Bleak House ch. 01-03

Dear J-

The experiment is under way; I’ll try to update at least twice a week (Tuesdays and Fridays) on my progress through Bleak House.  Right now there’s not much to say — I’d better start reading at friendlier times of the day if I hope to plow through all LXVII chapters — that works out to better than two chapters a day, and here I am only having completed

1. In Chancery
2. In Fashion
3. A Progress

Progress:  4%

So far, the book’s been setting the stage; the first chapter speaks of a court of chancery, which is, according to Wiktionary, a court administering cases of rights; we learn here about the mysterious Jarndyce and Jarndyce, whose case has apparently become so complex and far-reaching that it’s affected everyone who’s crossed the court, and no one person has a complete picture of its effects.  Family relations are bandied about, but the mystery isn’t resolved; who are the boy and girl, and why do they require adjudication in being able to live with their distant cousin, the Jarndyce?

The omniscient narrator shifts focus to Lord and Lady Dedlock; the husband perfectly aristocratic, and the wife, having already climbed to the top of her small social circle, finding the lack of challenges an interminable bore.  Surely there is some link, then?  Perhaps Lady Dedlock has some blood claim on the Jarndyce name — now linked to a John Jarndyce — but the mystery continues to develop with limited exposition in the second chapter.

Finally (for me), the third chapter relates the tale of the orphaned Esther Summerson, unwanted and unloved until the Jarndyces arrange for her education as a governess; the graduation, if you will, occurs with her taking on two orphaned companions of her own, at the Jarndyces’ request, Ada Clare and Richard Carstone — these, undoubtedly, are the two mentioned in the first chapter.

I write the summary not from lack of inspiration, but partly out of intimidation — it’s Dickens! — and partly so I can remember the names and links.  There are a few things that the 150-odd intervening years have obscured with a shift in culture (governesses, chancery, and young companions — quaint), yet I’m surprised by how modern the dialogue is, and how vivid the picture is painted through their conversations (the first chapter features a mush-mouthed lawyer; the second, Lord Dedlock; and the third, Miss Esther) — while I find the settings well-executed, it’s Dickens’ ear for natural dialogue that sells the story so far — would you guess that this woman wasn’t quite all there from the description (“a curious little old woman in a squeezed bonnet and carrying a reticule”) or her own words?

“I had youth and hope.  I believe, beauty.  It matters very little now.  Neither of the three served or saved me.  I have the honour to attend court regularly.  With my documents.  I expect a judgment.  Shortly.  On the Day of Judgment.  I have discovered that the sixth seal mentioned in the Revelations is the Great Seal.  It has been open a long time!  Pray accept my blessing.”

The words are precisely clipped; the individual sentences make sense alone, but together, they come out jarring and unnatural.  As long as I can make it through the exposition, I’m looking forward to hearing more Victorian England come alive in my ear.

Mike

Tags: bleak house, dickens, nanoremo