Bleak House

On a cold November afternoon, a fog crawls through the streets of London, through “the waterside pollutions of a great (and dirty) city” (6). The fog darkens the streets around Temple Bar and the nearby Court of Chancery. The Court of Chancery is a special part of the British legal system that handles unique cases. Among those who regularly attend the court are an old woman who carries a bag of “documents” (later revealed to be Miss Flite) and an angry man whose existence the Chancellor is “legally unaware” of (later revealed to be Gridley). Of all the cases that have dragged on in Chancery, Jarndyce and Jarndyce is the most prominent. Most reporters have lost interest in the case, which is now regarded as a “joke.” Jarndyce and Jarndyce concerns a large inheritance; of those who stand to inherit, some have died, been born, or married into the family since the case first began. The High Chancellor of the court delays the judgment for another two weeks. He has also arranged for a boy and a girl involved in the case to be sent to live with their distant cousin.

Like the legal world, the world of fashion seems insulated from reality. Lady Honoria Dedlock is well-known in the “deadened” world of fashion. She lives on an estate in Lincolnshire but is now in London, though she will soon leave for Paris. She eventually feels “bored to death” wherever she goes (14). Her husband is Sir Leicester. He is a blunt, honest man who is unconcerned about offending people and who suffers from gout. Sir Leicester loves his wife, though she is 20 years younger than him. She is considered fashionable and beautiful, though rumors once circulated that she was from a less than honorable family.

A footman escorts Mr. Tulkinghorn, an old-fashioned lawyer, to meet with Lady Dedlock. Tulkinghorn has made a great deal of money “out of aristocratic marriage settlements and aristocratic wills” (16). When socializing, he never speaks about his clients. Instead, he simply listens and accumulates information. Tulkinghorn gives an update on Jarndyce and Jarndyce, which Sir Leicester considers to be appropriately slow-paced. The case was discussed today, Tulkinghorn says, but no judgment was reached. Lady Dedlock seems struck by the handwriting on the legal documents brought by Tulkinghorn. She claims to like the style and inquires about the author. Tulkinghorn promises to find out. He reads on as Sir Leicester falls asleep. He only wakes up when Tulkinghorn notices that Lady Dedlock has turned pale. She claims that she is “ill” and retires to her room.

Esther narrates parts of the novel from her perspective. She claims that she is “not clever,” recalling how she once asked her toys to be patient with her. She routinely provided her “only friend,” her doll, with a detailed itinerary of whatever she had done that day. Miss Barbary, her godmother and the woman who raised her, was very strict and very critical, though Esther insists that she was a virtuous person. Esther describes her lonely birthdays. On one birthday, she asked about her mother, and Miss Barbary told her that her mother was a “disgrace” and that by association, Esther too was shameful. Afterward, Esther remained grateful to Miss Barbary but felt even more estranged from her, as though she had no right to live in Miss Barbary’s home. She recalls an odd incident when a “portly, important-looking gentleman, dressed all in black” visited their house (25), seemed to evaluate her, and then left without explanation. Esther also remembers a maid named Mrs. Rachael.

Miss Barbary died when Esther was 14. After her death, the strange visitor returned. He explained that his name was Kenge and that Miss Barbary was actually Esther’s aunt. He also explains that a man named Mr. Jarndyce, whom he represents, has offered to pay for Esther to study to become a governess. Before leaving her aunt’s house forever, Esther buried her doll in the yard. All she took with her was a caged bird that she kept as a pet. A stagecoach brought Esther to her new home at Greenleaf; unbeknownst to her at the time, her fellow passenger—a “strange” man who nevertheless struck her as “pleasant”—was Mr. Jarndyce. She lived for six “happy, quiet years” at the school (32).

One day, a letter from Kenge tells Esther that she will be sent to a new place to serve as a companion to a ward of Chancery (later revealed to be Ada). Esther arrives at Kenge’s office and is greeted by a young clerk. Kenge introduces Esther to a young man and woman named Ada Clare and Richard Carstone, respectively. They are cousins who are involved in the Jarndyce and Jarndyce case, and the Lord Chancellor decides that both they and Esther will be going to Mr. Jarndyce’s home, Bleak House. As the trio leaves the courthouse, they meet an elderly woman who speaks about the case in biblical—near-apocalyptic—terms.

Before departing for Bleak House, Esther, Ada, and Richard will stay the night with the Jellyby family. Kenge explains that Mrs. Jellyby spends her time and energy working on charitable projects in Africa. The clerk Esther met earlier, Mr. Guppy, escorts the trio to the Jellybys’ home. When they arrive, Esther frees a child named Peepy who has gotten stuck in the fence. Many children run through the house, but Mrs. Jellyby ignores them in favor of talking about “her African duties” (44). Esther notices a pale, older girl writing at a desk. Her name is Caddy Jellyby, and she is taking dictation from Mrs. Jellyby while Esther nurses “poor Peepy.” The house has no heat or hot water. Meals are served in a chaotic fashion by a cook named Priscilla, who drinks frequently. Mr. Jellyby sits quietly while his wife talks about Africa with a man named Mr. Quale. Later that night, Caddy visits Esther. She describes her unhappiness and wishes death upon herself, her family, and Africa.

