Bleak House

A quick note for those of you who didn't see Miss T's comment late last week: she provided a link to a very interesting article about dinosaurs in the Victorian age. Dickens' mention of a megalosaurus on the first page of the book makes particular sense, given that dinosaurs were big news just a few years before he began writing Bleak House.

Recently I was thinking how sad it is that I have so little reason to brag about reading War and Peace last year. But this section of Bleak House made me realize that I have another opportunity to do just that. So: Hey, everyone, last year I read War and Peace! And the reason that this is relevant here? The part in chapter 5 where Krook talks about Tom Jarndyce:

"He got into a restless habit of strolling about when the cause was on, or expected, talking to the little shop-keepers, and telling 'em to keep out of Chancery, whatever they did. 'For,' says he, 'it's being ground to bits in a slow mill; it's being roasted at a slow fire; it's being stung to death by single bees; it's being drowned by drops; it's going mad by grains.' He was as near as making away with himself, just where the young lady stands as near could be."

What I love about this passage is how Dickens shows his anger and contempt for the legal system in Britain at the time, but he does it by using the story and character. This is a far better approach than the one Tolstoy used at times in War and Peace, where he'd become so angry at both Napoleon and historians that he'd just stop the book altogether and go on an authorly rant about why they were both horrible. In fact, the book's epilogue is just one long, boring, meandering rant about the false nature of historical writing and opinions.

Good on you, Dickens. You got Tolstoy on this one.

In this set of chapters we have our Jarndyce kin and their angelic chaperone, Esther, finally making their way to Bleak House after that rather disturbing encounter while out exploring London. Seriously, how creepy is that little old lady with her bird cages? And Krook and his crazy shop? If he was alive today, for sure he'd be on Hoarders. It's a bit of a relief to get to Bleak House and find out it's not really bleak at all, with John Jarndyce seemingly Esther's soulmate, at least in terms of refusing to hear and believe good things about themselves.

I have to confess I don't find Mr. Skimpole as delightful as the other residents of Bleak House. I'm not exactly sure why they find his childish ways to endearing, and don't seem to see that he's really a leech. Although John Jarndyce does seem to have an inkling, even if he doesn't want to believe it:

"'He's always in the same scrape. He was born in the same scrape. I verily believe that the announcement in the newspapers when his mother was confined was, 'On Tuesday last, at her residence in Botheration Buildings, Mrs. Skimpole of a son in difficulties.'"

So everything is going swimmingly, and everyone loves everyone else, and the house is beautiful, and surely Ada and Richard will fall in love and live happily ever after. The end.

But this is Dickens, so not quite. I loved chapter 7, the complete switch in tone from delight to brooding and sinister. I loved the house tour with Mrs. Rouncewell, and the discovery of the painting of the current Lady Dedlock, and the oh-so-delicious and scary backstory of the Ghost's Walk. My favorite quote of this chapter: "Mrs. Rouncewell holds this opinion, because she considers that a family of such antiquity and importance has a right to a ghost. She regards a ghost as one of the privileges of the upper classes; a genteel distinction to which the common people have no claim."

This section of chapters also illustrates why Dickens got his readers in such a frenzy. I had a very hard time not continuing on to the next chapter after the Ghost's Walk. But I have the option to do that, if I can't control myself--imagine being a reader in Dickens' day, having to wait weeks between installments with these kinds of cliffhangers!

Is everyone who's reading this got an edition that explains what the Chancery is and how it works? My edition has a nice overview. If you don't have it, let me know, and I'll summarize next week.

A few other things I liked: the Jellybys' cook seen leaving a tavern early in the morning, wiping her mouth, claiming she had just been out to check the time. My edition had a footnote for that, explaining that at the time, Parliament had passed a tax on clocks in households, and also required public establishments to have clocks. The phrase "going to see what o' clock it was" quickly became a euphemism for going out to drink.

What did you think? Next week, chapters 8-10. And now it's time for my favorite Gorey illustration of this section, the discovery of the painting of Lady Dedlock:

Comments

[Girl Detective]

Oh, Bleak House is great fun. I really like just reading a bit at a time, as the whole thing at once would feel too intimidating.

