Bleak House Analysis

If walkways could talk, this one would tell a story about a really angry Dedlock who cursed the family with...the sound of footsteps whenever something is going wrong. Um, yeah, that's not really...

The plot of Bleak House only works in the context of its historical setting (the middle of the 19th century) and its geographical location (London and its 'burbs). So, first things first – let's...

Third Person (Omniscient)Remember how in Tulkinghorn's office, the ceiling is painted with an image of an angry, contemptuous-looking guy pointing his finger down at something? Well, the novel doe...

AutobiographyWell, at least half of Bleak House is autobiography (the Esther half, obviously). Esther tells the story of her childhood, young adulthood, and eventual maturity. Looking back over h...

The tones of the two narrators are complete opposites. The third-person narrator doesn't cut any slack to anyone, is quick to point fingers, and generally sounds like he hates the world he is forc...

In most of his novels, Dickens uses a few repeated tricks and touches. Because his style is so easily identifiable, he's the kind of writer that's called a "stylist" – meaning that the style of...

This title is really heavy, man. It's deep like the ocean, layered like a cake, and allusive like David Blaine. (Well, OK, David Blaine is actually all about illusions and not allusions, but work...

A couple things usually happen at the end of a novel. First of all, if we're reading something traditional, the good people are rewarded for all the nice things they did, and the bad people get lu...

Shmoop won't lie to you. This book definitely needs your full and undivided attention. And maybe even some prep work. First off, you've got the logistics of the thing. It's long. Really long. A...

Lady Dedlock recognizes Nemo's handwriting; Esther becomes Jarndyce's ward.This is how the two main characters start off. One is on her way up, the other on her way down. Will they cross in the m...

Esther grows up completely sheltered and cut off from the rest of the world. To make things even more fun, her crazy psycho of an aunt raises her to believe that she's evil, wicked, and sinful. Fu...

Esther comes to London with her past shrouded in mystery, but her future so bright she's gotta wear shades.Tulkinghorn, Bucket, Guppy, and Smallweed start investigating the connections between Esth...

Dickens was very committed so all sorts of social causes in his life. One of these was cleaning up some of London's most horrible slums and financing housing projects for the poor. Of course, this...

In a novel so concerned with the birth of an illegitimate child (which, after all, means some kind of sex happened somewhere), there's not too much hot and heavy action to speak of. In fact, Bleak...

Shakespeare, Othello (2)Shakespeare, Hamlet (2)Thomas Moore, "The Young May Moon" (6)"Goosey Goosey Gander" nursery rhyme (7)Leigh Hunt, A Jar of Honey (8)Shakespeare, Macbeth (8)Old Mother H...