Bleak House

Rain stops falling on Chesney Wold as Lady Dedlock and Sir Leicester return from Paris. Lady Dedlock was bored in France and cannot wait to reach home, though she becomes bored wherever she goes. As they ride in a carriage, Sir Leicester tells his wife that Tulkinghorn has written with the promise of a message for her. When they reach the house, Mrs. Rouncewell introduces her employers to Rosa. Lady Dedlock compliments Rosa’s “pretty” looks and pinches her cheek before retiring to her room. Later, she speaks to her maid, Hortense, who feels jealous of Rosa. Though Hortense has been in her job for five years, Lady Dedlock remains aloof with her.

Many people visit Chesney Wold, but Lady Dedlock is only keen to see Tulkinghorn. Typically, he does not announce when he will come, so he has a room in the tower of the house reserved especially for him. When he does arrive, he seems as though he has “family secrets” stored about his person. He discusses Sir Leicester’s lawsuit against Boythorn; Sir Leicester refuses to compromise. When Lady Dedlock inquires about Tulkinghorn’s information, he tells her that he tracked down the author of the handwriting that she admired. The author, he explains, is now “dead.” Tulkinghorn says that the law writer was a mysterious man. As he talks, he and Lady Dedlock study each other in detail. Over the coming days, however, they seem to ignore one another.

Esther describes her frequent conversations with Jarndyce and Richard about Richard’s future. Eventually, the indecisive, apathetic Richard suggests that he might be interested in medicine and quickly becomes set on this “newest idea” (180). Kenge promises to speak to his cousin, a doctor named Bayham Badger, about arranging a work placement for Richard. To settle Richard into his apprenticeship, Jarndyce, Esther, and Ada accompany him to London. Guppy tails Esther around the city, making her “uncomfortable.” However, she does not believe that she can stop him.

Jarndyce and his wards attend a party at Badger’s house. After leaving, Ada admits to Esther that she and Richard love each other. Esther is not shocked, particularly when Richard shares the same secret with her. She jokes that Ada and Richard both love her “instead of one another” (189). When she shares her information with Jarndyce, he summons the couple to see him. Although he reminds them that they are young and that their feelings may change, he does not disapprove of the relationship; he does, however, remind Richard that he must work to prove himself capable of supporting a wife.

After the couple leaves, Jarndyce urges Esther not to neglect her own happiness. In a narrative aside, Esther mentions a young doctor with a dark complexion who attended dinner at the Badger house. She says that the young man intrigued her.

Richard begins studying medicine. When he plans his future with Ada, both of them include Esther in their plans. Richard is convinced that the Jarndyce and Jarndyce will rule in his and Ada’s favor, making them very rich, as is their “right.”

While still in London, Esther, Ada, and Jarndyce try to visit Mrs. Jellyby, but they find that she is not at home. Instead, Caddy visits Bleak House and brings Peepy with her. While Jarndyce complains about that the wind is “due east,” she complains about her parents. She explains that Mr. Quale, her mother’s fellow philanthropist, wants to marry her, but that she is actually engaged to another man. Hoping to become less “awkward,” Caddy enrolled in dance lessons. She fell in love with her dance instructor, Mr. Prince Turveydrop.

Esther visits the Turveydrop dance school. She speaks to Prince Turveydrop’s father, who speaks constantly about how important “deportment” is. After her lesson, Caddy praises Prince Turveydrop, who she says had little opportunity to educate himself because his father insists that he do all the work. Esther has arranged to meet with Jarndyce and Ada at Krook’s shop; they are curious about the old woman they met on their first night in London, whom Esther has since learned is Caddy’s friend and called Miss Flite.

Caddy accompanies Esther to Krook’s shop, where they find not only Jarndyce and Ada, but also a doctor, Mr. Woodcourt, attending Miss Flite. The shock of Nemo’s death has caused health problems for Miss Flite; she pays for Woodcourt’s services with money that Guppy gives her, which she interprets as an advance from the court on the money she will receive when her case is decided. Krook returns and seems anxious to share some secret with Jarndyce. Krook is illiterate, and though he is receiving lessons, he fears being taught to read or write “wrong.” Esther has an assurance that Krook is not irrational from Mr. Woodcourt, who she reveals is the “same young dark surgeon” she met at the Badgers’ dinner (213). Ada has teased Esther about something related to this matter, but Esther does not want to share any details.