Caddy Jellyby takes a walk with Esther, Richard, and Ada. During their walk, they see the old woman from the previous night entering a shop that purports to buy all manner of rags, bottles, and other objects but seems to sell nothing. Through the shop window, Esther recognizes the handwriting in several books to be “law-hand”—a style she previously saw in Kenge’s office. The woman rents a room in the shop because it is near the Chancery Court. The shop’s owner is a “short, cadaverous, and withered” man named Krook who is well-informed about the Jarndyce and Jarndyce case (58), describing how a man named Tom Jarndyce fatally shot himself in his despair regarding the case. Krook also offers to buy Ada’s “lovely hair.” In her room, the old woman shows the visitors her collection of caged birds and tells them that her fellow lodger is a “law writer [who has] sold himself to the devil” (64). Esther, Caddy, Ada, and Richard leave. A short time later, Esther, Ada, and Richard continue their journey to Bleak House.

Esther, Ada, and Richard travel to the country estate of Bleak House. On the way, the driver stops his wagon and gives each occupant a note from John Jarndyce. The notes individually welcome them to Bleak House. According to Richard and Ada, Jarndyce struggles to accept gratitude from people. All three are excited but “nervous” to meet their new guardian.

Bleak House is situated on top of a hill. Jarndyce, whose “upright, hearty, and robust” manner Esther recognizes from years earlier (71), welcomes the trio excitedly and ushers them inside. Jarndyce solicits the children for their real opinion about Mrs. Jellyby and then complains that “the wind is blowing in the east” (72). Ada assures Jarndyce that Esther took care of her and her cousin while they were with Mrs. Jellyby, and Jarndyce observes that the wind seems to have changed direction.

Bleak House is a hodgepodge of intertangled corridors and rooms. Esther complains about the ease with which she can lose herself in the house, though she and the other new arrivals otherwise find the home charming. When a maid presents Esther with two sets of keys to help with her housekeeping duties, Esther is pleased that Jarndyce views her as responsible. At dinner, they are joined by a man named Skimpole who claims to be “a child.” Jarndyce again remarks about wind from the east. Skimpole complains about having responsibilities and voices his desire to live an unencumbered life. Esther and the others warm to his “playful” demeanor. When Richard and Ada sing and play the piano, Skimpole compliments Ada’s looks. When Jarndyce looks at Esther, she senses that he hopes that Richard and Ada’s friendship might blossom in the future.

Richard and Skimpole disappear together, and Richard sends a maid to fetch Esther soon afterward. Esther believes Skimpole has taken ill, but when she arrives, she finds him in the company of a man sent to arrest him for debt. Skimpole seems unbothered by this, but Richard seeks Esther’s advice. Esther and Richard pool their resources and give the money to Skimpole to save him from prison or the poor house. Before Skimpole leaves for the evening, Jarndyce learns what Richard and Esther did. He later approaches them privately and says that Skimpole often takes advantage of other people’s kindness, though he attributes this to Skimpole’s childishness rather than calculation.

Then omniscient narrator describes Chesney Wold, a large estate in Lincolnshire that is owned by Sir Leicester. However, he and his wife are currently in Paris. Mrs. Rouncewell, the estate’s housekeeper, looks after the house while they are away. She has two sons, one of whom joined the military and disappeared. The other, much to his mother’s displeasure, became an engineer. This son fathered a grandson, Watt, who is visiting Mrs. Rouncewell. Watt asks his grandmother about Rosa, a young girl he has seen around the house. Mrs. Rouncewell explains that Rosa comes from the nearby village and now works as a maid at the house. Rosa enters to inform Mrs. Rouncewell that two men have arrived and given her a card. The card belongs to Mr. Guppy, who claims that he is known by Tulkinghorn but that he does not work for the lawyer.

Mrs. Rouncewell agrees to meet with the men. She gives them a tour of Chesney Wold, showing them a painting of Lady Dedlock, whom Mr. Guppy is shocked to recognize. He is also intrigued by one of the house’s terraces, which Mrs. Rouncewell explains is named the Ghost’s Walk due to family legend. After Mr. Guppy and his associate leave, Mrs. Rouncewell tells the story of the Ghost’s Walk to Rosa and Watt. During the English Civil War, the wife of Sir Morbury Dedlock betrayed the royalist-siding family. She overheard vital information and passed it to King Charles’s enemies. Morbury Dedlock and his wife were ill-suited for one another precisely because one of his relatives had killed one of hers during the war. She “hated” the king and the Dedlock family and would hurt the estate’s horses just before her husband planned to ride off to a battle. Her husband caught her in the stables one night and injured her hip in a brief struggle. She fell sick and wasted away, left to walk along the terrace until—one day—she collapsed. She swore to haunt the terrace until the pride of the Dedlock family was broken. Since then, people claim to have heard her ghostly footsteps.

