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Bleak House
Bleak House - Group Read 4
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Bleak House: Chapters 1 - 10
I caught up now and finished chapters 3-4. My heart really goes out to Esther actually, and there was a lot of discussion of her possible unreliability. That could for sure be true, but I'm not inclined to think of it as a deliberate thing. The need for human love is a basic one, and it seems natural to me that going so long without, there's going to be some deep seated self doubts, some survival mechanisms, some inability to perceive herself and others clearly. There might well be deception involved (both self-deception and outward deception) but not necessarily deliberately so. For someone who has gone through this, it takes a long time for those patterns of thought and behavior to fade.
I loved your question Jean when you asked who might have named her. Regardless of how justified the vengeance may be, the book of Esther is a fairly bloodthirsty chapter of the Bible with a lot of holy slaughter of infidels. I can see Esther's "godmother" taking to that book, in the same way someone of a kinder and gentler disposition might be drawn to the book of Ruth.
I felt a little guilty about it, but Dickens' description of Mrs Jellyby struck me as highly entertaining! It was so farcical . . . Esther's difficulty following Mrs Jellyby's conversation over the loud clunk of the boy's body against each successive stair. And then, when she confronts the bashful Esther with:
"Do you know, Miss Summerson, I almost wonder that YOU never turned your thoughts to Africa."
I can just imagine the horror of that moment! :) I laughed out loud a few times over the first half of the chapter.
Poor Caddy though! It is one thing to read in a picturesque scene and another to live it.
I love all the illustrations, and am very excited that my physical copy has the original ones by Phiz. That's one thing I miss in the digital editions I have.
Thanks Jean. I guess I was reading ideas into the text. So far I’m really enjoying Bleak House and looking forward to all that’s to come.
I see Mrs. Jellyby as more comic than malicious. She is like her name, rotund and a bit jolly and very distracted. I don't think she notices anything about the children, and lets them behave like savages (just the thing she is purportedly trying to save the Africans from). Caddy is a very interesting character to me. I particularly love the sketch by Phiz in which she is standing by the fireplace.
Jean, thank you so much for the background on the real life counterpart of Mrs. Jellyby. One of the reasons Dickens is so marvelous at drawing characters in his books is that he is so good at observing the real people in his life.
Chapter 4Indulging in a bit of a side-journey into the horrifyingly hilarious world of Mrs. Jellyby provides Dickens with an opportunity to comment on a social issue of his time, that of some Britons’ ill-conceived and inept attempts at redirecting the lives of subject peoples abroad while entirely failing to address the ghastly state of affairs within their own land — in this case even their own household. This is dark humor indeed, with a very bitter message. Young Caddy, clearly an intelligent girl who has been rendered a hopeless, resentful drudge by her obsessive mother, is especially poignant. And yet he pulls it off so deliciously that we find ourselves laughing out loud at the chaos of the Jellybys’ ”excellent dinner if it had had any cooking to speak of” including the dish of potatoes being mislaid in the coal scuttle as well as a collection of letter ending up in the gravy. Mr. Quale’s observation calling the matrimonial alliance of Mrs. Jellyby with Mr. Jellyby the union of mind and matter more or less sums up this mad household.
Jean - thanks for picking up on Mrs Jellyby’s Africa comment to Esther. It jumped out at me when I read it but I forgot about it as quickly! There’s a suggestion here that she knows something of Esther’s background. Were her parents philanthropists or missionaries perhaps? I’m sure we’ll find out eventually but it makes her a more colourful character.
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She would have said this to any presentable young person who she could recruit to her favourite charity!
Petra - Your comment made me laugh :D
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Paul - " ... my personal reaction to Mrs Jellyby's evangelical philanthropy was that it was entirely self-serving, self-righteous and totally sanctimonious."
Yes, and if it also made you laugh uproariously, like it did Greg, then Charles Dickens's work is done! "My hope is that this was Dickens' intent" It was indeed, as I mentioned in the commentary about Caroline Chisholm. Thanks for that link Janelle. I hadn't known that, and it must be quite an honour to be featured on a bank note.
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But this got him into trouble with lawsuits more than once, when people recognised themselves from his unflattering portrayals. Perhaps it's not surprising!
