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Bleak House
Bleak House - Group Read 4
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Bleak House: Chapters 1 - 10
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I'm glad you enjoyed it :) And hope it provides a good base.
Right - now I've had a look at this bit you asked about: "the grandfather of the boy and girl was a victim of rash action - brains.? Could this mean he has dementia and is unable to be the caretaker?"
No, not dementia. He is dead - look at the paragraph before:
"Mr. Tangle on his legs again. "Begludship's pardon—dead."
The grandfather is dead - we learn more of him later too :D And we are told the two wards of Jarndyce are now to live with their "cousin, several times removed".
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Both :) The characters we are to meet are indeed full of colour and spice :)
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Greg - No - it's just one person who is dead.
The grandfather of the two wards of Jarndyce was also the uncle of the cousin who is several times removed. It will be a lot easier when we have their names, I promise!
Bionic Jean wrote: "Greg wrote: "Mr Tangle was telling the High Lord Chancellor that the uncle and grandfather were dead..."Greg - No - it's just one person.
The grandfather of the two wards of Jarndyce is also th..."
Interesting! I too read this as "'...residing with their uncle.' '...--dead.' Then the Chancellor changed it to their 'grandfather.' ... 'victim of rash action--brains.' as if he was going through a list and ended up with the cousin.
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"a very little counsel with a terrific bass voice arises, fully inflated, in the back settlements of the fog, and says, "Will your lordship allow me? I appear for him. He is a cousin, several times removed. I am not at the moment prepared to inform the court in what exact remove he is a cousin, but he IS a cousin."
The grandfather/uncle shot himself - blew his own brains out.
Kathleen wrote: "Interesting! I too read this as "'...residing with their uncle.' '...--dead.' Then the Chancellor changed it to their 'grandfather.' ... 'victim of rash action--brains.' as if he was going through a list and ended up with the cousin. "That's what I thought. Further, I thought that "... rash action -- brains" was a stuffy legal way of saying that whoever they were speaking of had committed suicide by blowing his brains out!
Ah, thanks for the clarification Jean! I was getting confused at a few points. It's great to read this with the Dickens experts who can help me out! :)
Thank you Jean for the clarification. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought there were 2 dead men and one living cousin. Apparently I am consumed by fog like the Chancellor! Looking forward to the next chapter already!
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I have just gone back to reread that part and now it's hitting me in the face! Wow, how much Dickens has given us to think about and decipher in this relatively short chapter. I have learned to not pass over swiftly Dickens' words because he has purpose for each one. I am already thinking that those who are reading this for their second and third time, will get an even richer understanding of all of the details and such. Every novel I read of Dickens, I am utterly amazed at his ability. No other like him.
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Such a gloomy chapter! But I loved how it set an atmosphere of unclarity and a bogging down, slow movement and no direction. What a mess and tangle! (Mr. Tangle is wonderfully named)I laughed at reference to a slow and lumbering dinosaur. That's an apt description of the entire chapter's reveal of the story so far. T
I am a bit worried that these poor children will be put into a bad situation with the cousin several times removed. He disappeared so completely after commenting quickly. Sneaky character (or so it appears).
Jean, thanks for the introduction and summary.
This chapter has certainly set a sombre, dire and atmospheric start to this story.
Jean, Whack A Mole is an arcade game. Here's a video: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=...
Paul, I hadn't made that connection but now that you mention it, I won't forget it. LOL.
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Whack A Mole is a perfect image for the lawyers bobbing up and down, thanks Paul. Lori - I am reading this for the second time and I agree with you that multiple readings yield even more treasure. Of course, reading with this group (the slow pace and the quick minds) and having all Jean's marvelous expertise to guide us, makes it yield gold instead of just silver. No one writes like Dickens!
Sara wrote: "Whack A Mole is a perfect image for the lawyers bobbing up and down, thanks Paul. "I have no idea what put the image into my head but I was laughing out loud thinking of the judge leaning over the bench with his gavel,
"Sit down", whack, "Sit down", whack, "Sit down", whack ... !
Loving reading all these posts! This is going to be a delight reading this book with all of you. Thank you for all your comments and insights. I absolutely loved the paragraphs with the fog. I've read it several times because the imagery was so phenomenal. The scene is perfectly set for the dreary, desolate conditions of the Chancery Court.
Never can there come fog too thick, never can there come mud and mire too deep, to assort with the groping and floundering condition which this High Court of Chancery, most pestilent of hoary sinners, holds this day in the sight of Heaven and earth.