At the end of Chapter 6 "Quite at Home" Esther sadly gives up her hope that John Jarndyce was her father, though I didn't catch what in the chapter convinced her of this. Anyone?

I am laying odds in my head on who I think Esther's parents are. Great fun to speculate.

I too loved the comment about the rich deserving ghosts, and figure the story about the Dedlocks coming to disgrace might just happen. I do feel very sorry for the elder Rouncewell son, who is obviously not appreciated by his stout mama.

[V]

I don't need a Jarndyce to know which way the wind blows. North or east? I have to say, this is the perfect time in the Minnesota weather year to be reading this, because it seems so obsessed on the weather, maybe even more than here in Minnesota.

But the weather sets the scene, and I still think we're in major scene-setting mode, rolling out people and places. And back to the Dedlocks, last seen in Chapter 2, before the years rolled by for Esther's back story.

Chapter 5 seemed the most vividly drawn, perhaps with the crazy shop and lodgings and old woman. But Chapter 7 has some of my favorite lines. Along with the ghost passage, there is this: "It appears to the afflicted Mr. Guppy and his inconsolable friend that there is no end to the Dedlocks, whose family greatness seems to consist of their never having done anything to distinguish themselves for 700 years."

I do not have an annotated version. I do have some supplementary reading bookmarked, but I haven't gotten to it for this reading, mainly aiming to get it read and commented on by today. And soon I'll have to start "36 Arguments for the Existence of God." Although I do have a substantial vacation block to make for much better reading time Nov. 10 to No. 20. But I would appreciate any and all commentaries you and your edition have to offer.

[Heideland]

Have to say I rather enjoy Miss Jellyby's attitude.

[Girl Detective]

H, Isn't Miss Jellyby in many ways like a typical teen girl, sneering at her mother, rejecting her values and being petulant rather than grateful for Esther's kindness?

I loved the title of chapter 4: Telescopic Philanthropy.

V, I have an annotated edition, though I find its footnotes are sometime too obvious and distract me from getting lost in the rich text. Lots of citations of quotes but few things that are actually enlightening. In Ch 5 is says that Dickens worked for a while with blacking bottles as a child, Ch 6: Skimpole is based on an actual person named Leigh Hunt, and Ch 7: a picture being engraved means copied and sold to the public (so Mrs' Dedlock's likeness has not been).

[Miss T]

Well, before I go check the o'clock, I must say that I found Skimpole quite irritating, and I was stunned no one raised any objection to his demand for what was then a very large sum of cash. Why on earth did they all find him so charming?

[Amy Rea]

Girl Detective, I didn't catch what caused Esther to not believe John Jarndyce is her father either. Anyone else?

V, I'll add some notes about the Chancery to my next post. It's really interesting stuff. Or I'm a geek. ;-)

Heideland, you like Miss Jellyby's attitude? Why?

Miss T., totally agree about Skimpole. A child at an adult's age is not at all attractive.

[Heideland]

Amy: I like what Miss Jellyby says on p. 65 [Penguin] - "O! don't talk of duty as a child, Miss Summerson; where's Ma's duty as a parent? All made over to the public and Africa," ... etc. Just appreciate her moxie; calling out the BS. Bet *she* wouldn't suffer the insufferable Skimpole lightly!

[Larry Butler]

Just finished it. This is probably the best novel I've read. How striking is the difference between our attitudes, thoughts and depths of cosideration for one another today as compared to the mid nineteenth century?
Yes, this is a book best consumed in small bites, which is easy to manage because the structure of the prose is so demanding. I read it on my kindle, and kept the dictionary page busy learning words that are out of circulation today. It was fun and I learned a lot! As the book moves along, so does one's enjoyment. I found Esther's narratives to be the heart of the novel. I think I fell in love with her myself....again...great book....one of the greatest novels written...Dickens' best and that's saying a whole lot.

[Amy Rea]

Larry, at the beginning I thought I would tire of Esther, but I'm becoming increasingly attached to her--and worried about her. Glad you enjoyed it! I'm enjoying it a great deal.