The Evolution of the English Novel Series: Intricacies of Victorian Realism in Charles Dickens's "Bleak House"
Foreword
The novel stands as a lasting testament to human creativity and narrative ingenuity, captivating readers across cultures and eras with its unique blend of accessibility and depth. Its remarkable ability to connect diverse themes and perspectives makes it an essential foundation of literary discourse, transcending temporal and spatial boundaries. The English novel, in particular, serves as a pivotal cornerstone in literary history. Its profound influence reverberates throughout global literature, shaping contemporary literary landscapes in complex and multifaceted ways. This series examines the genesis and evolution of the novel, focusing on its emergence and development within English literature from the 17th to the 19th centuries. Through an interdisciplinary lens, the articles will explore the works of luminaries such as Austen and Dickens, shedding light on the diverse narrative innovations and cultural commentary that define this influential genre.
The series will be structured into six articles:
The Evolution of the English Novel Series: The Rise of the English Novel
The Evolution of the English Novel Series: Intricacies of Victorian Realism in Charles Dickens's "Bleak House"
Introduction
The final instalment of the series on the evolution of the English novel will provide a concise overview of the Victorian novel, primarily championed by Charles Dickens. Dickens's purpose was to reveal the many controversies and contradictions inherent in this historical period through his depictions of a decaying and corrupt London. The article will begin with an analysis of the historical context of Victorian London, focusing on the moral and ethical values of the time. Subsequently, by examining Dickens's novel Bleak House, additional significant themes, particularly the pervasive corruption of the era, will be highlighted.
The Victorian Period
The term "Victorian" was first used by a journalist during the 1851 "Great Exhibition" (Saintsbury, 2005), an event Prince Albert strongly insisted on organising that was held in an impressive iron-and-glass structure intended to display the latest mechanical and technological advances of nineteenth-century Britain. The exhibition also aimed to project the vision of Britain as a globally dominant power at a time when its empire spanned throughout the entire globe. By the early twentieth century, "Victorian" began to signify a particular set of values tied to the era, such as bourgeois respectability, strict moral codes, and sexual restraint, gradually acquiring a negative connotation (David, 2013). The Victorian era (1837–1901) witnessed Britain's rise as the world’s largest empire and a preeminent global power, leading to impressive population growth and accelerated urbanization; by 1845, urban residents outnumbered those in rural areas. Economic prosperity, national security, and political stability characterized the Victorian period, as Britain enjoyed both peace and economic growth that reinforced its political institutions and fostered a sense of security across the nation (David, 2013). Despite this rapid technological advancement, the majority of the population lived in abject poverty, suffering regular shortages of food, and living in unhygienic tenements. These were also the years when the term "hungry forty" was developed, referring specifically to the lack of food and crop scarcity of the time.
The mid-Victorian period is often seen as the fulfilment of British prosperity and power, in a time when Britain's patriotism was at its highest. It began with the 1851 Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, featuring the Crystal Palace, an impressive and technologically advanced building, later destroyed by fire in 1936. This era saw economic and political advancements, including the Reform Bill (Saintsbury, 2005), which extended voting rights to urban workers, signifying a broader shift toward political inclusivity. Confident in its status as a world power, Britain maintained a neutral stance with other European powers, balancing diplomacy with strategic defences to prevent invasions. Its global dominance was largely supported by its supremacy in world trade, expanding the British Empire to include New Zealand, parts of India, and Hong Kong by the mid-1850s. The ethos of this era—summed up in three values: respectability, steadfastness, and earnestness—formed the foundation of bourgeois ethics and broader British society, embodied by Queen Victoria, a monarch whose role was so influential to characterise a whole century. Christianity functioned as both an ideological and social framework, with religion integrated into daily life. The family structure was moderately patriarchal, viewed as a sacred entity and a sanctuary from public life. Victorian ideology distinctly separated the public from the private sphere, assigning women to the domestic realm, where they were idealized as "Angels in the house" (Patmore, 1854).