I'm loving all these comments on our free day.
Bionic Jean wrote: "Nobody has commented on the illustrations yet! For chapter 4 I found the four earliest editions, by 4 of Charles Dickens's regular illustrators (names under each one). Which do you ..."I appreciate these illustrations so much, Jean. I own a copy of the book that's not illustrated, and checked out The Oxford Illustrated version from the library just so I could enjoy them. So mine contains the Phiz illustrations, but it was fascinating to compare the different Caddy/Mrs. Jellyby ones. My favorite was the Sol Eytinge one, with the ink stains all over Caddy's face and paper flying everywhere!
Sara wrote: "One of the reasons Dickens is so marvelous at drawing characters in his books is that he is so good at observing the real people in his life."So true, Sara. I've been thinking about this a lot as I read. The way he matches intricately detailed mannerisms with his characters and we recognize them as believable and true to our experience--that is an amazing skill that must have required an intense study of not just human nature generally but very, very specifically.
Greg wrote: "I caught up now and finished chapters 3-4. My heart really goes out to Esther actually, and there was a lot of discussion of her possible unreliability. That could for sure be true, but I'm not i..."
Greg, I really like your analysis of Esther's narrative. Any of us, when telling someone else of an event, are going to be seeing it from our own perspective. Another person may see the same event in a different way. She tells us the facts of what happens but comments on them from her own perspective. I think Dickens intends the reader to take a less kind view of things, which works very well here.
I resisted posting yesterday not sure if we were supposed to post on the free day. I haven't much to add to what has been said but I admire the ecleticism in Dickens writing. Four different chapters with four different styles. The first two appeal more to my intellectual side, the first broader in scope and the second with more specific details. The last two chapters appeal to my emotions with the one drawing more sympathy and sadness and the other more laughter. I might even venture that the first two chapters would have more appeal to the masculine side and the last two the more feminine side if we consider the views of the time. I find this approach bold because unless the work is exceptional you risk losing the elements of the audience that are only interested in one style. Looking forward to the next chapter and love this approach to reading and discussing the novel.
I too must be excused for my previous silence. I found each chapter better than the last. Haven't read most of the comments for want of time, but the turn "accidentally remembering" was both funny and unexpected.
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What a find! Welcome to the read, and thanks for this lovely post Michael. I can confirm that the bookseller W.H.Smith & Son is still very much in evidence here in the UK, with branches on every High St. In fact I used to work for them at age 18 ... (my allocated book area was Sports books and dictionaries unfortunately!) They have expanded their other areas too though: stationary, pens, computer accessories, CD and DVDs etc. Anyway ...
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Thank you all who said you do appreciate the illustrations, and indicating that it's worth me doing them :)
I too usually like those by Phiz best, Janelle and Kathleen, partly because he is good at caricature, but also because so often there are details and symbolic motifs which add an extra level to the read.
Like Sara - I too really love Harry Furniss's work, because I think it is the most artistic, although they are not altogether accurate, sometimes.
Katy - I'm glad you liked the one by Sol Eytinge :) Sometimes I don't rate his draughtsmanship very highly, but some are really good! He just drew the characters in Charles Dickens's novels, rather than the scenes.
There are a lot by Fred Barnard for Bleak House. I think he drew one for every chapter, (i.e. 67) and they are good workmanlike pieces, so we'll be seeing a lot of those!
I hope you can catch up with us, whilst still savouring the first 4 chapters, Michael. Do you read whilst in your Victorian gentleman's outfit, that you showed us?
Chapter 5 is tomorrow. Some other readers are still coming in too ...
As Sam confirmed, each of the 4 chapters is very different, and appears to a different side of us, and a different mood. The first chapter is the one which presents the most challenges from a literary point of view. I think this is why, as Luffy said, our friend Everyman (R.I.P) enjoyed it more than the other 3. He was a true intellectual, although he never showed off, and frequently hid his talent under a bushel.
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Yes, absolutely, so it's good that Charles Dickens was an exceptional writer, and could pull it off :) Because he could lend his hand to so many styles and moods, he could virtually guarantee a wide audience. I love to think of the readers of the time, chatting in the street, where one would say "It was such a thrilling episode last month" and another would prefer the one they're reading right now ...
