Bleak House by Charles Dickens - February Book Club Online

[JoanP]

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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.

Lady Dedlock in the Wood  (click to enlarge)

INSTALMENT XII XIII

DATE of PUBLICATION    Feb. 1853 Mar. 1853

CHAPTERS 36-38  39-42

DISCUSSION DATES April 10--Apr.14  April 15-Apr.19

The Ghost's Walk (click to enlarge)

               Some Topics to Consider

Chapter  XXXVI  Chesney Wold 1.   What devices does Dickens use to heighten the heartrending character of this chapter? What devices to provide relief and contrast? Did he do a good job, or do you find it too sentimental? 2. Even after Esther sees herself, we still don't know what she looks like. What is your mental picture of her? Do you think you could have reacted the way she did? 3. Esther becomes very sensitive to how people react to infirmities, and observes "how natural it is to gentle hearts to be considerate and delicate toward any infirmity"? Do your observations and experiences agree with that or not? 4. Does this chapter change your impression of Lady Dedlock's character? Are her actions realistic? If you know someone who met their birth mother as an adult, did they react as Esther did? What do you think Lady Dedlock said in the letter that Esther refuses to tell us now, saying "It has its own times and places in my story"? 5. What does this chapter tell us about Tulkinghorn? Do you know anyone who has too little passion to be either a friend or an enemy? If so, how do you deal with them? 6. Esther has a premonition that it is she who is the ghost of the "Ghost's Walk". Do you think this will prove to be true? Chapter XXXVIII  Jarndyce and Jarndyce 1. Do you think Esther did the right thing by telling no one her secret? 2. Why does Richard meet Esther in this secret way? 3. Does it seem logical that Richard and Skimpole should become good friends? What effect do they have on each other? Do you think Skimpole not as artless as he seemed? 4. Why is Esther "not sure that Richard loved her (Ada) dearly"? 5. Where do Richard's suspicions of John Jarndyce come from? Are they against his nature or not? Is it the nature of the law case, or is someone feeding them? Who will they hurt more, John or Richard? 6. We have a new character, Mr. Vholes, "looking at him (Richard) as if he were looking at his prey and charming it". What is there about Richard that makes him a natural prey?      Chapter XXXVIII  The Struggle      1.  Do you agree with Esther that Caddy has "struck out a natural, wholesome, loving course ... that was quite as good as a mission" (presumably, as a mission in Africa)? What does this tell us about Dickens' values? 2. What is the basis of the friendship between Mr. Turveydrop and Mr. Jellyby? 3. What is the "struggle" in this chapter about? What does Guppy want? What does Esther want? Why is this so important to her? Do you think she anticipated Guppy's reaction to her changed appearance and used it deliberately? 4. Do you find this "struggle" funny? Pathetic? Both?

 

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  

[JoanP]

Jude a regular preschool!  I know what you mean about those gadgets...mine each had their own DS games...two had the DS3 - which made the others green with envy.  Ds3 comes with a camera.
We'll get into the next installment very soon - we're trying to unravel how Dickens left us at the end the last installment, chapter 35.  How did you understand it?  Any ideas about the veiled mystery lady who is married to the Lord Chancellor?  Have we solved that mystery - or not?

[JudeS]

Not!

[PatH]

What do you make of sweet Miss Flite?  Do you think there is any truth to what she is saying?  Do you think her mad - just a little, as others tell Esther?

I think the "Lord Chancellor's Wife" bit is just Miss Flite being nutty.  She hasn't seen the veiled woman, all she knows is what Jenny told her and Charlie.  And we know she is a bit obsessed with the Lord Chancellor, both the real one, and Krook, who is called that.  And the details Miss F gives don't really make sense.

It makes sense for the veiled lady to be Lady Dedlock, concerned for the woman she has just learned is her child, and eager to get a keepsake.

[JoanP]

See, this is why I need you all sitting next to me when I'm reading Dickens!  In my mind, there was not the slightest doubt that the veiled lady was Lady Dedlock - actually, I still think so, as you did, Laura - and PatH.  But was so ready to believe Miss Flite when she reported that the Lord Chancellor was married to this lady - off an running with the idea that the Lord Chancellor was none other than - Sir Leicester, as proposterous as that sounds to me now.  Thank you, PatH, for reining me in and injecting some common sense when translating Miss Flite's comments.   Dickens keeps telling us the poor woman is slightly mad - don't know why I took her at her word on this one.