Dickens: The man who created the Victorian Novel
Born in 1812 in Portsmouth, his early life was marked by hardship, especially when his father’s imprisonment for debt forced young Dickens to work in a blacking factory—a traumatic experience that he would later reflect upon in his novels (Drabble, 1996). He began his professional life as a court stenographer, then transitioned to journalism, where he wrote for various newspapers and founded several literary magazines. In 1834, he became a reporter for The Morning Chronicle, and by 1836, he embarked on his literary career with Sketches by Boz, a collection of vibrant vignettes capturing urban life in the 1830s. In 1837, Dickens published The Pickwick Papers, a work that revived the eighteenth-century tradition of the picaresque novel and showcased his distinctive comedic style. The novel was a resounding success, revealing his keen satirical edge and winning him a vast readership. Dickens’s novels were often serialized, appearing either in instalments in magazines or as individual pamphlets, followed by the release in the popular "three-decker" format, a three-volume set (Drabble, 1997). This serialized approach, which left readers eager for the next instalment, shaped his narrative technique, leading him to craft intricate plots and suspenseful arcs.
Among the countless novels written by Dickens, it is not possible to forget cornerstones of world literature such as Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, or David Copperfield, all of which narrate a grey London made of slums with poor children and starving mothers. In this article, however, references will be made to a more unknown novel, namely Bleak House.
Bleak House: The Double Narration
Bleak House was published in episodic form between 1852 and 1853. The novel centres on a protracted court case involving the Jarndyce family, disputing an inheritance whose Court name is "Jarndyce v. Jarndyce". This case has languished in the Court of Chancery for many years, apparently without resolution. The legal battle forms the core of the novel, however, Dickens is more interested in narrating the whole story from two different points of view. The events surrounding the case and the workings of the Lord Chancellor’s court are narrated by a third-person omniscient narrator. The reader also follows the story of Esther Summerson, a young woman who is the main character of the novel and narrates her story in first person. The novel consists of over 67 chapters, with 33 narrated by Esther, whose perspective adds an intimate and personal dimension to the story and also manages to narrate the aristocratic part of Victorian Society, as the girl belongs to an upper-class circle. The two narrators also differ in style: the third-person narrator employs the present tense, providing a contemporaneous, almost journalistic account of events, while Esther’s first-person narration offers a more reflective, personal tone. Bleak House strongly reflects Dickens’s role as a social commentator and exemplifies the “Condition of England” novel, a genre dedicated to exploring the social issues facing Victorian society.
Esther Summerson is also the most human character present in the story and allows the reader to familiarize and feel compassion toward the events that affect the young woman's life. The girl is an orphan of mysterious parents, raised with little affection and who is ashamed of her origins. Despite her difficult past, Esther has a remarkable greatness of spirit and is compassionate, resilient, and strong, presenting herself as a figure with impeccable ethics. Esther is tested several times by life and her path is deeply shaped by her experience with the smallpox disease, which becomes a crucial moment in her personal development and identity. The disease leaves her with physical scars but also contributes to her inner growth, as she emerges with a clearer understanding of herself and her place in the world.
The notion of infection and illness pervades Bleak House, with Dickens using sickness imagery both physically and symbolically to portray Victorian London's greater societal degradation (Johnson, 1952). In Esther's case, the illness she acquires is more than just a personal experience; it represents the widespread social and moral corruption that affects all levels of society. Dickens utilises the spread of disease to criticise London's living circumstances, implying that the "infection" pervades society and affects even the most different personalities.
The Depiction of Corruption: A Visual Image
As previously mentioned, the Victorian era certainly marked a huge technological and political advancement for England in the century, however from a human point of view there were many contradictions. Dickens frequently decided to highlight in his novels the social problems of nineteenth-century London, beginning with the management of orphans, the treatment of children, pollution, and the slums' hygienic conditions. In this novel, however, Dickens rages against high society, against those who should have carried out responsibility for the administration of justice but instead increasingly undermine Victorian morality. Dickens criticises the governmental structure, particularly the Court of Chancery, for its slowness and corruption.