Oh yes, of course you can post any time you like! The first read we did we continued straight through, but some fell behind a little, and most said they prefer this way. And I like it because it has breaks when the original readers did :) It can only mimic it of course, because they had to wait a whole month, and we just reflect on things for a day. Still, it marks the break, and we can appreciate better what cliffhangers and so on they had.
Michael, I envy you your edition, I love old books, even if sometimes they are not in perfect conditions.I am discovering that I remember more than I thought of the story, so I will not comment much because my views of the chapters could be influenced by what I already know.
I see a face for every character, as I have already told you about Lady Dedlock, because I watched the series. Esther is Anna Maxwell Martin, who I had already loved in Death comes to Pemberly and in North and South; Ada is Carey Mulligan. I hope all of you will consider watching the series when you have read the book, I recommend it!
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If you are really worried about your preconceived ideas, then you can chat about the text itself, or some of the minor characters (as you will remember there are many!) Or introduce another aspect of the chapter, or the illustrations.
Yes, I agree, that second miniseries is excellent! Actually, I think they both are :) And doubtless I'll watch it again too, when we finish.
I really enjoy all the illustrations you post, Jean. My edition has some of the Phiz illustrations, but not all so I really appreciate getting to see all the ones you post. I really liked the Barnard one with Mrs. Jellyby and Caddy sitting at the table. I thought Mrs. Jellyby looked younger than her daughter in that picture and that maybe Barnard was trying to get across how hard Caddy is working and the cost to her youth for all that work?? But then, maybe I'm over thinking it :-) It's wonderful to see how different artists interpreted the novel.
I felt like it was easier to get into Bleak House than other Dickens' novels that I've read and I wonder if it's because Esther (possibly our heroine) aged more quickly? Also, side note, I kept wanting Peggoty to come over the Jellyby's house.
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Mrs. Jellyby - Kyd
And here are the only other members of her family I can find:
Mr. Jellyby - Kyd
Peepy Jellyby - Kyd
I feel very sorry for Peepy, looking at this. How angry he looks!
In the Fred Barnard illustration, I'm very aware of all the paper strewn on the floor. Harry Furniss shows that too! In fact paper, in all its forms, is going to be an important motif in Bleak House.
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LOL Jack! She would soon have sorted them out and made everything shipshape :D
I love all the illustrations you've been posting Jean! My ebook has the Phiz illustrations but they're hard to see, so I really appreciate you posting them. It's fun to compare the differences between all the illustrators. Of the ones you posted I like the Barnard and Phiz illustrations the best, but the others capture the comedy of the scene more fully.
Thank you for pointing out that Esther is always turned away, I never would've noticed that on my own.
The paper scattered all around stood out to me in the illustrations as well.
I am finally caught up reading the first four chapters and reading everyone’s comments. Bleak House is engrossing from the start! I love all of the illustrations, but Fred Barnard does hold a special place in my heart.I don’t have much to add that hasn’t already been pointed out - so many wonderful observations - but I would like to add that Mrs. Jellyby strikes me as a wife and mother who finds no pleasure or reward in the monotony of keeping a home in order. So she seeks satisfaction and self-worth in a “job” that is acceptable to Victorian mores for a woman. It must have been so hard on women who wanted more out of life.
Laughing about the need for Peggotty. Indeed!
Shirley - That's a great description of Mrs. Jellyby. I honestly felt a little sorry for her, she just seemed so trapped, as many women of that day were.
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That all from me for today, but we have another new place, and another new character to come, (plus another "Lady") tomorrow!
I started a bit late, but I've caught up!Much has been discussed, so I've not much to add - but I did find a few things to comment on :)
Chapter 1 - Dickens is amazing at the different scales - from the scene setting look at the whole city (I love the line about the soot as big as snowflakes!) down to the individuals brought to our attention out of the fog.
Chapter 2 - We've changed from fog to rain - the former obscuring, the latter dreary and boring. I thought the note about Mr. Tulkinghorn's clothing never shining was interesting. Like the rest of the description about him - always absorbing, never giving back.
