why she was so disconcerted by Lady D.

[PatH]

Laura, it just occurred to me that it's probably a copyright violation for me to put a big chunk of the Spark notes on our site, and we have to be careful of that, so I guess better not.  (It wouldn't be a violation to share with a friend, but the site is open to any public.)