Because of the way the audiobook narrator pronounced it, I actually thought the case was called "Jaundice and Jaundice." I thought Dickens must be making a clear point. It wasn't until I read through it on the ebook I saw it was spelled "Jarndyce."
The definition of "jaundice," besides the medical condition, is "a state or attitude characterized by satiety, distaste, or hostility". It definitely seems like that fits with this case.
If all the injustice it has committed and all the misery it has caused could only be locked up with it, and the whole burnt away in a great funeral pyre—why so much the better for other parties than the parties in Jarndyce and Jarndyce!
I like that description of "whack-a-mole." That line about the lawyers made me giggle.
Eighteen of Mr. Tangle's learned friends, each armed with a little summary of eighteen hundred sheets, bob up like eighteen hammers in a pianoforte, make eighteen bows, and drop into their eighteen places of obscurity.
He even uses the words "bob up" which calls to mind the whole "whack-a-mole" comparison.
I'm definitely curious about this case. How has it lasted so long and how did it begin? Who are these poor little kids caught up in it?
I was also thinking how well Dickens captures that this case is still serious and causing devastation but is treated flippantly by everyone else. Here's a couple lines that stood out to me in relation:
The short-hand writers, the reporters of the court, and the reporters of the newspapers invariably decamp with the rest of the regulars when Jarndyce and Jarndyce comes on.
It has been death to many, but it is a joke in the profession.
The last Lord Chancellor handled it neatly, when, correcting Mr. Blowers, the eminent silk gown who said that such a thing might happen when the sky rained potatoes, he observed, "or when we get through Jarndyce and Jarndyce, Mr. Blowers"—a pleasantry that particularly tickled the maces, bags, and purses.
...there are not three Jarndyces left upon the earth perhaps since old Tom Jarndyce in despair blew his brains out at a coffee-house in Chancery Lane;
I haven't read a lot of Dickens so his style is, for the most part, completely new to me. But from what I know of his stories and what I have read, it seems he likes to point out how callous people can be to the suffering of others.
Very excited to keep reading and discussing with everyone!
Jean - Thank you for posting about Dickens experience with the court. That adds a lot of context to where he is coming from. I think there are plenty of people that still feel that way today when dealing with the law.
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"he likes to point out how callous people can be to the suffering of others."
It's more the institutions and organisations, which Charles Dickens criticises, and the individuals who apply their rules. If you've read the first few posts, you will see that this novel is about the evils of Chancery. But you're right in that the lawyers who are working here, are making the most of the fact that these unsolvable cases are just a huge joke to them, even though they result in poverty, bankruptcy, madness, suicide and so on.
Bionic Jean wrote: "these unsolvable cases are just a huge joke to them, ."Not to mention, an endless source of income for them!
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Thank you so much Sara - you are so kind! We have a lovely group here - and I think you might have nudged two or three into joining us for Bleak House, so thank you for that too :)
Lori wrote: "I am glad to know that we will meet the little old lady, Jean! I was taken by her and my heart just melted. One other bit I noticed with Mr. Tangle was how very little he speaks - he doesn't wast..."
I inferred that the grandfather had blown his brains out.
The grandfather's actions is indicative how something extreme within this family. Dickens is setting this story up as intense. It's such a good beginning. I'm already thinking about this family's background and story. We don't even know their names yet.
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Correct. And Petra has picked up a possible reason :)
The opening of this novel - with the Implacable Fog - reminded me a lot of the oppressive heat and sun that opens Little Dorrit. And of course, Little Dorrit also contains the Circumlocution Office, which is so similar to the Chancery that the two novels are similar there as well. And I love all of it! I love how Dickens paints with words the settings of his novels. I can smell, taste and feel the fog, soot and mud! I also had a good chuckle at the bobbing barristers! And I loved the "large advocate with great whiskers, a little voice and an interminable brief". What a wonderful oxymoron "interminable brief"!! I won't soon forget that. I hope the great whiskered advocate shows up again.
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Oh yes! Every word is priceless isn't it? As Lori said, Charles Dickens really pays dividends on a slow read :) And can be read again countless times.
Way back in history (well, a year or more ago) you might remember that Bleak House was voted in as our next group read. But I suggested we leave it a while, as we had just finished our group read of Little Dorrit. I mentioned that some of the themes were similar, (but promised I'd prepare this one for us to read soon too) so we read the runner-up in the poll, Dombey and Son instead :)
All three are amazing reads!
Bridget wrote: "interminable brief"I wonder if the wag lawyer or judge who first coined the phrase "brief" chuckled because he knew they were anything but.