There's more about her suit before the Chancery in this chapter - it seems that her father and her brother were both involved - she recognizes that it did them in and seems to understand the harm that comes from getting too involved in it...remarkably lucid on this point - and yet she persists.  She expresses concern for Richard and his involvement as well.  What do you think?  Will Dickens save Richard at the end, or will he go down as all of the others who hitched their wagon to the outcome of the case?

[JoanP]

" I am still wondering what Skimpole is doing in the story."Jude.

 After reading the next Installment, I'm really worried about Richard teaming up with this guy, Jude.  Do we have any evidence that Skimpole is waiting for the outcome of Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce too?  How did he become involved with John Jarndyce in the first place? I've been wondering all along how John Jarndyce keeps himself from getting involved.  He seems strangely detached from the outcome of the case, doesn't he?  And Esther too - there is no indication that she is involved in the whole tangled affair, except that she is Jarndyce's ward.  But I'm beginning to suspect she is more involved than we know - or than she knows.

  At the end of Chapter 35, we are told that Dr. Allan Woodcourt has returned sooner than the two years he was to be in India - Esther confesses that she has feelings for him. Jonathan's right,  a tangled web! Some of the secrets are about to be revealed, though Dickens has a way of keeping us guessing, even when he gives us some answers.  Are you ready for the next installment, the big scene out at Chesney Wold?  

[Babi]

I can't imagine for a  moment Hortense leaving money for Esther! No, I'm
confident it was Lady Dedlock. Hard to say who Miss Flite would call the Lord
Chancellor, but I wouldn't think it was the Lord Chancellor himself she was
referring to. Miss Flite could be confusing Lord 'Chancellor' for Lord Dedlock.
I suspect she is becoming more and more confused.

 One other thing before proceeding. What do you make of this?  ”It was not the custom in England to confer titles on  men distinguished by peaceful services, however good and great; unless occasionally, when they consisted of the accumulation of some very large amount of money.”     How true do you think that is?
  Miss Flite believed titles were awarded because of a man’s knowledge, imagination, humanity and social improvement.  In response to which Esther writes, “I am afraid she believed what she said; for there were moments when she was very mad indeed.”

 Mr. Skimpole....may he eventually receive all he deserves... is so clever at
justifying his selfishness and irresponsibility.  Yet in describing what a ‘respectable companion’
would tell Richard Carstone, he says, “shows him it’s nothing but fees, fraud, horsehair wigs,
and black gowns”.    Very perceptive of a ‘child’ who understands nothing of business.  Why
cannot John Jarndyce see this?   

[PatH]

  Miss Flite believed titles were awarded because of a man’s knowledge, imagination, humanity and social improvement.  In response to which Esther writes, “I am afraid she believed what she said; for there were moments when she was very mad indeed.”

I love that bit.  Dickens wrapping up his social criticisms in humor.

[PatH]

Why can't Jarndyce see through Skimpole?  I think he doesn't quite want to, is almost afraid to.  Skimpole is the object of his benevolence, and he wouldn't want to think that S. was deceiving him.

[JudeS]

Are we allowed to talk about the chapts:36-38 yet? Have to, sometime soon.

I was shocked by their contents.
We solve some major riddles and new ones appear in their place.
Esther becomes more wonderful.
Richard descends lower and lower.

At least Caddy is happy and Guppy is made unhappy and yet shows that he has some backbone.

I'm begginning to think that the Skimpole character is not as innocent as he seems.  Perhaps Jarndyce keeps him close so he can't do the harm he has potential for. What harm he does to others is to do good for himself. He is a snake-perhaps even a venomous one.

[JoanP]

Do you think it's Dickens' humor that saves his stories - provides relief and keeps them from becoming too sentimental?   How about this scene when Esther meets her mother - at last.  I didn't find it too much, did you?  There was Esther so concerned about showing her new face to Ada, but when she meets her mother, there wasn't a single word about it.

A perfect place to meet, wasn't it?  Overlooking the Ghost's Walk at Chesney Wold.  Do you sense we're getting closer to Lady D's downfall?  I had to go back and reread Chapter VII when the curse of the spirit on the terrace was first introduced.  If there is disgrace on the House of Dedlock, Sir Leicester will "gasp and die."  Mrs. Rouncewell is very close to Sir Leciester, having been his housekeeper for 50 years.  Do you assume she will try to protect him from disgrace? From Lady Dedlock?  From Esther?

[JoanP]

I think most of us have caught up - no one requests we slow down...
I feel the same way, Jude...Skimpole is not good for Richard...was it his idea that Richard hire his own attorney, Mr. Vholes, to separate Richard's interests from his guardian?  I'm still puzzling over that name - Vholes.  How did Dickens come up with that one?

