Bleak House in Catching up on Classics (and lots more!)

Jul 14, 2010 Franky rated it it was amazing

Shelves: amazing, classics, victorian, familial, satire

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. There are several subplots rummaging throughout Dickens’ lengthy Victorian novel Bleak House: 1) the mystery behind Esther Summerson’s disgraceful birth and her subsequent arrival at Bleak House, 2) John Jarndyce’s fatherly influence over Esther, Ada and Richard, and its eventual effects on the three, 3) Lady Dedlock’s mysterious persona, and the secrets she keeps within herself and 4) the general seemingly never-ending process of the Jarndyce suit in the High Court of Chancery, its ill-effects There are several subplots rummaging throughout Dickens’ lengthy Victorian novel Bleak House: 1) the mystery behind Esther Summerson’s disgraceful birth and her subsequent arrival at Bleak House, 2) John Jarndyce’s fatherly influence over Esther, Ada and Richard, and its eventual effects on the three, 3) Lady Dedlock’s mysterious persona, and the secrets she keeps within herself and 4) the general seemingly never-ending process of the Jarndyce suit in the High Court of Chancery, its ill-effects on those who have an interminable will to prosper off of it, and the general dreary feeling it casts over the whole of society.

One of the interesting and yet sometimes tedious aspect of this work, and something to get used to while reading, is the various narrative voices used by Dickens. This can make the work a challenge to read, but helps to give the story a “series” or “drama” feel to it. Esther Summerson, the protagonist, narrates throughout the book at various times, and comes across fairly enough as a reliable narrator. The other two points of view are a bit more anonymous. One type has an element of stream of consciousness, where the narrator takes you quickly through random thoughts, observances and lists of various characters. In this point of view where Dickens attains the greatest amount of satire to this work, and usually makes the entire Jarndyce and Jarndyce case the butt of his joke, as well as the general scenes of the eccentric characters (and there are plenty). The final narrative type is clearly 3rd person, who simply tells the story looking down upon it without any bias or angle, almost a “fly on the wall” kind of perspective, and this voice seems to be used most throughout the novel.

Dickens employs many memorable and eccentric characters as usual. There is Tulkinghorn, a malicious, unmoved, and unsentimental lawyer, the antagonist who holds key secrets and has no pity for individuals. There is Guppy, who is awkward, a bit “slimy”, and has a fascination with Esther that lasts throughout the novel. Allan Woodcourt and Captain George are both noble characters who help others in times of need, Woodcourt having ties to saving people’s lives during a shipwreck and also is Richard’s friend in his time of financial difficulties, and George aiding in the help of the sick child, Jo. Mr. Bucket is the quick-witted detective, who solves many of the mysteries late in the novel.

The neat aspect of Dickens’ book is his ability to introduce many characters, many plot lines, symbols and then weave them together into a tight fit, and intertwine and solve them at the end. Esther learns more and more about her past, and the history of her mother, as the novel progresses, and this seemingly brings into the forefront other scenes which at first may have seemed unimportant. Over all this is a novel which essentially depicts one journey, but uses many characters to arrive there; Esther’s journey is one in which she learns who she is, and becomes a stronger character by novel’s end.

You can definitely say that in Dickens work, the sum is much greater than its parts. This is a book that adds up to much in its finality, and it is clear that Dickens was writing this in a series format, ending chapters right where we are getting to important information or something that is pertinent to the over all story, leaving the mystery to be carried over to the next chapter.

Although this book is a beast (over 800 pages), if you enjoy Victorian novels, and enjoy Dickens use of satire and eccentric characters, this is one well-worth checking out. While this novel sometimes gets cumbersome with details, it really is a tribute to Dickens ability to illustrate this story and weave everything finely together. Like a painting, Bleak House must be viewed at several different angles before one can truly appreciate it.

In total, though, this is a superb masterpiece of a book, essentially Victorian classic, and one of my favorite Dickens novels of all time.
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Sep 24, 2016 Katy rated it liked it · review of another edition

This is a satisfying read, but a long haul with parts that I had to slog through and other parts where I just had to use Cliff Notes to move the story along. The characters are great and the story line is interesting, but I'm thinking an abridged version would have suited me much better. ...more

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Sep 02, 2013 Leanne rated it really liked it

Shelves: classics

I began watching the Mini-series, but then grew both confused and intrigued, so I read the book before finishing the movie--ended up loving both of them. I would never guess that I would become a Dickens' fan, but just like in Great Expectations, I find his stories and characters fascinating--especially if you can hang in there long enough for all the riddles to be worked out! ...more

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