Charles Dickens’ Bleak House is a rich compilation of subplots that intricately interweave and interact with the overarching judicial satire story of Jarndyce and Jarndyce. As each of the subplots develop their respective characters and story lines, the Jarndyce and Jarndyce plot remains central but loses some of its potency as the dominant plot driver. Of the various subplots, the one concerning the murder of Tulkinghorn, the flight of Lady Dedlock, and more importantly the detective, Mr. Bucket, becomes one of the most controlling plots in Bleak House. Mr. Bucket’s plot line becomes so commanding and important in Bleak House that Installment XVII cements the novel’s incorporation of detective fiction and crime genre into the novel and is crucial is driving the events of the novel, based specifically on Mr. Bucket’s apprehension of Mademoiselle Hortense as Tulkinghorn’s murderer and his tracking of Lady Dedlock. Dickens’ working notes for Installment XVII contain an intentional and crucial record of the installment’s preoccupation with detective fiction, in addition highlighting key events that are important in furthering the novel to its conclusion.
Installment XVII contains three chapters which are titled, “Springing a Mine,” “Flight,” and “Pursuit,” and each is narrated by the omniscient third person narrator. “Springing a Mine” is the chapter in which Mr. Bucket explains the possible motives for Tulkinghorn’s murder to Sir Leicester Dedlock, necessarily having to explain Lady Dedlock’s involvement. Later, Mr. Bucket apprehends Mademoiselle Hortense for the murder of Tulkinghorn, and explains exactly how he learned that she committed the crime, a key component to the novel’s genesis of detective fiction. “Flight” most importantly sees Mrs. Rouncewell and Mr. Guppy each inform Lady Dedlock of the growing knowledge of her involvement with Captain Hawdon and Tulkinghorn’s murder, which directly lead to her fleeing Bleak House. “Pursuit” details the search for Esther Summerson and then Lady Dedlock by Mr. Bucket on the call of Sir Leicester, who has been incapacitated due to a stroke suffered in “Springing a Mine.” “Springing a Mine” and “Pursuit” are most important in providing the combination of Mr. Bucket detailing how he solved the murder of Tulkinghorn and his search for Esther and Lady Dedlock, which are crucial to the detective fiction genre emergence in Bleak House, as they exemplify the importance of detective work in forwarding the plot of the novel.
“Springing a Mine” is fundamentally important to Bleak House as a whole because it completes one major plot line, as it solves the murder of Tulkinghorn through the detective work of Mr. Bucket. In Dickens’ working notes for “Springing a Mine,” there is a note that reads “all in Bucket’s hands.” This note suggests that great responsibility rests with Mr. Bucket because, at present, he is the only one with all the information concerning Tulkinghorn’s murder. While Mr. Bucket has been present earlier in the novel, this chapter is arguably his first moment with total control of the novel’s plot progression. That same note is in close spatial relation to two other notes, which concern Mr. Bucket’s apprehension of the murderer, Mademoiselle Hortense, and her motivations, as well as how he discovered she did it. For “Springing a Mine,” there are only two other working notes by Dickens, and both simply concern the characters present in the chapter. The overwhelming presence of detective work and crime drama in Dickens’ working notes for this chapter, demonstrates Dickens’ clear intention to shift the focus of the novel into this genre.
Dickens’ working notes give Mr. Bucket a newfound agency to guide the plot of Bleak House into a crime fiction genre through his detective work, and the actual text of the chapter fleshes out that agency. The first hint of his detective work, comes from Mr. Bucket explaining to Sir Leicester how he employed Jo to identify the dress of Mademoiselle Hortense as the one worn in disguise by Lady Dedlock when she wanted to see Captain Hawdon’s living space and grave (Dickens 820). Mr. Bucket demonstrates his cunning and apt detective work, to establish his own ethos for the larger and more important revelation of the murderer of Tulkinghorn. It is necessary for Mr. Bucket to assert his skills as a detective, because before he discloses the evidence against Mademoiselle Hortense, he describes the trap he laid to catch her as “such a ventur as I never made yet” (833). By casting suspicion onto Mr. George and having Mrs. Bucket as a spy, Mr. Bucket obtains incriminating evidence against Mademoiselle Hortense, specifically that she was the one writing the letters accusing Lady Dedlock of the murder of Tulkinghorn (834-35). Mr. Bucket’s elaborate and organized plan brings a conclusion to the plot concerning the murder of Tulkinghorn, a major set of events in the novel given Lady Dedlock’s involvement, and introduces the common crime genre trope to Bleak House of the investigator laying out all the facts for characters and audiences benefit alike, signaling the novel’s shift into crime fiction.