[JoanK]

Yes, lets do move on. I hope you had plenty of hankies ready when you read Chapter 36. I was definately crying! JoanP doesn't think it's too sentimental. Do you all agree? Do you think Esther is just too good to be true? I admit I did when she started to feel guilty for having been born.

[JoanK]

Ha! I notice in the Lady Dedlock in the woods picture in the heading, the artist has hidden Esther's face by her bonnet. We really are going to have to imagine for ourselves what she looks like. Not as bad as the photo above I'm sure. Does anyone remember from the PBS production?

[PatH]

Victorian reticence is showing here; Esther is also completely unspecific about her changed appearance--you couldn't even know that there were pockmarks.  Non-specificness is good here, though.

[PatH]

I'm still puzzling over that name - Vholes.  How did Dickens come up with that one?

I don't know if that's what Dickens meant, but I assumed he named the lawyer after the field vole.  It's a rodent, kind of like a large mouse.  They're sort of cute, but they're awful garden pests, eating plant roots and making burrows.

http://www.naturephoto-cz.com/field-vole,-short-tailed-vole-photo-2973.html

[JudeS]

There are Land Voles and Water Voles. The latter commonly called "water rats".
Voles usually die after their second winter. They procreate widely having 5-10 litteres of 6-8 babies per litter.
They are often taken for other small rodents such as shrews, mice or rats.

An unsavory name for an unsavory person.
Dickens wasn't pulling any inuendos here. He was shouting out what he thought of this man and his three thin, tall and not very pretty daughters.

Vholes is Skimpoles "friend" and he introduced him to Richard and strongly suggested that Vholes represent Richard in Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce.  Probably Skimpole gets a bonus from Vholes who is bleeding Richard dry.

[JoanP]

JoanK, how clever of you to look at the enlarged illustration of the Lady in the Wood for a clue as to what Dickens had in mind with the appearance of Esther's face.  Covering it with the bonnet indicates to me that he intends to keep that detail "covered" up too.  Esther must be okay with looking at herself in the mirror now ...did you notice her comment that "heavy color came back to her new face."  She was even able to take in stride the child's question- "Mother, why is the lady not a pretty lady now?"  So Esther was once a "pretty lady" - though she has told us she was never a "great beauty"?

Somehow I wasn't as surprised at Esther's reaction to her mother's request...as I was at Lady Dedlock's...so intent on keeping her secret, she tells her child that they must never speak or see one another again.  So where is Dickens going with the story?  Will it take Lady Dedlock's exposure to make possible a reunion between the two? 

Esther has a premonition that it is she who is the ghost of the "Ghost's Walk".

 
Don't you wonder who would tell Esther about that legend?  Surely not Mrs. Rouncewell - but if not that lady, then who?  It's in this chapter that we learn why Mrs. Rouncewell came to London to Mr. Tulkinghorn's office - he's her lawyer - she had come to change her will.  Since Tulkinghorn is so often at Chesney Wold, I had to wonder why she had to make the trip to talk to him.  And why is she changing her will at this time?

So many questions...

Thanks for the thoughts on voles...interesting -

[Babi]

  I think it would be reasonable to expect Mrs. Rouncewell will do
all she can to protect and care for Sir Leicester. He and his house-
hold have been the center of her existence for many years now, and
she seems a caring and devoted person.

  Skimpole is not the only one who has been doing harm to Richard.
His lawyer, with his dry, sly insinuations, has done much to turn
Richard against his benefactor. It is he who has convinced Richard
that Jarndyce has a stake in discouraging his hopes.
  Good call, PAT. Vholes does resemble a rodent, doesn't he? He
is definitely 'eating plant roots'...notably Richard's.  The list of the marks of respectability had me bemused.  Even then, they recognized ‘impaired digestion’  as a hallmark of Mr. Vholes’ kind of respectability.

  JOANP, I really believe that Lady Dedlock does not want to bring
harm to Sir Leicester.  He has been good to her, and she knows it.
She wanted her child to know who she was and that she loved her, but
she is willing to be satisfied with that for her husband's sake.

  I love Dickens! Did anyone else notice?   Who else would describe a portrait which, “was more like than life: it insisted upon him with such obstinacy, and was so determined not to let him off.”

[JoanK]

Good get, BABI! I tend to read right past these little gems.

Which reminds me: the whole pace of life was slower then. And that probably meant the pace of reading, too. Perhaps people took time to savor the details more than they do now. Or at least than I do. I read as if I'm running for a train.

