Bleak House: Key Facts

full title Bleak House

author Charles Dickens

type of work Novel

genre Fiction

language English

time and place written London, 1852–1853

date of first publication First installment of serial, March 1852

publisher Bradbury & Evans, 1853

narrator Esther Summerson and a third-person narrator

point of view In Esther’s sections, the point of view is first person. In the narrator’s sections, the point of view is third person.

tone Satirical, mysterious, compassionate

tense Esther’s sections are in the past tense, as she narrates from a point seven years after the events of the novel take place. The third-person narrator’s sections are in the present tense.

setting (time) Mid-nineteenth century

setting (place) England, primarily Lincolnshire and London

protagonist Esther Summerson

major conflict There are several storylines in Bleak House, each with its own conflict, but the main conflict that joins the storylines together is Tulkinghorn’s investigation into Lady Dedlock’s past.

rising action Lady Dedlock must protect the secret of her past when elements of her past resurface. When Tulkinghorn is murdered, Inspector Bucket must determine who did it.

climax There are several climaxes in the novel. Most significant are Lady Dedlock’s realization that Esther is her daughter in chapter 29 and Mademoiselle Hortense’s arrest in chapter 54.

falling action After Mademoiselle Hortense is arrested, Inspector Bucket explains the path that led him to his dramatic conclusion. After Lady Dedlock is found dead, Sir Leicester carries on in a broken state at Chesney Wold, while Esther describes the happy life she leads at the new Bleak House.

themes The search for love; the importance and danger of passion; the ambiguous definition of mother

motifs Secrets; suicide; children

symbols The east wind; Miss Flite’s birds; Mr. Woodcourt’s flowers

foreshadowing There are many instances of foreshadowing in Esther’s narrative as she looks back on the events after they have already occurred. For example, in chapter 17, Esther says she doesn’t understand why Mr. Jarndyce looks so upset when she calls him “father” and that she wouldn’t understand for “many and many a day.” In chapter 29, the narrator suggests that Lady Dedlock fears Tulkinghorn, which does indeed prove to be the case. In chapter 45, Esther laments—“ah, poor poor fellow!”—when she discusses Richard, foreshadowing his eventual death.

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