As was stated above somewhere (I think), Lady Dedlock's case did not have to do with Jarndyce and Jarndyce, but when Mr. Tulkinghorn starts reading, he starts with Jarndyce. I guess Jarndyce just pervades everything!
Chapter 3 - I must admit - I like Esther! It says she has a "noticing way" and wants to understand things. Her nature is too good and trusting to judge, but she does see.
As I live alone, I so understand her feeling of how lovely it is to have someone expecting you when you return! Even it if is just a doll. Of course, her trying and trying and never feeling good enough eats at your heart.
Esther's going off to school... I'm so glad it was a happy place! So many of Dickens' schools are miserable places!
This chapter also gives us a bit more on the character of the Chancellor - even though he's stuck in that gloom all day, here is a case where he is obviously trying to do the right thing - "interviewing" (albeit briefly) the wards, making sure things are done correctly.
Chapter 4 - I love the description of Mr. Kenge casting his eyes over the dusty hearth rug as if it were Mrs. Jellyby's biography! Esther did notice that! Also that the "high houses were an oblong cistern to hold the fog." (Dickens knew how to use words!)
I'd love to see more of Caddy - and I'm so glad she found a friend (even if just for a few minutes) in Esther.
Of course Esther is presenting this story through her eyes (how fun that must have been for the author!), but (as someone above said) I do not think she is being purposely deceitful.
I'm looking forward to chapter 5!
Euphrasie I am thinking in the same lines as you are as far as Esther's character. I too like Esther and am wondering where Dickens is going to take her character. I keep thinking about the "resolution" she decided to make on the horrible birthday with her godmother. She said she would try to be industrious, contented, and true-hearted and to do some good to some one and win some love if I could.This is actually mentioned twice in this chapter (3) and we know repetition is important in Dickens.
I wonder what Esther could be "set apart" for? The Biblical Ester was set apart to save her people.
I think Esther wants to do good things and to be loved and to not be false about it. When she learned to be a governess, she made other girls happy and they hated to see her go. Now she has Ada Clare and they have connected with one another so quickly and in such a loving way. Finally, meeting the Jellyby's, the children are so drawn to her and she does seem drawn to them naturally. I am wondering if she could be a friend and teacher to Caddy that maybe Caddy could find a way out of this wild household.
I am also so intrigued by the little old lady who claims not to be mad! She was also a ward of Jarndyce and here we have Ada and Richard as wards. I wonder what parallels we might see between these characters and what exactly it is that is being held up that she'll get an answer to on Judgment Day!(ha!) - or when she dies! Which means ....never!
Bionic Jean wrote: "Nobody has commented on the illustrations yet! For chapter 4 I found the four earliest editions, by 4 of Charles Dickens's regular illustrators (names under each one). Which do you ..."' I find the Phiz illustrations stunning. And they were inspired: by Dickens himself, which makes them more meaningful to me. What secrets did he reveal to Phiz that could only be implied by the illustration?
I love the confiding atmosphere in the drawing "Miss Jellyby". It is a sleepy, dark room. She has set her " on the fireplace mantel next to Esther's brightly lit candle. Phiz lets Ester's candle illuminate Esther's profile and lap, and the entire figure of Miss Jellyby.
I realized that my estimation of this sad young girl had been rather harsh, because in the illustration the candle glows on her thoughtful, pretty face. Dickens had told us she was a "jaded, and unhealthy-looking, though by no means plain girl".
Esther's candle illuminates, but Esther remains in shadow. Ada appears to have the head of a child, fully asleep.
Michael wrote: "Good day fellow Dickensians. I am all ready for this with an antique copy I found on eBay. Based on the other titles offered and other remarks with a date, this might have been printed in the mid-1..."WOW.
Caught up at last. I have to.confess I was in such a hurry.to.catch up that a lot of this detail escaped me. Thank you to all.who.took more time than I did.
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Euphrasie - all the Mr. Tulkinghorn's clothing never shining was interesting. Like the rest of the description about him - always absorbing, never giving back.
"I guess Jarndyce just pervades everything!"
These are spot on! And you have picked out some lovely examples of Charles Dickens's beautiful language. He was the master of the simile, and quirky personification - and the rest - wasn't he.
