Bleak House

[poliphilo]

Bleak House is a tremendous novel. There is, however, a problem. It doesn't have a centre. Or, rather, it doesn't have a satisfactory centre.

John Jarndyce, Esther Summerson, Rick and Ada just aren't interesting enough. The tragedy of Richard Carstone- which ought to be the emotional heart of the book- simply registers as one of its many incidents.

Dickens' decision to write as Esther Summerson is an interesting experiment. Esther's voice is largely convincing- if a little irritating at times- but to make it convincing Dickens has to dumb down.

As if to compensate for the constraints of vocalising Esther, Dickens cuts loose in the sections of omniscient narration. These contain some of the most sustained, the most gorgeous, the most brilliant writing he ever did.

Comments

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

That analogy of Mansfield's is new to me. I like it.

I think Great Expectations is Dickens's best novel- at least in terms of structural coherence etc, but my personal favourite is Little Dorrit- it's just so daaark!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Copperfield was Dickens's own favourite, but it's a much bigger mess than Bleak House. I don't like it nearly as much as the novels that came after it.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Dickens is very good on David's childhood, but, yes, Dora and Agnes- who needs 'em?

I guess it contains one of the strongest galleries of Dickensian grotesques- Betsy Trotwood, Mr Dick, Barkis, the Micawbers, Uriah Heap, etc...etc....

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

But Mr Dick is sublime- right? King Charles's head and all that.....

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

The Murdstones are pretty fearsome.

They ran a TV sitcom recently based on the Micawber family- using Dickens's characters but not his plots or words. What a positively frightful idea! I'm glad to say it sank without trace.

I do think the novel gets ragged and limp towards the end. Plot takes over- and it's a silly, melodramatic plot.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Steerforth is interesting. A bastard, but a glamorous bastard. Dickens had a thing about people who sailed through life on cheap charm and pretensions to gentlemanliness. His work is full of them and they're all swine. The most interesting is Eugene Wrayburn in our Mutual Friend- who is so utterly charming that Dickens relents and allows him to be saved by the love of a good woman.