Wonderful discussion so far. I was immediately taken by the imagery of the fog in the streets, the Chancery, in the lawyers’ heads. Dickens is such a master of descriptive prose and uses the skill here so well. Ultimately, all of London is sullied by this dirty fog. And the whack a mole idea is also excellent. I envision 18 miniature lawyers overwhelmed by their stacks of 1800 sheets of paper moving carefully so as not to dislodge the paper when they address the court. The paper must be more prominent than the people…if it is visible through the fog.
So glad to be back in the group where the details I miss are pointed out. Amazing how much happened in this chapter.
So many posts to read through this morning!I don’t have much to add except I loved the opening chapter, love the repetitions, the atmosphere, his clever language as always. It really sets up what is to follow.
This is my first long read with the group, and it has taken me longer to read the comments than the first chapter itself! Nice to see such enthusiastic participation. I did love the very atmospheric description of the fog, and the visuals of the characters are pretty humorous, as I remember from other Dicken's books I've read. A lot of questions I had were answered here in the comments, so thanks to everyone who asked and to Jean, our fount of knowledge, for explaining.
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Oh dear, Diane, this did make me laugh! Yes, we do tend to get a bit involved, so I'm glad you're enjoying it. This was a comparatively short chapter, but there was a lot packed into it, so perhaps that's another reason why it felt a bit unbalanced, as we had a lot to discuss.
Thank you! And Sue and Janelle too :) My day is nearly over, but I'm looking forward to starting off chapter 2 tomorrow!
Such great comments, thanks for everyone's input so far which really adds to my reading of the first chapter. I started out trying Miriam Margolyes' narratiomn but something jarred, so I switched to the Simon Vance audiobook which I am enjoying.Others have commented on the bobbing laywers, and megalosaurus which jumped out for me too!
My overal impression from the first chapter I think is one of frightful fog - both literal and metaphorical, in terms of loss of clarity, understanding, low mood and depression. While there are some light touches - bobbing lawyers and plodding dinosaurs - for me there is a fearfulness and weight from the get-go, the desperation and often tragic consequences of involvement in Chancery cases made clear from the start.
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Sorry to be strict about this, but there's an easy round way it if you are listening in audio, or are not reading in parallel with the group. As others said, just wait for my summary and commentary, and then it is perfectly clear what we will be discussing. If you don't want to read it, that's fine, but just look at the summary quickly, to make sure you are at the same point. That way everyone can keep anchored, and not worry about reading something they don't want to, both during this read, and future readers too. This is our resource for the book. It will be the post Nisa links to: the one with illustrations.
There can be no definite time as we are all located over the world, but the posts will appear a day apart.
Thanks! I do believe this to be important, and the next post explains why :)
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Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"
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Unusually the first installment has 4 chapters, and introduces 4 different sets of characters in 4 different places. Charles Dickens does this quite deliberately, marking a break between them to keep the characters and locations discrete.
His "mem" for chapter 1 simply says:
In Chancery
The great cause of Jarndyce and Jarndyce
Charles Dickens is keen to keep our focus on the literal fog of London, and the metaphorical fog of the lawyers in Chancery, i.e. the case (or "cause" as Charles Dickens interestingly refers to it) of Jarndyce and Jarndyce. He wants to make it absolutely plain that this is the crux of the novel, and not distract or divert us with interesting characters. Also noticeable is that his official illustrator "Phiz" did not provide an illustration for this, but chose to keep his 2 per installment for the later chapters (that's why I posted a contemporary drawing of the law courts!) This will have been under Charles Dickens's instructions, as he was very clear about what he wanted to be in the illustrations to his books.
Nobody (apart from the interchangeable lawyers) is mentioned in Chapter 1 by name, and the characters in chapter 2 are not even referred to.
But now, we move from the fog, to the world of fashion.
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We move from gloomy London to rainy, wet Lincolnshire, and “My Lady Dedlock”, who is “bored to death” at Chesney Wold. Lady Dedlock has married into the English aristocracy and is now arguably the most fashionable lady in all England.
“The view from my Lady Dedlock’s own windows is alternately a lead-coloured view and a view in Indian ink. The vases on the stone terrace in the foreground catch the rain all day; and the heavy drops fall—drip, drip, drip—upon the broad flagged pavement, called from old time the Ghost’s Walk, all night.”
In a few days, she will go to Paris with her husband Sir Leicester Dedlock, but she has found their estate in the country so dreary, soggy, wet, and melancholy, that she returns to her house in town.