Angela - I'm so glad you've caught up and are with us. This one is well worth giving the extra time :)
Lee - Yes, Charles Dickens was extremely prescriptive to Phiz - really quite dictatorial at times. He would specify exactly what he wanted in a scene, such as wanting him to redraw a chair in Dombey and Son once, because it was not right. Sometimes he wanted a change, but there was not time before it went to press, but usually Phiz obliged!
On the other hand, a lot of the emblematic details we will see in Phiz's illustrations, were his own added details :)
If I could ever talk to these two, over an imaginary dinner table, I would ask which of them decided to continually hide Esther's face, to reveal her introspective nature, and lack of self-worth. It's just such a brilliant masterstroke!
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I'm glad we seem to have a consensus about this. Your point about Charles Dickens and repetition is a good one! Basically it's clear she is trustworthy. Nevertheless we need to approach her parts of the narrative with a little caution, because:
1. Esther has had a raw deal in her young life, and nowadays we would say she has been limited and damaged by her experience of life so far. We can tell that her account of this is not complete fantasy, as it is borne out by the Chancellor, and Mr. Jarndyce, who as yet we have not met, but who we know has provided this position for her. So this will colour her narration, and as the novel proceeds it's to be expected that she will "grow" in perception - and that we will observe this. This is what I meant when I said Bleak House might be in part a Bildungsroman.
2. Don't we all represent ourselves and our thoughts with a touch of bias? With the best will in the world, we cannot take Esther's sections as being as neutral as an omniscient narrator. Already we have noticed Charles Dickens has give her a different "voice", which is intriguing, and refreshing.
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Chapter 5: A Morning Adventure
In which the wards of Jardyce meet the owner of a rag and bottle shop.
This chapter begins with Caddy Jellyby suggesting to Esther that they go for a morning walk before breakfast, if Esther is not too tired. Esther says she is not in the least tired, so agrees to the walk. Before leaving for their walk Esther decides to wash little Peepy, and lays him on her bed to sleep.
When she and Ada go downstairs, they notice that everything is just as it had been left last night, and that it was quite intentional. The tablecloth had not been taken away, but had been left ready for breakfast, and everything is still spread about untidily with crumbs, dust, and waste paper all over the house. Richard is outside, jumping up and down to keep warm, and he joins them for their walk.
As Caddy and Esther take the lead, Caddy walks at an agitated, rapid pace. All the while she is venting her frustration and complaining about her mother’s preoccupation with Africa, and also about Mr. Quale, the young gentleman with whom Mrs. Jellyby shares her obsession. Esther tries to stop her, but is glad when Richard and Ada catch them up:
“laughing and asking us if we meant to run a race”.
They walk on further, and find themselves in the Chancery area, and see the old lady, who remembers the “Wards in Jarndyce” and curtsies to them as before. She asks them to come and see where she lives saying:
“It will be a good omen for me. Youth, and hope, and beauty are very seldom there. It is a long, long time since I had a visit from either.”
Because she has put it that way, and is so pressing, Esther does not see how they can refuse.
The old lady wonders if Caddy is another ward of Jarndyce, but Richard tells her that she is not. He regrets saying her hearing him say that she was mad, the day before, and tries to be kind to the old lady.
Almost before they know it, they are at the old lady’s home, which is above a shop. The sign in the window says “Krook, Rag and Bottle Warehouse” and “Krook, Dealer in Marine Stores”.
There are other signs in the windows: “BONES BOUGHT”, “KITCHEN-STUFF BOUGHT”, “OLD IRON BOUGHT”, “WASTE-PAPER BOUGHT” and “LADIES’ AND GENTLEMEN’S WARDROBES BOUGHT”. The shop is a rag and bone shop, packed with everthing you could think of, including a great quantity of ink bottles and shabby old volumes of law books:
“Everything seemed to be bought and nothing to be sold there”.
It is dark and gloomy inside the shop, but they can see all these strange objects by the light of a lamp, carried by:
“an old man in spectacles and a hairy cap … He was short, cadaverous, and withered, with his head sunk sideways between his shoulders and the breath issuing in visible smoke from his mouth as if he were on fire within. His throat, chin, and eyebrows were so frosted with white hairs and so gnarled with veins and puckered skin that he looked from his breast upward like some old root in a fall of snow.”
