Barristers

love Dickens

Bleak House is one of Dickens longest and most complex novels. It contains many different and divergent storylines that intertwine as characters meet by chance or fate. In that sense it is impossible to summarise, though key themes run through it, the foremost of these storylines being the absurdity of legal proceedings that seem to have no purpose but to line the pockets of lawyers. The case of Jarndyce is the key example here. The wards of court in the case are the children Richard Carstone and Ada Clare who live with their close relative, the philanthropic John Jarndyce. Initially the novel concerns their love for each other. The novels heroine is Esther Summerson, an orphan, who also goes to live with Jarndyce, and narrates much of the novel. Other strands of the book concern Sir Leicester Dedlock and his beautiful wife, who hides a shocking secret about an illegitimate child together with a long lost love. The machinations of her search for the latter bring her to the penniless and illiterate Jo and someones grave where she later dies in terrible circumstances brought about by the pursuit of her old lover. The mystery of the death of old lawyer Tulkinghorn brings us another strand with the detective Bucket intervening gloriously, one of the novel's many highlights. Esther and John Jarndyce's relationship is at the heart of the later stages of the book, and his final act of generosity in giving her up to the young doctor Woodcourt whom she loves. In between there are numerous interesting or plain hilarious minor characters such as the ridiculous Mrs Jellyby whose endless philanthropy has left her utterly unconcerned about her relations and Harold Skimpole who is a lazy plus selfish man looked after by others generosity and his mimicry of childish irresponsibility. In its time the novel was viewed poorly constructed despite its host of interesting characters, although later critics have generally seen it as one of his very finest works despite its occasional verbosity.