Esther resumes the narration. She dresses and works around the house. During breakfast, she listens to Skimpole complain about “overweening assumptions of bees” (102). His absurd comments lift the mood. After more work, Esther is called to the “Growlery”—a room Jarndyce visits when he is discontent or when an East Wind blows. Esther effusively thanks Jarndyce for his kindness in bringing her to Bleak House and giving her a job. Dismissing her gratitude as unnecessary, he speaks instead about the Jarndyce and Jarndyce case. The longer the case drags on, he says, the higher the legal costs rise. The inheritance itself is paying the legal costs, but this money is not limitless. Jarndyce is the nephew of Tom Jarndyce, to whom Bleak House once belonged (Tom called it The Peaks). The will also includes property in London. Jarndyce hopes that Esther will be discreet. He views her as an intelligent girl and nicknames her the “little old woman” after a character in a nursery rhyme (107). Jarndyce seeks her advice about Richard’s future and asks her to broach the subject to Richard. Esther leaves, thanking Jarndyce again for his kindness.

Bleak House is a busy place. Esther responds to Jarndyce’s correspondence, much of which requests money or charity. Mrs. Pardiggle is one such claimant. Whenever Jarndyce discusses her charity work, he complains about the East Wind rising. One day, Mrs. Pardiggle visits Bleak House. She has five sons and talks proudly about how she requires them to donate their allowance to charity. Mrs. Pardiggle is accompanied everywhere by her sons and insists that she is never tired. She insists that Ada and Esther accompany her on one of her rounds.

Esther and Ada join Mrs. Pardiggle and her sons as they visit a “cluster of wretched hovels” (115). Many of the residents treat Mrs. Pardiggle with contempt, and her demeanor with them strikes Esther as invasive and coldly moralizing. After she leaves a bricklayer’s house, Esther and Ada worry about a sick baby; they soon discover that it has died. The women in the house appear to be suffering from domestic abuse. Esther takes the baby from the dazed and distraught mother, covering the child with her handkerchief and laying it on a shelf. That evening, Esther and Ada return to the house with Richard. They bring money and provisions for the bricklayer’s family, but they never meet the bricklayer, who seems to terrify the household’s women, including the bereaved mother—a woman named Jenny.

Esther grows “very, very, very fond of Ada” (121). At the same time, Ada and Richard seem to be falling in love. Esther tells no one. Richard cannot settle on a profession, so Jarndyce writes to his friend, Sir Leicester Dedlock, for help. Sir Leicester claims that he can do nothing, but this news does not worry Richard. To Esther, Richard possesses a confusing “carelessness.” Richard insists that he is quite the opposite. Esther describes how, after she and Richard gave money to Skimpole, Jarndyce reimbursed them. Richard, who considered this to be money “saved,” wanted to give some of it to the bricklayers. Esther tried to reason with him, but she could only talk him out of donating the money by telling him it would be “wasted,” at which point he considered it “saved” twice over and spent it on something else.

Lawrence Boythorn, a boisterous but friendly schoolmate of Jarndyce, writes to his old friend and visits soon after. As Jarndyce warned her, Boythorn is the “loudest man” and speaks with conviction, carrying everything to an extreme length. He amuses everyone, particularly with his pet canary that he allows to perch on his head during dinner. According to Boythorn, Jarndyce is not forceful enough in settling the Jarndyce and Jarndyce case. Boythorn has his own legal case, in which his neighbor Sir Leicester has accused him of trespassing. Boythorn says he hates the Dedlock family, though his perpetually friendly way of speaking undercuts his claims.

That evening, Esther speaks to Jarndyce about Boythorn. She is surprised that Boythorn never married. Jarndyce explains that a woman once broke Boythorn’s heart, so he committed to a life of solitude, save for his bird.

The next day, Kenge sends Mr. Guppy to Bleak House on an errand to see Boythorn. Esther eagerly invites him into the house and promises to serve them after their meeting. Mr. Guppy is pleased to dine with Esther and offers to marry her, claiming to be in love with her. Esther, mortified, declines. Guppy assures her that his “feelings can never alter” (135); if she changes her mind, all she has to do is reach out. He leaves and Esther weeps.

The omniscient narrator introduces Mr. Snagsby. He works for a legal firm named Peffer and Snagsby and handles legal documents. He married his partner’s “short, shrewd” niece; the couple now lives with Guster, a young woman who experiences “fits” and works as their housekeeper. Mrs. Snagsby handles many of her husband’s affairs, and the other wives in the neighborhood approvingly cite Mr. Snagsby’s meekness to their own husbands.

Elsewhere in London, Tulkinghorn lives in a house that doubles as his office. He walks to Snagsby’s home and asks about the handwriting on the Jarndyce and Jarndyce documents. Snagsby says that the author was a mysterious man named Nemo who lives in Krook’s shop; Tulkinghorn observes that “Nemo” means “no one” in Latin. Snagsby takes Tulkinghorn to the shop, but they do not go inside. Tulkinghorn says he will return at a later date. Once Snagsby has left him, however, he returns to Krook’s shop. When Krook directs him to Nemo’s room, he finds the space to be a putrid mess. Nemo is lying motionless in his bed. Tulkinghorn notes “the bitter, vapid taste of opium” in the filthy room (147).