Category Archives: NC State

Installment five of Bleak House, published in July of 1852, spans chapters fourteen through sixteen of the Charles Dickens novel.  After Richard leaves to begin studying medicine under Mr. Badger, readers are introduced to Caddy Jellyby’s secret fiancé Prince Turveydrop.  Discussion of Prince’s father, old Mr. Turveydrop, dominates this portion of chapter fourteen and the man’s defining attribute – his Deportment – gives the chapter its name.  Ada, Esther, and Mr. Jarndyce’s visit to Miss Flite’s house follows, during which Miss Flite explains that Mr. Kenge has been sending her money every week, a sum which she believes the Lord Chancellor is forwarding.  In this same visit, Mr. Woodcourt is more fully introduced after namelessly appearing in previous chapters and Krook reveals that he is attempting to teach himself to read and write. Chapter fifteen, “Bell Yard,” centers on Skimpole’s dead debt collector (called either “Neckett” or “Coavinses”) and the Neckett family.  After Skimpole laughingly tells Ada, Esther, and Jarndyce of the man’s death, the four of them go to his home and find that his thirteen-year-old daughter Charley has been working alone to take care of her two younger siblings. Mr. Gridley, the family’s downstairs neighbor, then talks at length about his frustrations with the court.  “Tom-all-Alone’s,” the installment’s final chapter, briefly discusses Sir Leicester’s contraction of gout (which has historically plagued the Dedlocks) and focuses mainly on Lady Dedlock’s (who is unidentified at this point) inquiries into Nemo’s death and the disposal of his remains, assisted by Jo.

This installment, like the novel as a whole, is heavily concerned with class and how characters navigate that system.  The travels of Ada, Esther, and Jarndyce throughout chapters fourteen and fifteen say very little directly about them as characters but instead use them as observers of the world’s inhabitants, whose varying demeanors and places of residence mark them with corresponding class distinctions.  As old Mr. Turveydrop’s Deportment stands in contrast to Mr. Gridley’s self-described impoliteness in the installment’s first two chapters, so does Chesney Wold stand as a staple of the affluent Dedlock estate in contrast to the dilapidated conditions of Tom-all-Alone’s, which Lady Dedlock ventures into in the installment’s final chapter.  However, although the people and places which the novel’s main characters encounter take center stage in this installment, other characters (including the novel’s main characters) are still being explored via their relationships to those seen here. Issues of labor and space are central in examining characters in this context.

When Skimpole, after seeing the home and family of Coavinses, exclaims “I was the great patron of Coavinses, and his little comforts were my work” (254, “work” emphasis mine, “my” original), it should alert readers to the strangeness of Skimpole’s understanding of labor.  Having heard Skimpole happily declare his aversion to genuine work in previous chapters, we see him here taking credit for “enabling” Neckett to raise his children.  This is, of course, ridiculous. Yet, even in cases that are seemingly more normal, Dickens is regularly writing in Bleak House about characters who are rarely in danger of facing material hardship should they not labor.  Mr. Gridley, speaking to Mr. Jarndyce about their differing court cases (Jarndyce’s involving thousands of pounds, Gridley’s involving hundreds), asks “Is mine less hard to bear, or is it harder to bear, when my whole living was in it, and has been thus shamefully sucked away?” (251).  Do we ever see the main characters face similar stakes? Richard’s career indecision – among the most important plot issues in the installments surrounding this one – provides an illustrative example.  

Richard contemplates pursuing medicine, law-work, and spends a brief period in the army before eventually becoming engrossed in Jarndyce and Jarndyce.  There does seem to be some concern about finances for him, especially when others address the foolishness of Richard’s faith that the Jarndyce and Jarndyce suit will make Ada and him rich, however, the more urgent concern during this section of the book seems to be what his lack of passion for any career says about Richard’s character, as Mr. Jarndyce worries.  The performance of labor is not important to Richard because his circumstances demand him to work but because duty is framed as socially favorable and personally enriching. Similarly, it is significant that Richard finally devotes himself to Jarndyce and Jarndyce, a case that has failed to produce anything for years, but one that has also kept many working.  The issue of this work producing nothing and having little direct benefit for others muddles the validity and righteousness of any supposed duties and instead marks the work as more self-serving. Like the mental gymnastics that Mr. Skimpole performs to assert his role in raising Neckett’s children, the manufacture of labor and its appearance seems just as important as any work completed or not completed.

This is certainly the case with Mrs. Jellyby and Mrs. Pardiggle, both of whom spending most of their time doing work that is superficially humanitarian.  When Mr. Kenge explains that Mrs. Jellyby is “devoted to the subject of Africa; with a view to the general cultivation of the coffee berry – and the natives – and the happy settlement… of our superabundant home population” (49, emphasis original), it is impossible not to notice that she’s involved in the British colonialist project that had crafted narratives such as “the white man’s burden,” which donned the appearance of duty but belied the project’s main goals of imperialist expansion.  Likewise, Mrs. Pardiggle declares her fondness of work when she visits the brickmaker’s house in chapter eight, but the brickmaker petitions her, “I wants a end of these liberties took with my place” (132), highlighting the falseness of her supposedly altruistic work.

