BLEAK HOUSE
By: Charles Dickens
 |
| BLEAK HOUSE By: Charles Dickens |
Sir Lester Dedlock, an unemployed and fashionable aristocrat, maintains his ancestral home in the Lincolnshire countryside and also on grounds in London. Mrs. Dedlock, his wife, "still looks pretty" or is nearly 50, but she is proud and cocky. She has a secret unknown even to Sir Lester. When she was little, she gave birth to her lover, Captain Howdon, out of wedlock, a daughter. But what you don't know is that the baby is still alive. The now grown girl was named Esther Summerson from the aunt who raised her.
When the aunt (Miss Barbary) died, they kindly appointed the retired John Jardis to be Esther's guardian. At the time of this writing, Esther is twenty years old and is moving into Mr. Jardis' house, a desolate house (which is cheerful and happy - not gloomy). During the flight she was accompanied by two other wings, Ada Claire and Richard Carston. Ada, Richard, and Mr. Jamdyce are parties to a complex, longstanding, and now-defunct litigation called Jarndyce and Jarndyce. Various aspects of this intertwined lawsuit are brought before the High Court of London from time to time. The topics concern, among other things, the division of inheritance.
At Bleak House, Esther notes that Richard Carston has some character flaws but is still personable; I have made a deep friendship with him and the beautiful Ada. She also noticed that the two young men soon fell in love.
On a "Muddy and Mysterious Back" day, Lady Dedlock looks at the legal documents and becomes curious about the handwriting they contain. She asks Mr. Tulkinghorn, the Dedlock's attorney, if he knows the hand. Tolkienhorn, a corrupt, selfish and intelligent lawyer, does not do so but eventually discovers that the hand is the hand of a certain Nemo. Poor, friendless Nemo lives in a rag and bottle shop owned by the former merchant Croc. Tolkienhorn finds Nemo dead, presumably from an excess of opium. The only person who knew the dead man was Little Joe, a street sweeper. During the investigation, he told Joe Tolkienhorn, "[Nemo] was very nice to me, he was!"
Mrs. Dedlock knows that the handwriting is that of Captain Howdon. So she finds Joe, disguised as his own maid (Miss Hortense), who shows her Haddon's burial place. Always in search of his own good, Tulkinghorn continues to have a keen interest in "Nemo" and pays attention to Mrs. Dedlock. Maid Hortense hates Mrs. Dedlock and helps Tulkinghorn reveal the lady's secret. Tolkienhorn reveals to Mrs. Dedlock that he knows about her child and Captain Howdon.
He promised to keep his knowledge to himself, but later told her that he didn't feel obligated to do so anymore. Mile. Hortense, feeling exploited by Tolkienhorn, turns against him. Shortly after, Tolkienhorn was found shot. Detective Mr. Buckett is in charge of investigating. Suspects include Lady Dedlock and George Ronswell, the son of Dedlock's housekeeper. Mr. Buckett informs Sir Lister of Lady Dedlock's dealings with Tolkienhorn and says she is suspicious. Sir Lister has had a stroke but is quite sympathetic to his wife. Bucket later discovers that the killer is Miss Hortense.
Richard Carston, insolvent, uncertain of his future, indecisive and unsure of himself by nature, devotes a great deal of time and energy to the disputes of the Jarndais and the Jarndais to no avail. He secretly marries Ada Clare once she turns twenty-one. Meanwhile, Esther and young doctor Alan Woodcourt are attracted to each other, but she accepts a marriage proposal from Mr. Jardis. orphan Joe catches smallpox, and Esther and her maid Charlie come to pick her up at his house; Esther survived, but her face was injured. Soon after, I learned that Mrs. Dedlock was his mother.
Out of shame and remorse, Mrs. Dedlock dresses like an ordinary worker and walks away. After a thorough search, Esther and Detective Bucket find her dead in the snow outside the gates of the poor cemetery where Captain Howdon is buried. The Jardins et Jardins case was eventually closed, but legal fees swallowed up all the money Richard Carston had bequeathed. He died and soon after, Ada gave birth to a son, Richard. John Jarndice divorced Esther and she married Alan Woodcourt. They have two daughters and Alan has told his wife that she is "more beautiful than ever".
No comments: