The working notes for the eighth installment of Charles Dickens’ Bleak House are unique in that, aside from those of the first installment, they are the only ones which contain no notes on the left-hand side of the page. Dickens used the right side of the page to plan out the installment’s chapter contents, whereas the left side typically contained memos on characters or plot points he considered connecting. This installment, like the rest, builds on earlier installments and sets events in motion for later ones. Since it does not stand alone, Dickens had plenty of opportunity to play around with and muse on what would be best to include. The only clue that the working notes for this installment offer as to why the left-hand side may have been left blank, is the inclusion of the triple underlining of “Richard” in two separate places. This is significant because Dickens seldom used a triple underline within his working notes for this novel, and this is the only page of working notes in which there are two instances of a triple underline on the right hand side of the page. This creates a visual link between the two instances — one under the first chapter “Esther’s Narrative” and one under the second chapter “An Appeal Case” — and also provides a clue that Richard plays an important role in understanding the installment as a whole. It is possible that Dickens felt strongly about this link and didn’t feel the need to muse over other potential options. Richard’s role within this installment can therefore be used as a case study on the interconnections within a single installment, while also providing insight on how Dickens expands outward to connect to other installments and the novel as a whole.
The eighth installment, released in October of 1852, marks a clear shift in Richard’s character arc, ultimately foreshadowing his death and cementing his fate. In this installment, Esther visits Chancery for the first time with Richard, who feels he will only be able to settle once the case is settled and no longer has a grip on him. He decides to step away from pursuing law and instead sets his sights on the army. Mr. Jarndyce then deems it necessary for Ada and Richard to call off their engagement for the time being. This installment also contains Caddy and Prince announcing their engagement to their parents, Charley becoming Esther’s maid, Gridley’s death, and Mrs. Snagsby’s jealousy and incorrect suspicion that Mr. Snagsby is Jo’s father.
If the left-hand side of his working notes were used to form connections, then perhaps their absence in this installment suggests Dickens felt there was already a strong link between the narratives of these chapters. It is evident that the connections within these three chapters are plentiful, such as the juxtaposition of Caddy and Prince announcing their engagement to their parents and Mr. Jarndyce forcing Ada and Richard to end their engagement. The strongest connection however seems to be between Richard and Gridley, as Gridley’s death foreshadows Richard’s own. Narratively, Gridley’s death serves the purpose of representing the effect an obsession with the court’s outcomes can have on someone. The connection only becomes fully apparent in the final installment when Richard ultimately meets the same end. However, it is also hinted at when Esther draws a connection between Richard and Miss. Flite in the first chapter of this instalment: “But he never thought—never, my poor, dear, sanguine Richard, capable of so much happiness then, and with such better things before him!—what a fatal link was riveting between his fresh youth and her faded age” (369). This connection is particularly interesting because Esther is looking back from a future point, alluding to the fact that Richard was capable of happiness at that time, and therefore suggesting that there will come a point where he is no longer capable. This link is further evident in Dickens working note which reads “the shadow of Miss Flite on Richard,” referring to the last lines of the second chapter of this installment:
“The sun was down, the light had gradually stolen from the roof, and the shadow had crept upward. But, to me, the shadow that pair, one living and one dead, fell heavier on Richard’s departure, than the darkness of the darkest night. And through Richard’s farewell words I heard it echoed: ‘Of all my old associations, of all my old pursuits and hopes, of all the living and the dead world, this one poor soul alone comes natural to me, and I am fit for. There is a tie of many suffering years between us two, and it is the only tie I ever had on earth that Chancery has not broken!'” (405-406).
This section serves a few key purposes. Its main purpose is to draw parallels between Gridley and Richard, by having some of Gridley’s last words playing in Esther’s head as Richard leaves for the army. Although the text points to it being the shadow of the pair, Flite and Gridley that is, Dickens’ working note says that it is “the shadow of Miss Flite is on Richard.” The working note therefore lends to the reading that the real shadow is that of Ada on Richard, because of a parallel drawn between the two pairs. Miss Flite and Gridley’s friendship arose from their similar circumstance in the court, whereas Ada and Richard were also drawn together by both being wards in the Jarndyce and Jarndyce case. However, the events of this installment have torn them apart for the time being and forced them to end their engagement. This passage also serves to foreshadow Richard’s death even further, since in the end Ada and Richard will too be left “one living and one dead.” Through this connection, therefore, the eighth installment already contains strong parallels and foreshadowing. Perhaps this came clearly to Dickens without having to employ the use of the left-hand side of his working notes.
While it is easier to link the first two chapters of this installment, both being told from Esther’s perspective, there are more subtle links to the third chapter which is told from the third person narration. The final two lines of this chapter are: “And into whatsoever atmosphere of secrecy his own shadow may pass, let all concerned in the secrecy beware! For the watchful Mrs Snagsby is there too — bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh, shadow of his shadow” (416). This passage, taken literally, serves to show that Mrs. Snagsby has witnessed Mr. Snagsby’s interaction with Jo. However, since they are the last lines of the installment, its role should also be considered to the installment as a whole. The mention of shadows here connects back to the shadows at the end of the previous chapter, showing that the narratives of all the characters in Bleak House are all connected in one way or another. The actions of one cannot escape the shadow of another. It also serves as a reminder that there are truly no secrets within the pages of this novel.
Due to the serial nature of Bleak House, it was important for Dickens to think ahead and plan out ways to form connections. As with the other installments, this one sets up events for future installments. Dickens uses the oxymoron of “downward progress” in his working notes next to Richard’s name. This oxymoron is particularly interesting because it suggests that although he is progressing, moving forward, his actions are truly forcing him downward. He is digging himself deeper and deeper into a hole, cementing his fate. Set to the right of “downward progress” in Dickens working notes are the notes “Jarndyce and Jarndyce” and “the army.” It seems unlikely that Dickens would have needed to remind himself of the court case, since it is central to the novel’s plot. Instead their placement suggests that these are what set off Richard’s downward progress, as they ultimately result in his called off engagement and cause a rift between him and Mr. Jarndyce. Esther “observed, with great regard, that from this hour he never was as free and open with Mr. Jarndyce as he had been before” (391-392). Here Esther is looking back on these events while thinking of what will come in the future. The shift in Richard in this installment is a major turning point and will ultimately set the tone for his character the remainder of the novel.
It is clear that Dickens carefully and expertly formed narrative links within the chapters of individual installments of Bleak House, as well as between separate installments and the novel as a whole. In the eighth installment this can be seen through the way Richard is linked to Miss Flite within these chapters, while his link to Gridley only becomes entirely clear in the last installment through their parallel deaths. Dickens further uses devices such as Esther’s foreshadowing to hint at events to come. Although there are no memos in the left-hand side of his working notes for the eighth installment which might offer insight as to what connections he considered making, Dickens has used Richard as the main character from which to draw connections to.