Quale becomes obsessed with Mrs. Pardiggle. He follows her everywhere, as does another man named Mr. Gusher. Together, the three discuss charitable works. Their self-important conversations annoy Jarndyce, leading him to complain that “the wind [is] in the east for three whole weeks” (215).

Skimpole visits Jarndyce and complains that his doctor and his butcher both want money from him. Skimpole is not a fan of Boythorn, whose home Jarndyce has promised to visit soon. Skimpole also mentions that his house has been taken over by a debt collector. This is not the same debt collector who tried to arrest Skimpole at Bleak House, who Skimpole explains has been arrested by the “Great Bailiff”—i.e., he has died. Skimpole mentions that this former debt collector had three children, which worries Jarndyce. He decides to visit the now orphaned children, and Ada and Esther accompany him. After ascertaining that the man was named Neckett, they visit his former lodgings, where Esther convinces the landlady to give her the key to the dead man’s room. Neckett’s two young children are locked inside the room. Neckett’s son, Tom, watches over the baby, Emma, and explains that they are waiting for their older sister to return. When the sister, 13-year-old “Charley,” does return, she explains how she has taken care of her siblings since their father’s death. The landlady explains that she has allowed the children to stay in the rooms out of pity. They are not charged rent. One of the building’s other tenants, Mr. Gridley, stops by to check on the children. While he does, he complains to Jarndyce about a costly legal case. Soon, Charley must leave. She has a job to pay for her siblings’ upkeep.

Sir Leicester suffers from gout, as do many of the men in his family, and is confined to Chesney Wold. Lady Dedlock has been “restless, very restless” (231), flitting between Lincolnshire and London. Tulkinghorn is in his office, pondering Gridley, who recently made threats against him.

Jo has no real home but stays in “a ruinous place” named Tom-all-Alone’s (232)—a piece of property bound up in a Chancery case. The building is filled with rats and disease; sometimes the walls collapse. Jo, who is illiterate, works as a street sweeper. One evening, a veiled woman dressed in servants’ clothing asks him about his friend Nemo. In exchange for money, Jo agrees to show her where Nemo lived, worked, and was buried. That same night, Lady Dedlock attends a party in London. At Chesney Wold, Mrs. Rouncewell hears the footsteps on the Ghost’s Walk.

As Esther, Ada, and Jarndyce are still in London, Richard often visits them. Though Esther loves Richard, she is sorry that he possesses a “careless spirit.” During a visit, Mrs. Badger admits to Esther that—for all Richard’s good qualities—he might have been wrong to choose the medical trade. Mr. Badger agrees that Richard seems to be “languid about the profession” (241). The next day, Richard says as much to Esther, complaining that every day in the medical profession is much like the last. With Ada, Esther encourages Richard to find something that better suits his passions. When he mentions “that the law is the boy for [him]” and expresses hope that he might apprentice with Kenge (245), Jarndyce is encouraged but also throws a troubled glance to Ada.

That night, Esther struggles to fall asleep; she feels “wakeful and rather low-spirited” (247), though she isn’t sure whether she knows why. She takes up her embroidery and ventures out of her room to find silk. She finds a troubled Jarndyce prowling the house, and he decides to explain how he came to know about her situation. According to Jarndyce, he received “a letter from a lady living in seclusion” describing a poor orphan she was raising (249). This person worried that—in the event of her death—the child would be alone. Jarndyce agreed to become the child’s guardian, promising (as the writer requested) that he would never seek to learn the identity of the letter writer, who claimed to be Esther’s aunt. Jarndyce sent Kenge to collect Esther. These days, Esther sees Jarndyce like the “father” she never had, but when she mentions this, he seems troubled.

Woodcourt visits Bleak House and announces that he will soon set sail on a voyage to India and China, serving as a ship’s surgeon. He is not a rich man, and he is seven years Esther’s senior, but she seems to harbor an affection for him and is sad to see him go. Woodcourt’s mother is also in attendance. She hopes that her son might meet a well-raised, wealthy young woman on his trip. Esther compares her own circumstances to this hypothetical woman’s. After the Woodcourts leave, Miss Jellyby visits, bringing a bouquet of flowers that an unknown person left for Esther before leaving to board a ship. Ada teases Esther for having a secret lover.

Jarndyce, Esther, and Ada have returned to Bleak House while Richard gains legal experience with Mr. Kenge. He stays in London at Jarndyce’s expense and spends money lavishly. According to Esther, Richard is “generous, profuse, wildly careless, but fully persuaded that he was rather calculating and prudent” (255).

