Study Questions & Essay Topics
Study Questions
1. Discuss the role of women in
Bleak
House, particularly their roles within their marriages.
2. How do the two narrators work together
to tell the story of
Bleak House?
3. Describe the role of servants in the
story of
Bleak House.
Suggested Essay Topics
1. Is Esther responsible for Mr. Boythorn's unhappy
life? Why or why not?
2. Choose three instances of foreshadowing in Esther's
narrative and explain the importance of each.
3. Does the Jarndyce and Jarndyce lawsuit serve as an
allegory? Explain.
4. Explain the role of three characters who appear only
briefly in the novel.
5. Lawyers and the law appear throughout Bleak
House. Drawing from specific examples in the novel, evaluate Dickens'
view of the legal system of his time.
6. Throughout Bleak House, mothers
and motherhood are common motifs. Various characters search and
yearn for their mothers, and women often act as surrogate mothers
when necessary. Explain the role of fathers and fatherhood in the novel.
7. What is the significance of the legend of the Ghost's
Walk? What role does it play in the novel?
8. How does Dickens develop character in Bleak
House? Support your theories by referring to specific characters
from the novel.