At Mr. Krook's Rag and Bottle Shop - Sir John Gilbert 1863
This is Mr. Krook, who is also the old woman’s landlord. Mr. Krook invites them to go through his shop, in order to get to the old lady’s rooms. She says to them, confidentially:
“He is a very eccentric person. He is very odd. Oh, I assure you he is very odd!”
Mr. Krook tells the young people that he is known as the “Lord Chanceller”, and his shop is known as the “Chancery”, because he has so many things there of so many kinds, wasting away and going to rack and ruin.
“The shop had, in several particulars, the air of being in a legal neighbourhood, and of being, as it were, a dirty hanger-on and disowned relation of the law.”
Besides used bottles of all sorts, old clothing, and old parchments, Mr. Krook has a collection of ladies’ hair. He is impressed by Ada’s golden hair and runs his hand through a tress in admiration, but Richard stops him firmly. A large grey cat leaps on Mr. Krook’s shoulder from a high shelf, and startles them all: this cat has tigerish claws. Mr. Krook has called her “Lady Jane”.
Mr. Krook and His Cat - Harry Furniss 1910
Mr. Krook seems to have some knowledge of the case Jarndyce and Jarndyce. When he learns that Richard is a ward of Jarndyce, he checks off the names he has heard in connection with it: “There was the name of Barbary, and the name of Clare, and the name of Dedlock, too, I think”, and Richard is most surprised. Mr. Krook then tells them the story of Tom Jarndyce, one of the last people active in Jarndyce and Jarndyce. Tom Jarndyce, after spending another unsuccessful day in court had finally decided he could not bear to wait for a judgement any longer, and had shot himself.
The mad little old lady and Krook - Sol Eytinge, Jr. 1867
The young people are relieved to finally part from Mr. Krook and go upstairs with the old lady. She is not concerned about the story, and says that Mr. Krook is:
“a little M, you know!”
The Lord Chancellor relates the death of Tom Jarndyce - Fred Barnard 1873
Her room is clean, but very cold and bare, and completely lacking in any comfort or food. She continues to talk optimistically about her eternal hope to have a decision in Court which will reward her handsomely. Then she draws aside the curtain and shows them a number of bird-cages hanging by a window. They are filled with larks, linnets, and goldfinches. She tells them that she began to keep them with the intention of setting them free when her judgment was given, but that they die imprisoned. Birds’ lives, she says, are so short compared with Chancery’s proceedings, that she has had to replace the entire collection many times. She also explains that she has the birds often covered with the curtain, so that they are hidden from Mr. Krook’s cat Lady Jane.
Some bells ring outside, so the old lady knows that the proceedings in Chancery are about to start. She gets ready to depart, but explains about the only other lodger at Mr. Krook’s: a law writer whom the children believe has sold himself to the devil.
On their way out, they all see Mr. Krook hiding packets of waste paper in a sort of a well in the floor. Mr. Krook makes a chalk mark on the wall, and asks Esther if she can read it. He laboriously writes a few different letters, one by one, and assures Esther that although he is illiterate, he can still read and write a few odd words from memory:
The Lord Chancellor Copies from Memory - Phiz (Hablot K. Browne) April 1852
Esther is relieved when Richard summons her to hurry and to exit the shop.
Outside Ada say how unhappy she is to think she is part of something where there are so many enemies, and that it never ends. Richard says that nevertheless, he knows Chancery will work none of its bad influences on them; that they have happily been brought together and that nothing will separate them. Caddy squeezes Ether’s arm meaningfully.
They then return to the Jellyby’s and have breakfast with Mrs. Jellyby. Nothing much has changed, and everything is in the same disorder as before. Mrs. Jellyby is beginning her new day with yet more correspondence to Africa, unconcerned that Peepy has been missing for an hour and a half. He had been returned by a policeman, who found the child wandering in Newgate. Esther fears Peepy may have been looking for her, and is relieved that he is now asleep, so he will not see them leave.
