Bleak House - Charles Dickens

 

I have read half a dozen novels by Dickens till now ( David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, Great Expectation, A Tale of Two Cities, A Christmas Carol, Hard Times), but this one has been in my TBR for a long time. When I finally got to reading it with much hope, as some claimed it to be his masterpiece, am afraid that the charm that Dickens has held has started to diminish - due to no fault of his own writing - but due to the passage of time - a 170 years is a long time, and could be unkind to many an artistic creation, especially when the last 40 or so years have brought about so much post-modernistic change. Hence I will try not to touch on the usual traits of Dickens ( long lost relationships being discovered, happy unions of characters, near ideal characters), which makes his writing a little less convincing to us, to whom skepticism is a way of life, but explore few areas worthy of a little elaboration, and which in turn show us the social critic, and the careful observer of the human being. These two aspects clearly show that Dickens still has much to offer to a student of recent history, and humanity.

The Judiciary of 19th century England: 

The one great principle of the English law is, to make business for itself. There is no other principle distinctly, certainly, and consistently maintained through all its narrow turnings. Viewed by this light it becomes a coherent scheme, and not the monstrous maze the laity are apt to think it. Let them but once clearly perceive that its grand principle is to make business for itself at their expense, and surely they will cease to grumble. (quote)

Bleak house is centered on the on the lawsuit of Jarndyce and Jarndyce, and how many litigants have suffered through it, literally destroying them over the years, and ironically how its closure finds that the case has consumed all the wealth that it has disputed over for decades. This, then is a critique of the then British Judicial system, and in that purpose serves well, considering that this was serialised  over twenty parts, besides being published as a book. It is learnt that Dickens himself has suffered in the hands of British law on a suit against plagiarism (1844), where he had to pocket out  700 pounds after winning the case since the plagiarists filed for bankruptcy. He subsequently refused another case against piracy, claiming that "success and defeat are alike fatal to litigants", a stance he amply proves in this work. Such is the class of this author!

The Sexual Innuendos of Esther Summerson:

A point that came across quite prominent in Bleak house is the sexually suggestive relationship between its main narrator, Esther Summerson, and her "love", her "pet", her "darling", Ada. Though platonic as per the narrative, it has all the markings of an obvious lesbian attraction, when such an association was illegal, and even self admittance of such a condition was against the established social order. Thus a hetero-sexual marriage was but a convenient union. Recently I read a Sinhala novel by Kaushalya Kumarasinghe ( one which I truly believe deserves a translation to English - Nimnage Ithihasaya / නිම්නගේ ඉතිහාසය / History of Nimna ), where homosexual tendencies result in making a young lass take cover in the order of the female Buddhist monks. However one of her grand nieces living in the 21st century enjoy sex with both males and females with no hesitation, showcasing the change as it were within a period of 50 or so years. Dickens, a very careful observer of society as many of his novels prove, cannot have been oblivious of the subtle sexual overtures and the suggestive attraction between the two friends, in his chosen narrative. My hunch on this line was further strengthened when searching on the characters of Esther and Ada, revealed papers discussing this matter ( see "Reinforcing the Continuum: Homoerotic Desire in Charles Dickens' Bleak House" by Daniel B. Davis). Even Esther "settling" for the elderly Jarndyce could be an indication of giving in to two eventualities - her post-small pox looks, as well as a "comfortable" probable largely platonic companionship - although she eventually marries the doctor who is in love with her.

A Mistaken Reading: I thought that I may be seeing an early avatar of Hercule Poirot in the character of Inspector Bucket, but the following essay suggest that my suspicion is mistaken ( https://ahsweetmysteryblog.com/2017/01/03/the-first-detectives/ )

In essence, I feel that a fiction of this nature, which focuses a lot on the social conditions of the then times, can best be appreciated by being a little less judgemental from today's perspective, and if one is patient, it may even unearth subtle hints that the author may have concealed over a thin top layer.

Rating: ****1/2
Originally Published in 1852-1853