“Pursuit” incorporates more detective work by Mr. Bucket that furthers the novel’s evolution into the crime fiction genre, while making a significant development in the novel’s overall plot as Mr. Bucket begins the search for Lady Dedlock. The working notes for “Pursuit” show clear intention by Dickens to speed up the plot, with two notes which seem to be less involved with the content of the plot and more concerned with the pace of the story. The rapid increase of pace in the story centers around Mr. Bucket, as the incapacitated Sir Leicester commands him to find Lady Dedlock quickly in the fear that she is grave danger. The quickness of pace coincides with Mr. Bucket relying on his detective skills to find Lady Dedlock, and this is reflected in Dickens’ working notes with the mention of one critical piece of evidence, Esther’s handkerchief in Lady Dedlock’s room. Another note by Dickens is underlined, suggesting its importance, and demands that Mr. Bucket take Esther with him in his search for Lady Dedlock. This note is crucial because “Pursuit” is narrated by the third person omniscient narrator, which thus far has been independent of Esther. Dickens’ clear decision in this note to incorporate Esther into this narration suggests that the shift to the detective fiction genre and centering around Mr. Bucket is so important in Bleak House that it must permeate into both narrative structures in the story.
The main action in “Pursuit” is Mr. Bucket’s quick paced journey to find both Esther and Lady Dedlock, and this action is crucial in the later developments of the novel concerning Lady Dedlock. After Mr. Bucket leaves Sir Leicester to look for clues to Lady Dedlock’s whereabouts, he finds Esther’s handkerchief in Lady Dedlock’s room (861). Mr. Bucket’s ability to connect Esther to Mr. George’s Shooting Gallery and find her address there from Mr. George points to excellent detective work by Mr. Bucket (861-62). Mr. Bucket’s discovery of Esther’s handkerchief to his arrival at Jarndyce’s doorstep occur in less than two pages, clearly showing that Dickens is speeding up the pace of the novel. The pace seems to get even quicker as Mr. Bucket communicates to Esther the danger that he believes Lady Dedlock is in (863). Interestingly, after Esther agrees to go with Mr. Bucket, the chapter’s pace grinds to a halt and transitions to a description of the lone figure of Lady Dedlock exposed to the elements. The ever-present danger that Lady Dedlock is in, coupled with the quick paced pursuit by Mr. Bucket and Esther is reminiscent of the modern-day crime fiction genre pursuit trope, in which investigative forces are pitted against time and tasked with finding someone else. An important consideration for the transition of the novel to the crime fiction genre is that the first chapter of the next installment involves Mr. Bucket and Esther engaging in investigative tactics at a police station and involving other officers, arguably completing the novel’s genre transition. Mr. Bucket’s deductive work and the incorporation of Esther into the crime fiction genre transition demonstrate the seriousness of this chapter for the entirety of Bleak House, as Lady Dedlock’s death follows shortly after.
Installment XVII concludes the plot that surrounds Tulkinghorn’s murder with the apprehension of Mademoiselle Hortense and frames the beginning of the plot line that focuses on Lady Dedlock’s suicide, making the installment critical in the grand scheme of the novel. The crucial nature of this installment finds itself surrounded in the detective work of Mr. Bucket, creating a genre transition that appears intentional based on Charles Dickens’ working notes. While this installment of the novel could be examined for wide ranging implications of modern-day crime fiction, perhaps a more crucial examination arises in the function of narrative pace in that same genre. Narration and narrative structure are fundamentally important in Bleak House and the way in which the pacing varies in coincidence with the introduction of the crime fiction genre may provide more critical insight into the narration pace of modern-day crime fiction.