Shortly after this a carriage arrives to take them to Bleak House:
Thomas Archer - On the Road to Bleak House
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Another character who is named after a real person is not a human being at all but a cat! If you know English history, you might have spotted who Krook’s cat, “Lady Jane”, was called after: Lady Jane Grey who reigned as queen of England for a mere nine days in 1533. She was forced to abdicate, imprisoned, and eventually beheaded. Here is more, for those who are interested:
Lady Jane Grey:
She reigned as Queen of England for nine days in 1553. She was a teenage English aristocrat, the great granddaughter of Henry VII through his younger daughter Mary. Lady Jane Grey had an excellent humanist education and a reputation as one of the most learned young women of her day. Edward VI wrote his will, nominating Jane and her male heirs as successors to the Crown, in part because his half-sister Mary was Catholic, who claimed the throne of England and Ireland. After Edward’s death, Jane was proclaimed queen and awaited coronation. But support for Mary grew quickly, and most of Jane’s supporters abandoned her. The Privy Council of England suddenly changed sides and proclaimed Mary as queen on 19 July 1553, deposing Jane, and sending her the Tower of London for high treason. Both Jane and her husband were eventually beheaded on 12 February 1554. Lady Jane Grey was viewed as a Protestant martyr for centuries.
It seems odd to have another reference by Charles Dickens to a different beheaded monarch, after David Copperfield, where Mr. Dick (view spoiler)
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“extraordinary creatures in rags, secretly groping among the swept-out rubbish for pins and other refuse”
as if their squalid environment and poverty has made them ”creatures”—i.e. less than human.
And now we have another comparison with Chancery—a junk shop! With its heaps of mouldy paper, and Krook presiding as the Lord Chancellor, it seems that there is little difference between the grand courts and Krook’s ramshackle store. How Charles Dickens’s readers must have loved the comparison! And the final touch of irony is that although Krook is surrounded by mounds of paper, he cannot read.
Is “Krook”’s name significant, do you think? It might not be that he is a “crook” I suppose, but just that he catches everything that comes his way; he hoards and collects things for the sake of it.
It is so poignant, and a strong metaphor, that the songbirds die in captivity. And have you noticed that we still have not yet been told the old lady’s name!
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A first person narrator always has to be present, or otherwise report the action as hearsay, and sometimes this proves quite awkward. (Remember David hiding behind doorways?) Or is Charles Dickens using Esther to regulate his writing for the more sober episodes? Acting as sort of a dampener, to curb his tendency to to go off at a tangent into humorous cameos? We seem to be staying with Esther now, for a while.
This Chapter was weird. I didn't find Krook to be a sane character, and also not a character infused with purpose. No doubt he'll have his say by advancing the nitty gritty of the highly complex plot of Bleak House.I wish I had an eidetic memory. I can console myself with my pithy literacy. This chapter freaked me out. Something ghoulish is always around in any of the chapters so far. Even the saintliness of Esther and Richard's lack of witticisms, and Ada's lack of personality. There is too much madness going on. The mad old lady was a touch too much.
This tone must have unhinged the fans of Dickens. Unless they saw such stuff in their lives, which I think is possible. But this madness is still theatrical. I want to get out of Esther's POV, easier and familiar though I found it. I'd rather be comforted by old ladies like Lady Dedlock falling about like drugged pheasants than see the Jellybys again.
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Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"
(last edited Mar 03, 2022 05:07AM)
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"Something ghoulish is always around in any of the chapters so far" Bleak House is sometimes referred to as a gothic novel. Perhaps it would help if you think of it like this. Also Charles Dickens loved his ghosts and ghouls, and they pop up all over the place - if not in the action, then in metaphors.
"The mad old lady was a touch too much." Do you think she is mad, or merely eccentric? Remember Richard is barely 18. What were you (or any of us) like when you were 18? Didn't you regard all old people as "mad"? And the lawyers are just supercilious about everyone.
So they are all biased in one way or another. I can recognise her eccentric - and yes obsessive - tendencies in the old people I know. She could be senile, we just don't know yet, but Richard did feel bad about copying the lawyers and calling her "mad".
Equally, Lady Dedlock is not as "old" as the little old woman; she's middle-aged. She is younger than Sir Leicester, and we learned in chapter 2 that Sir Leicester is over 67, and Lady Dedlock is twenty years younger than her husband (so about 47). I try to put these ages etc. in my summaries when we get to know them, as it's so complex!