[JoanK]

Mr. Vholes may be named after a vole, but I see him as a vulture! What is it about Richard that marks him off as prey?

[JudeS]

Joan K
What makes Richard prey?
What comes to mind is the sentence from the Brit sitcom "Are You Being Served?".
"Weak as Water!".

Why he is the way he is, perhaps we shall never know. Or he may even redeem himself in a later chapter.
We don't know what made Ada the way she is either.
What we do know is what Mr Dickens wants us to know as when he writes of Vholes:

"In  a word, Mr Vholes.........is continually doing duty, like a piece of timber, to shore up some decayed foundation that has become a pitfall and a nuisance. ......the question is never one of a change from wrong to right (which is quite an extraneous consideration), but is always one of injury or advantage to that eminently respectable legion, Vholes."

[JoanK]

"weak as water" is a good way to put it. If they marry, I hope Ada is strong. So far we know she is sweet, pretty, and loving, but she hasn't had a chance to see whether she is strong enough for two.

Or maybe Esther will wind up carrying both of them.

[JoanP]

What makes Richard prey?  Why, it's the possibility that Richard might become the heir to whatever is left of the Jarndyce fortune.  There are many who have read the documents - including Richard, who know this.  Skimpole must know this too.  Why can't Jarndyce see Skimpole for what he is?  Maybe he does...maybe he's right.  Maybe Skimpole is the weak character Jarndyce thinks he is.  Like Richard.   Someone is pulling the strings... It's got to be Tulkinghorn, don't you think?  Isn't Dickens making this clear? Who will stop him?   Is there anyone more powerful than Tulkinghorn?

Why is Richard approaching Esther - his " best friend" - telling her he's in town on leave from the army to look after his Chancery interests?  He's trying to get her to see things as he does - and persuade Ada to separate her interests from Jarndyce in the case too.  Did Esther agree to this?

Again the question -  Is there anyone more powerful than Tulkinghorn?  

[Babi]

 Good take on Vholes, JUDE.  And did you notice....another Dickens specialty, juxtaposing little scenes that suggest the truth of a matter to the reader:  Vholes and Richard Carstone in consultation:“Vholes, buttoned up in body and mind, looks at him attentively.  All the while, Vholes’s official cat watches the mouse’s hole.”.

 The legal scene has always had a bad rep.  Maybe Dickens explains it here. According to him, with a great many people, the question of Wrong and Right is “quite an extraneous consideration”, as JUDE pointed out.  Considering the business and legal scandals that are all
too present today,  he could be right.   “The one great principle of the English law is, to make business for itself. “   "Let them but once clearly perceive that its grand principle is to make business for itself at their expense, and surely they will cease to grumble.’
  There are, of course, exceptions to all this and some fine men are in law. Nevertheless, we
have not ceased to grumble over what is widely perceived as the primary notivation of lawyers.

[PatH]

Thanks for the detail of the cat, Babi.  I don't notice those things until someone points them out to me.  Here's one I did notice, way back in "Sharpshooters".

Smallweed is persuading George to go see the lawyer, Tulkinghorn, "...pulling out a lean old silver watch, with hands like the legs of a skeleton."

[PatH]

"weak as water" is a good way to put it. If they marry, I hope Ada is strong. So far we know she is sweet, pretty, and loving, but she hasn't had a chance to see whether she is strong enough for two.

I'm not sure l I really know what Ada is like.  She's very pretty, affectionate, and everyone likes her on sight, but they treat her more like a pet than a serious human being.  Her behavior when Esther is sick is childish: "I had heard my Ada crying at the door day and night; I had heard her calling to me that I was cruel and did not love her; I had heard her praying and imploring to be let in to nurse and comfort me, and to leave my bedside no more...."  It's understandable for Ada to be that upset, but she must know the good reasons for keeping her out, and she's making things harder for everyone.

[Jonathan]

Reading ahead has left me little time to reply to your posts. But reading them, I can see you're all caught up in this Dickens masterpiece:

'It's got to be Tulkinghorn, don't you think?'

'Why can't Mr Jarndyce see through Skimpole?'

'What we do know is what Dickens wants us to know.'

'There are, of course, exceptions to all this and some fine men are in law.'

'But melodrama is something we are to expect in this book!'

I like your exclamation mark, Laura. Name one, Babi. I agree, Jude. In fact, sometimes, Dickens is less than helpful. Skimpole, Pat, I believe, is the alternative to Tulkinghorn as an object of detestation. I believe that Dickens is still not certain who the sacrificial lamb is going to be. In fact I've become very impatient to find out who is left alive in the end. I'm not going to give anything away, but my disappointment is very great.