Sir Leicester Dedlock, we are told, is a baronet, and very rich, very respectable, “honourable, obstinate, truthful, high-spirited, intensely prejudiced and perfectly unreasonable”.
“He has a general opinion that the world might get on without hills, but would be done up without Dedlocks.”
“A whisper still goes about that she had not even family; howbeit, Sir Leicester had so much family that perhaps he had enough and could dispense with more …”
Sir Leicester is over 67, and Lady Dedlock is twenty years younger than her husband. Sir Leicester married Lady Dedlock for love, and is always gallant to her:
“He is ceremonious, stately, most polite on every occasion to my Lady, and holds her personal attractions in the highest estimation.”
Lady Dedlock has an elegant figure and is very well groomed.
At this house in town, on this “muddy, murky afternoon”, an old-fashioned old gentleman presents himself. He “is surrounded by a mysterious halo of confidences”; a man of secrets, who knows secrets, and guards secrets. This is Mr. Tulkinghorn, the lawyer to Sir Leicester, and also to other peers of the realm. Sir Leicester trusts Mr. Tulkinghorn, and considers him eminently respectable; he is drab, rich, and inscrutable. We are told that another person also regards herself as inscrutable: Lady Dedlock:
“She supposes herself to be an inscrutable Being, quite out of the reach and ken of ordinary mortals—seeing herself in her glass, where indeed she looks so.”
And yet this is not the case. We are told that everyone who has dealing with Lady Dedlock, whether maid or shopkeeper, can wind her round their little finger.
Mr. Tulkinghorn has come to report on Lady Dedlock’s case in the High Court of Chancery. This concerns Lady Dedlock’s marriage dowry, and bores her. Lady Dedlock dismisses the case, saying that the process of resolving the case will never happen, at least not in their lifetime. But then Mr. Tulkinghorn produces a document which seems to interest Lady Dedlock. Mr. Tulkinghorn:
“stops short, surprised by my Lady’s animation and her unusual tone.”
"Who Copied That?" - Fred Barnard 1873
She asks him who copied the documents, claiming that she likes the handwriting, and he says that he will find out. Lady Dedlock resumes her bored demeanour:
“Anything to vary this detestable monotony. Oh, go on, do!”
But Lady Dedlock begins to feel faint, and Sir Leicester is concerned, saying this had never happened before. In the end he blames it on the changing weather:
“and she really has been bored to death down at our place in Lincolnshire”.
After a while, a servant helps Lady Dedlock to a private room where she can recover. Meanwhile, Sir Leicester confers with Mr. Tulkinghorn, even though much of what Mr. Tulkinghorn has to say is liable to make Sir Leicester fall asleep.
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Mr. Tulkinghorn seems shrouded in mystery. And what are we to make Lady Dedlock’s surprising sudden faintness, after seeing the handwriting in “law-hand”?
More apt names …
The legal case of “Jarndyce and Jarndyce” (“jaundice”? the medical condition of gall not broken down: so we have bile, and bilious fever, bitterness, irony, and scepticism.)
Dedlock (deadlock? Can there be anything good about a lawsuit connected to a person named Dedlock?)
Then we have the “skulking” Mr. Tulkinghorn. He is described as sitting quietly; listening but rarely joining in the conversation. He seems shrouded in mystery. Perhaps he is taking in and storing up valuable information; much more than his clients realise. He doesn’t seem to miss a trick with Lady Dedlock, but what can he have spotted?
And one name which is not so apt …
Chesney Wold:
Chesney is derived from Old French “chesnai”, meaning “oak grove” but is also said to mean “peaceful”. “Wold” is a common place name in England, meaning an open, hilly, upland area. Charles Dickens based Chesney Wold on Rockingham Castle in Northamptonshire, but since Sir Leicester and Lady Dedlock are not there at the moment, but at their place in town, I’ll save more details until later.
So what do you make of Lady Dedlock, who is usually so languid and lethargic’s extraordinary reaction?
Bionic Jean wrote: "So what do you make of Lady Dedlock, who is usually so languid and lethargic’s extraordinary reaction? "It seems clear to me that, first, she believes she recognized the writing and wanted to confirm her belief by asking who wrote it, second, she tried to cover up that recognition by saying she asked for no other reason than to break up the monotony of the conversation and, finally, the recognition so disturbed her that for the first time during their marriage she felt faint and close to a swoon.
I think this will be important quite quickly.