I think you will enjoy the next chapter, but do read some of my commentary too, and the discussions first :)
I loved the description of Krook - ‘gnarled…..like some old root in the snow’. Wonderful! I don’t think any other author has the skill that Dickens has to sum up characters in just a few words.I found it interesting that Krook remembers names involved in Jarndyce & Jarndyce, eg Barbary (Esther’s aunt), Clare (Ada) and Dedlock. Now isn’t the latter intriguing?
And, of course, the inclusion of Barbary means that Esther is connected in some way.
Sorry not to have taken part in the discussion so far - I have fallen a bit behind in my reading, but will catch up and am enjoying reading the comments from you all for each chapter (as well as Jean's fabulous introductions!)
Bionic Jean wrote: "I think you will enjoy the next chapter, but do read some of my commentary too, and the discussions first :)"Hi Jean, I did read your commentary, midway between a hasty glance and a normal speed read. I know I could get in trouble with Lady Dedlock's age. The book cannot feel different, sad to say, if I situate the genre, or imagine that I do. The fog itself feels decay-inducing, not mysterious or suspenseful like a gothic novel would show. I liked the chapter, but there was too much lunacy going on. And there was no 'time' to treat it as a tic or as a trait or even a plot device. For the moment it's simply there, like a hybrid between a dog and a fish! Can't wait to get to the next chapter. For the moment my rating of the book is averaging a 3.5. rounded to 4.
Luffy: "The mad old lady was a touch too much." Do you think she is mad, or merely eccentric? "The old lady so far doesn't seem mad at all. Calling someone "mad" is an often-used way to discredit that person. So, using that word seems to say more about the the user of the word than of the object. Perhaps Richard has heard other people call the old lady mad? The lawyers have their own reasons for calling her mad and trying to discredit her (claims to part of the Jarndyce fortune).
The old lady clearly thinks she has a case for some of the Jarndyce money and is expecting "a judgement shortly." She's probably been saying that for decades. Does this make her mad? Does this make her mad? Perhaps it does for the characters in this book since the case is now considered a joke by most people and not expected to ever be settled.
What's funny is that she thinks Krook is mad. The case is driving many people mad or to suicide.
Bionic Jean wrote: "Tom Jarndyce, after spending another unsuccessful day in court had finally decided he could not bear to wait for a judgement any longer, and had shot himself."Are we to suppose that this means Tom Jarndyce is the grandfather referred to in Chapter 1 who blew his brains out?
I second Luffy. There is a very ghoulish, spooky, gothic element to the writing that I like. It keeps one wanting to read more. This was great chapter for developing the novel and there will certainly be plenty for everyone to say with my only worry that we mjght miss something important.
I am going to point out the two references to a copywriter, first the letter among the papers below, and then the lodger. It triggered the memory of Lady Dedlock's possible recognition of the writing in the lawyer's brief.
On Dickens' artistry, I would just like to note how perfect a character Crook is to deliver some background on the Tom Jarndyce's suicide and this is a brilliant way move the story along. For those looking to write or just wanting to study what elements make a book a classic, this book is a good example.
My last thought is on the influence of Dickens, by linking a poem, "The Circus Animal's Desertion," which I think alludes directly to this chapter in the last stanza. It won't help you understand the novel but the imagery is quite similar. Note the last line of the poem.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem...
Dickensians!
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Authors mentioned in this topic
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I loved this chapter. So full of humour and fun. After the last few chapters, it was a refreshing break.
I agree with comments above about Mrs. Jellyby being so involved in her own "doing goodness" that she dangerously neglects her family. I felt so sorry for Caddy, wanting more from life than to be her mother's secretary, but feeling that this is all Life offers her. How demoralizing and depressing that would be for such a young girl.
I am very, very curious about Jarndyce and his connection with everyone we've met so far. The vague description of his being "jolly" did bring back the gentleman in the carriage. How sweet, if this is so, that Jarndyce would want to ensure himself that she was safe on her travels.
Mr. Jellyby couldn't have been that unhappy in the marriage if all those kids are his. LOL.
Have a nice day off, Jean. I look forward to Thursday already. These four chapters have been an terrific start to what appears to be a detailed, intricate story.