The importance of appearance makes these characters comparable to those who carry the patina of old money.  Old Mr. Turveydrop’s Deportment is specifically oriented around his inaction; he “did nothing whatever, but stand before the fire, a model of Deportment” (226).  Equally inactive are Chesney Wold and the Dedlock family shelters, as the Dedlocks’ “greatness seems to consist in their never having done anything to distinguish themselves, for seven hundred years” (110).  Notably, both the Dedlocks and Turveydrop are threatened by a “levelling.” The Dedlock family gout confronts them with “the levelling process of dying” (255) and Turveydrop says that “a levelling age is not favourable to Deportment” (228).

However the affluence of these characters is manifested, readers are repeatedly confronted with the separation between them and the novel’s poor.  Beyond some of the examples already discussed within the novel’s events, this separation is also created in their narration. The book’s omniscient narrator ponders how “It must be a strange state to be like Jo” (257).  Where the Esther and those around her seem like class tourists of sorts, the omniscient narrator is the same in the virtual travels of their watching eye. The role that space plays in establishing class in Bleak House is undeniable.  Esther’s experiences at both the brickmaker’s house and at Neckett’s support this.  While at the brickmaker’s, Esther describes an imaginary “iron barrier” (133) between herself and the family.  Meanwhile, though much of what Mr. Gridley says in his monologue during the Bell Yard visit could speak to this issue, his explanation of how he has “lost the habit of treading upon velvet” and that this marks him as an outsider to the Court of Chancery are illustrative of how the places people exist in further ingrain class distinctions.  For a character like Mr. Skimpole, who has no money of his own but is always around people who can pay his debts, we can see just how much a character’s surroundings can determine their social standing.

Although the novel may paint such a vivid picture of the operations of class within its world, it is nevertheless difficult to parse out how sympathetic Dickens and his writing actually are to the poor characters in the novel.  When Esther says that “what the poor are to the poor is little known, excepting to themselves and GOD” (135), is this simply bringing attention to Esther’s subjectivity or is it Dickens conceding a gap in the scope of his otherwise sprawling novel?  Even if it is the latter, does the rest of the book forgive this gap?

There are definitely portions of the book that would make this forgiveness difficult to grant.  For example, if we take Mrs. Jellyby to be a satire of British colonialism, then a late note about the “King of Borrioboola wanting to sell everybody… for rum” (987) seems like a cheap joke that tries to play both sides.  And what of the helpless attitude of pity that the book’s narrators adopt when examining the most awful of circumstances, such as when the omniscient narrator laments the way the deteriorated of Tom-all-Alone’s molds those living there and yet fatalistically compares Jo’s prospects to those of animals (259)?  In his monologue about his frustrations with the court, Mr. Gridley positions himself as the victim of either individuals or the system, venting about this confusing dialectic (251). Perhaps Dickens locates his answer to these issues in individuals, mocking many throughout the novel, and eventually ending it with the romantic pairing of Esther and Woodcourt, both of whom we see care for the weak and helpless.  Yet Bleak House is also about systems, the specificity of this assemblage of individuals.  Muddled in Dickens’ conclusions is the system and, in turn, also those stuck within it.

Emily Messer
ENG 491
Bleak House Installment Eleven
02/02/2020
Bleak House Installment Eleven and its Thematic Relevance

Installment eleven of Bleak House by Charles Dickens begins with chapter thirty-three and ends with chapter thirty-five of forty-eight chapters total. There are twenty installments which were released monthly, making Bleak House an almost two-year endeavor. Situated between a case of spontaneous combustion in installment ten and Esther learning the true identity of her mother in installment twelve, installment eleven runs along a track of eventful and emotion packed installments, just after the middle of the novel. Though it does occur more than halfway through the story, a few of the events in installment eleven set up the later events of the novel, all the way up until the ending. Esther’s illness and recovery, which is the driving force of chapter 35, influence multiple plotlines that lie at the heart Bleak House. Similarly, the confession of love for Mr. Woodcourt, which also takes place at the close of chapter 35, is integral to the ending of Bleak House and its emotional weight.

Installment eleven begins with the omniscient narrator describing the court directly after Krooks dies of spontaneous combustion. We learn that Krooks was Mrs. Smallweed’s brother, and therefore the Smallweeds want to inherit Krook’s belongings. We remember that Krooks had a stack of Nemo’s letters and wonder if any may have survived. We also meet the Bagnet family and their learn connection to George Rouncewell while Mr. Tulkhinghorn attempts to collect Mr. George’s debt. Then we switch back to Esther’s narrative, where we learn of her illness and her recovery with resulting scars, her absence from Ada, and an admission of her love for Mr. Woodcourt. Esther writes, “And now I must part with a little secret I have thus far tried to keep. I had thought, sometimes, that Mr. Wood Court loved me; and that if he had been richer, he would perhaps have told me that he loved me, before he went away. I had thought, sometimes, that if he had done so, I should have been glad of it,“ (pg. 570).