In Bleak House, Dickens uses the imagery of the economic and physical landscape to convey how quickly the “mud” of corruption and decay settles upon society (Johnson, 1952). In his descriptions, it becomes difficult to distinguish between the narrator’s observations and Dickens’s social commentary, as he merges vivid descriptions of nineteenth-century London with elements that evoke both contemporary and primordial scenes. This interplay stretches the narrative space, contributing to one of Dickens’s distinctive qualities: a surreal, almost grotesque realism. Dickens uses a metaphorical image to convey how corruption thrives in every setting, especially the most affluent, as a means of advancing his social commentary. The most frequent device Dickens uses is anaphora, the deliberate repetition of words, particularly the recurring use of the word “fog.” This compact, pervasive fog seems almost human, insinuating itself into every crevice of the city. It is both literal and symbolic, creeping through every neighbourhood—from the quarters of the Lord Chancellor to the slums of London—suggesting that corruption touches all levels of society. The fog reflects the muddled, opaque workings of the Court of Chancery, symbolizing a confusion so dense that no amount of physical fog can match it (Johnson, 1952). The Court, mired in inefficiency, leaves everyone lost in its bureaucratic machinery, groping blindly.
The narrator’s tone and perspective are unmistakably critical, using atmospheric elements to highlight the absurdities of the legal system. The fog ultimately becomes a symbol of the court itself, enveloping not only the city but all of English society. In Bleak House, Dickens employs a first-person narrative tone filled with sharp invective, particularly in descriptions of the Court of Chancery. This court is depicted as a dark, foreboding place, its entrance shrouded in sinister gloom as if even the powdered wigs are blurred by the pervasive fog that seems to hang thickly around it. The Court, a symbol of corruption and ruin, holds decaying lands and properties in every county—properties seized when their former owners were financially ruined by the endless litigation (Johnson, 1952). Those who come into contact with the Court are often driven to despair or even madness, entrapped by an institution that Dickens portrays as more of a curse than a path to justice...
Dickens uses literary devices like anaphora and metonymy, as well as a manipulation of temporal perspective. By merging the past and present, Dickens stretches the boundaries of realism and gives his writing an uncanny, disorienting effect. This technique allows him to blur the line between literal description and social critique, generating a grotesque, exaggerated world populated by bizarre characters (David, 2013). His characterizations are theatrical, with physical traits exaggerated to underscore each figure’s symbolic role in the broader social and legal critique. The Lord Chancellor, for instance, is not described with precision, but rather through impressions that emphasize his detachment from the people and the justice he is supposed to serve (David, 2013). Lawyers, represented by their wigs rather than their identities, embody the artificiality of the institution they serve. Dickens’s characters often verge on caricature, and this grotesque exaggeration reinforces the absurdity and corruption of the legal system. Through these techniques, the author transforms his descriptions into a satirical indictment of the legal machinery, rendering it an oppressive, almost monstrous force in Victorian society.
Conclusions
One of Dickens' greatest contributions as a writer was being one of the only authors of his day to write about the social problems that plagued society at the time, contradicting England's image as a world power and a wonderfully evolved country. Dickens' writing gives voice to his fellow citizens' troubles, constructing complicated narratives and firmly accepting the position of social writer. Characters such as Esther Summerson in Bleak House manage to impress the reader by leaving him with more than just a moral critique of the time; they are also able to teach and become models from which it is possible to learn today.
Bibliographical References
David, D. (2013). The Cambridge Companion to the Victorian novel. Cambridge University Press.
Dickens, C., & Dickson, H. (2008). Bleak House. Cover To Cover.
Drabble, M. (1996). The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. Oxford University Press, USA.
Fielding, K. (1996). “Bleak House” and Dickens’ Originals: ‘The Romantic Side of Familiar Things.’ Dickens Studies Annual, 24, 119–134. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44372459
Johnson, E. (1952). “Bleak House”: The Anatomy of Society. Nineteenth-Century Fiction, 7(2), 73–89. https://doi.org/10.2307/3044295
Patmore, C. (1854). The angel in the house. John W. Parker and Son.
Saintsbury, G., & Ray. (2005). A Short History of English Literature. Atlantic Publishers & Dist.
Serlen, E. (1976). The Two Worlds of Bleak House. ELH, 43(4), 551–566. https://doi.org/10.2307/2872737
Visual References
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