Study Guide
Bleak House Chapter 42
By Charles Dickens
Advertisement - Guide continues below
Chapter 42
In Mr. Tulkinghorn's Chambers
- (Third-person narrator still going.)
- Tulkinghorn leaves Chesney Wold and goes back to his office in London.
- There he finds Snagsby, who is all worried and flummoxed and generally in a state of confusion and bewilderment.
- He tells Tulkinghorn that Hortense has been lurking around the neighborhood. Somehow she got Snagsby's name and now she's constantly coming into his shop. This is unpleasant in and of itself, but even more so because of Mrs. Snagsby's suspicions and jealousy.
- Tulkinghorn tells Snagsby to send Hortense to him next time he sees her and promises to get rid of her.
- What do you know – she comes to the office five minutes later.
- She is totally furious – like, teeth-gnashingly so. It's hard to know what she's so angry about, but mostly it seems to be because Tulkinghorn never found her a job.
- She promises that if he does, she'll do whatever he wants to bring Lady Dedlock down.
- Tulkinghorn is feeling just a little threatened by her, but mostly he's upset that she even knows that he wants to bring Lady Dedlock down in the first place.
- He tells her to go away.
- Then he threatens to have her locked up in jail, saying she won't be able to get out for a long, long time.
- She threatens him back again, but not with anything specific (she just comes off as a little bit psycho). She's so mad that she just repeats whatever he says back to him in an angry voice. It's like a really nasty game of "I know you are, but what am I?"
- Finally she leaves, and he has a glass of wine.
Bleak House Chapter 42 Study Group
Ask questions, get answers, and discuss with others.
Tired of ads?
Join today and never see them again.
More on Bleak House
Navigation
- Introduction
-
Summary
- Preface
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 14
- Chapter 15
- Chapter 16
- Chapter 17
- Chapter 18
- Chapter 19
- Chapter 20
- Chapter 21
- Chapter 22
- Chapter 23
- Chapter 24
- Chapter 25
- Chapter 26
- Chapter 27
- Chapter 28
- Chapter 29
- Chapter 30
- Chapter 31
- Chapter 32
- Chapter 33
- Chapter 34
- Chapter 35
- Chapter 36
- Chapter 37
- Chapter 38
- Chapter 39
- Chapter 40
- Chapter 41
- Chapter 42
- Chapter 43
- Chapter 44
- Chapter 45
- Chapter 46
- Chapter 47
- Chapter 48
- Chapter 49
- Chapter 50
- Chapter 51
- Chapter 52
- Chapter 53
- Chapter 54
- Chapter 55
- Chapter 56
- Chapter 57
- Chapter 58
- Chapter 59
- Chapter 60
- Chapter 61
- Chapter 62
- Chapter 63
- Chapter 64
- Chapter 65
- Chapter 66
- Chapter 67
- Themes
- Characters
- Analysis
- Quotes
- Premium