The illness that Esther has contacted, which is decidedly smallpox, was passed down from Jo, to Charley, to her. We learn of all three of these illnesses in installment number ten, and their significance and thematic importance comes to light in installment eleven. Jo, who is poor and resides in Tom All Alone’s, a very impoverished and dirty neighborhood in London, gets the disease first. Then Charley, who is still a poor girl and one of the lower-class characters in Bleak House contracts it from caring for Jo. Then, Esther falls ill after caring for both Jo and Charley. From this, there are two thematic takeaways. First, there is the infection of disease moving its way up the social class but ends with the class just below Ada: people whose perceived birth is low ranking. The disease is not allowed to continue spreading into the upper classed members of the character list. This could be read as a social critique of the idea of birth ranks, calling out how lower classed members of society are seen as a kind of self-contained infection. Secondly, this could fit into the novel’s larger conception of charity. Esther and Charley care for Jo out of compassion: a kind of charity. However, this charitable act winds up giving them smallpox. Similar to the portrayal of Mrs. Jellyby’s neglect at the hands of charity and Mr. Jarndyce’s inability to recognize thanks for his charity, the contraction of disease as a result of charity might be another way Dickens conveys that there is no good or pure form of charity – at least not without consequence. In regard to the effects of her illness, Esther writes “I had heard my Ada crying at the door day and night I had heard her calling to me that I was cruel and did not love her… But I had only said when I could speak, ‘Never my sweet girl never!’ And I had over and over again reminded Charley that she was to keep my darling from the room whether I lived or died. Charley had been true to me in that time of need, and with her little hand and her great heart had kept the door fast,” (pg. 556).

Beyond the illness itself, the scars that result from the illness do quite a bit of work for the overall plot going forward from installment eleven. In installment twelve, Lady Dedlock reveals to Esther that she is, in fact, her mother. However, no kind of mother-daughter relationship results from that conversation. This could, in part, be explained by Esther’s complete facial change from the scarring that comes from the illness. Esther’s familiarity to Lady Dedlock is tainted by the scarring, and therefore the scarring becomes a symbol for the years of separation and emotional trauma (especially Esther but also somewhat Lady Dedlock as well) endured. Esther’s scars also inform her decision to accept the proposal made to her by Jarndyce in installment number fourteen, for marriage. Esther believes that her beauty has completely left her as a result of the scarring, and when Jarndyce proposes to her, she feels as though that may be her only chance at marriage. Yes, Esther loves Jarndyce almost like a father, but we have never had any inkling that she is romantically interested in Jarndyce. Therefore, when Jarndyce gives Esther a letter asking her to be his wife, we almost expect, or perhaps wish Esther to say something like, “No! I’m a young and beautiful woman and should not give away a chance at a fulfilling relationship to be the pet of an old man!” However, Esther does not think she is beautiful anymore, not after the scars. When speaking of her scars, Esther writes, “I have thought of this very often. I was now certain of it. I could thank God that it was not a shock to me now. I called Charley back; and when she came – at first pretending to smile, but as she drew nearer to me looking grieved – I took her in my arms and said, ‘it matters very little Charley I hope I can do without my old face very well,’” (pg. 558).

Another revelation that comes with installment eleven is the admission of love between Allan Woodcourt and Esther. This has been heavily hinted at, but never outright said until this point. We have already had hurdles to a respective relationship introduced earlier in the novel, such as Mrs. Woodcourt’s assertion that Allan should not marry a woman who is not of good birth. This, of course, would not apply to Esther after she learns that she is a Deadlock, but at the time is a clear threat. There is also Mr. Woodcourt’s prolonged absence from Bleak House at the hands of his work as a physician. However, none of the other threats seem as concrete and final as the threat that Woodcourt simply could not be with Esther after she has lost her beauty. This thought leaves the reader with a sadness, which is a perfect setup for the close of the novel where Jarndyce releases Esther from her betrothment and allows her to marry Woodcourt. The emotional weight of learning that Esther, a beloved narrator, can finally be happy with a man she could truly love as a husband is only possible through the many chapters of concealment which lead to the admission at the end of instalment eleven along with the seemingly assured end of any hope with the dramatic change in Esther’s appearance. In reference to how her change in appearance will affect a potential relationship with Woodcourt, Esther writes, “What should I have suffered, if I had had to write to him, and tell him that the poor face he had known as mine was quite gone for me, and then I freely released him from his bondage to one and he had never seen!” (pg. 570).

Thematically, the illness and scarring work together to draw parallels between infection and poverty, charity and consequences, emotional scars and physical markings, and loss of beauty and strength of love. The preceding events of the installment, such as the introduction of the Bagnet family and the Smallweed’s connection to Krooks have their importance in the plot of the novel, but the larger thematic overtones of those sections pale in comparison to the importance of the illness. While the illness does first appear in an earlier installment, the resulting scarring and connection to the romance between Woodcourt and Esther does not appear until installment eleven, making this thematic and symbolic groundwork anchored in the eleventh installment.