Having delayed the trip due to Richard’s troubles, Jarndyce, Skimpole, Ada, and Esther at last visit Boythorn in Lincolnshire. They must take an awkward route to his house because Boythorn legally cannot cross Sir Leicester’s property. Nevertheless, Boythorn says his guests can explore the park that belongs to Sir Leicester. To Esther, the distant Chesney Wold seems “serene and peaceful” (260). On their journey, they pass through a village, and Boythorn introduces Mrs. Rouncewell’s grandson, whom he says is in love with a young girl staying at Chesney Wold (Rosa).

Boythorn lives in a comfortable, attractive house that is littered with warning signs for trespassers, specifically Sir Leicester. The next day, the guests explore Sir Leicester’s park on their way to church. They see a group of women in a churchyard, including Rosa, Mrs. Rouncewell, and a seemingly angry Frenchwoman. Esther’s eye is caught by another woman in the churchyard. The woman’s face seems strikingly familiar to Esther, even though she is certain that she does not know this woman. Esther realizes that this must be Lady Dedlock.

Jarndyce, Esther, and Ada walk through the park a week later. When a storm begins, they shelter in a nearby “keeper’s lodge.” There, they find that Lady Dedlock is also taking shelter. Her voice reminds Esther of herself, and another wave of anxiety rushes over her. Jarndyce, who once knew Lady Dedlock’s estranged sister, introduces Lady Dedlock to Esther, describing Esther as his ward. Lady Dedlock quickly turns her face away from Esther. When a carriage arrives to take Lady Dedlock back to Chesney Wold, Rosa and the Frenchwoman are both on board. Since the carriage is too small to hold the two maids and their mistress, Lady Dedlock takes Rosa, leaving the Frenchwoman to walk back to the house in the rain “through the wettest of the wet grass” (270). She removes her shoes before doing so.

In the summer, the courts do not hold session. Those who spend their lives in the court take a “long vacation.” Snagsby and his wife relax by inviting a minister named Mr. Chadband and his wife for dinner. Mr. Chadband, as is his habit, delivers boring, monotonous lectures for hours at a time. The dinner is interrupted by Guster, who says that someone wishes to talk to Snagsby. The visitor is a police officer, who is dragging Jo behind him with orders to get him to “move on.” According to the officer, Jo refuses to leave the area. Jo questions where he’s supposed to go. Snagsby admits that he knows Jo but does not admit that he gave money to the youngster. The police officer implies that Jo stole the money he now has in his pockets, although Jo says it came from a “lady.”

Noticing the commotion while passing by, Mr. Guppy enters the store. He assures the police officer that Snagsby is a respectable man. Jo launches into a story about the veiled woman who asked for a tour of Nemo’s grave. Mr. Guppy peppers Jo with questions about the woman, and Snagsby invites them into his private quarters. When she learns that Guppy works for Kenge and Carboy, Mrs. Chadband confesses to have dealt with the firm previously in a case that concerned a child named Esther Summerson. Guppy admits that he also knows Esther. As Mr. Chadband drones on, Jo is finally able to slip away.

Mr. Guppy becomes restless during the summer vacation. He works alongside Richard in the law office and envies Richard’s lodgings. Richard is staying with Kenge. The jealousy is typical of Guppy, who always believes people are plotting against him. When Richard occupies his time reading about Jarndyce and Jarndyce, Guppy is pleased, knowing that the case is a waste of time.

Guppy and another young clerk named Smallweed go out to dinner with a man named Jobling, who possesses a very large appetite. Jobling is struggling for work and has considered joining the military. However, Guppy suggests that Snagsby may be able to offer some temporary employment due to “accidental circumstances.” He refuses to divulge any details about his relationship with Snagsby, though he mentions giving money to Miss Flite and visiting the lodging house above Krook’s shop, where Jobling might be able to find a room. In Guppy’s view, Krook is an “extraordinary old chap” (294). Jobling does not mind that the previous lodger (Nemo) died in the room.

Guppy takes Jobling to Krook’s shop. Krook wakes up and nearly attacks the visitors before agreeing to show the empty room to Jobling, whom Guppy introduces as “Weevle.” Next, Guppy takes Jobling/Weevle to Snagsby’s and secures him some work. Jobling/Weevle gets acquainted with his new home and job. Rumors circulate among the local women, however, that he has his eyes on Krook’s money.