What kind of creative genius can describe the quantity and upper crust nature of confidences held by a lawyer like this?“There are noble Mausoleums rooted for centuries in retired glades of parks, among the growing timer and the fern, which perhaps hold fewer noble secrets than walk abroad among men, shut up in the breast of Mr. Tulkinghorn.”
Whatever would have made Dickens think of likening Tulkinghorn's closely held confidences to a Mausoleum?? I find brilliance like that simply breakthtaking.
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Yes, it's such a great simile! Thanks for pointing it out Paul. Already we know the sort of mind Mr. Tulkinghorn must have - and what sort of man he must be - from this.
What of the Tulikinghorn name? Sounds related to the megalosaurus and dangerous with its horn. No more vivid desciption of a lawyer than in Dickens.
I’m intrigued at Lady Dedlock’s reaction. We’re told she wasn’t of noble birth but has married well. Does she have a skeleton in her closet? It seems so!Tulkinghorn is a great name and suits this fusty old solicitor in his old-fashioned clothes and with his old-fashioned demeanour very well.
I'm a bit confused about marriage dowry reference? If it's concerning her present union, wouldn't that have been taken care of before the ceremony? Is this an implication of a previous husband?I was immediately struck by deadlock as a synonym for impasse, stalemate, going nowhere.
I have read about half of Dickens’ novels and I have to say that this is my favorite one, with David Copperfield. Glad to see this group digging in and enjoying it! It is so rich in detail! And the character names are fabulous!
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Any examples, Michael?
John wrote: "I'm a bit confused about marriage dowry reference? If it's concerning her present union, wouldn't that have been taken care of before the ceremony? Is this an implication of a previous husband?I ..."
Good question John! I thought of a family inheitance where Lady Dedlock is an only surviving relative, but didn't think as a widow. We'll have to wait for more clues.
Comments on Chapter 1:First of all, I want to thank you, Jean, for all of the preparatory information you provided which helps us better understand what Dickens was addressing in this novel. And thank you for explaining 19th century terms such as Michaelmas Term (which when I had Googled it, said Michaelmas was on September 29 - which of course could not have been possible as this novel starts in November).
I also want to thank everyone's input. I had so many questions after finishing Chapter 1, but most of my questions were answered by the comments posted here. Hurrah for the learned Dickensians! group!
My feelings as I finished this chapter was how suffocating and oppressive the atmosphere was that Dickens described, both from above (the fog) and below (the mud). I thought that mud was an apt metaphor for the mud-slinging that the Chancery participated in on a daily basis. The Chancery completely engulfed people in the mire of their machinations. I couldn't imagine how people could get justice when the purpose of the Chancery, through suits like Jarndyce and Jarndyce, was to enrich the lawyers and their hangers on. I felt sorry for the little old mad woman and the sallow prisoner whose grievances would never be addressed because there was no money to be had in hearing their cases. I felt sorry for the two young innocent people whose lives would soon become ensnared and embroiled in a lawsuit without end.
Bridget: Thank you for catching the phrase "the interminable brief". I didn't catch that when reading the chapter, but that bit of witticism on Dickens' part was perfect! That did make me smile on reading your comment.
I couldn't help smiling that Chapter Two begins with an American reference. In comparing the worlds of the Chancery and the Fashion, Dickens evokes Rip Van Winkle.I loved this description of the musty, ancient estate: On Sundays the little church in the park is mouldy; the oaken pulpit breaks out into a cold sweat; and there is a general smell and taste as of the ancient Dedlocks in their graves.
Anyone might have used the smell of the bodies in the graves, but how like Dickens to sharpen the image with the "taste" of them.
The immediate introduction of Lady Dedlock's reaction to the writing creates a mystery that makes you anxious to get on to the next chapter. I always think how this would have played with the original audience and the stir of conversation as they waited and anticipated the next issue.
John - Not all dowries were paid 100% up front. Anne of Cleaves came with a dowry that was split--money up front and another sum a year later. I'm guessing there is some part of Lady Dedlock's dowry (perhaps a property) that has become enmeshed in legal proceedings. She seems doubtful if it will ever be released to her. I do not think this is any indication of a prior marriage.
Michael wrote: "I have read about half of Dickens’ novels and I have to say that this is my favorite one, with David Copperfield. Glad to see this group digging in and enjoying it! It is so rich in detail! And the..."I've seen folks dismiss this book as boring (daunting), but as a re-reader here, I find it one of his most interesting.
Dickensians!
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I had to go back and read that section of dialogue a second time to understand even that Mr Tangle was telling the High Lord Chancellor that the uncle and grandfather were dead.
Tangle's interruptions and responses are so terse!