Another quote from JoanP: 'Do you think it's Dickens's humor that saves his stories?'

It sure gets laughable at times. The reader is left to get the timing right.

Did you all know that the State of Delaware has set up a Chancery Court to settle lawsuits more expeditiously?

[Jonathan]

The law firm where Guppy works, seems reputable. But hasn't he been left bewildered by the turn of events. He could probably murder the author, given an opportunity. That unrequited image! It's all the author's fault.

[Jonathan]

I beleve a lot of smart lawyers have come out of Delaware. Smarter than the guys in Philadelphia.

[Jonathan]

The rule of law is a wonderful thing. Many years ago I paid a visit to the courthouse in a Hudson River Valley town. Nailed to the door was a notice: 'No Guns Beyond This Point.' What a victory for the lawyers, I thought.

[Jonathan]

OK, OK, I'll stop now.

[JoanK]

Yes, you'd better!

"The business of the law is to make business for itself," Yes, it's true. I can't help thinking of the difference between buying a house 40 years ago and when I bought my condo 2 years ago. In 1970, we came away with a few documents. Now, I have three large desk drawers that are full to overflowing with all the documents I got.

The same with wills. Mine, made 40 years ago, is a few pages. Now, you can hardly carry them.

[JoanK]

Does anyone think they know what was in the part of Lady Dedlock's letter to Esther that she doesn't share with us?

[Babi]

I knew a very fine man, JONATHAN, who was a lawyer. It's been a while, so I don't
remember the name. He dealt entirely with business law, drawing up contracts,
things like that. So, that's one!
  As for a potential victim, I would think Tulkinghorn rather than Skimpole. The
death of Skimpole really wouldn't stir up much interest, would it? A tsk, tsk, a
shake of the head, and on about one's business.

 I would suppose the undisclosed part of the letter is simply very personal, JOAN. Esther's
narratives  try to avoid any sign of self-praise. and I imagine her Mother had very loving
things to say.

[PatH]

Unfortunately, at one point I read a sentence too far in a wikipedia article that said who the victim was, so I know.  I stopped instantly, so don't know if they revealed the murderer.  Nowadays, the publishers want a murder in the first 4 pages of a mystery, and here we are, over half way through, and still no murder.  A more leisurely time.

I'll add 2 to your list of good lawyers, Babi.  My father was a lawyer, and was the most honorable man I've ever known.  One of my daughters is a lawyer, equally honorable, and is making the world a better place with what she does.

Unfortunately, although they are caricatures, Tulkinghorn and Vholes are real types too.

[PatH]

So far we've all tiptoed around the big emotional scene at Chesney Wold.   Has everyone read it now? (Obviously some of you have, since you're beyond it.)  What did you think?  Was it realistic? overdone?

At first I reacted as JoanK did when Esther felt guilty for having been born, but then I remembered that she was raised to feel that her existence was shameful, and she must have a big load of guilt feelings inside her.

[JudeS]

The scene when Lady Dedlock reveals herself to Esther...What did I feel?
I felt it was highly melodramatic. In fact I felt like talking to the author and saying:
"Oh, Mr D., Have you forgotten your understanding of the human soul? You are so brilliant usually.  Why was this scene so awkward?"
I understand that you wanted us to think :What secret is Lady Dedlock still hiding?
Or perhaps :What else will be revealed in the future ?
But the turmoil both must be feeling could not leave them so quickly .
Mr. D. smiles at me ...."Patience my dear. They have waited so long that you must beleve all will be healed in the end.  Have I ever let you down?"

Mr D. has concluded his statement. there will be no more at this time.

[JudeS]

Oh- I want to chime in about Lawyers.
Like every other profession there are good people and bad people.
Lawyers are no different than other smart, well educated segment of the population.
They are so much on public display that it is easy to find fault.

Dickens has a skewed view as we all know. He paints the Lawyers with a dark toned paint on his brush. This may be a personal bias and the need to find villains or perhaps he had some unhappy dealings with this profession.

However much has changed in the years since  Dickens wrote . Also our system in the U.S.A. is very different than that in England of  those times.

[JoanK]

Ahh, JUDE, your faith in Mr. D. is boundless. No, he never let us down, except in dying halfway through Edwin Drood, so we'll never know how it ends. And I don't suppose he had much choice in that!

Anyone else think Mr. D. overdid it?

"here we are, over half way through, and still no murder" So Nemo and Krook weren't murders? I read too many murder mysteries: of course I assume a strange death is a murder! OK, pile on more bodies!