'Full seven happy years I have been the mistress of Bleak House. The few words that I have to add to what I have written, are soon penned; then I, and the unknown friend to whom I write, will part for ever.'
Dear Book Club Readers -- I hope you've been enjoying the festive spirit, doing something special around this time, and managing to get a nice bit of reading in. Today we're discussing the breathtaking climax of Bleak House by Charles Dickens.
We’re talking about storytelling as moral impulse, good vs bad influences, death, rebirth, forgiveness, reunion, the novel's many genres, reading for self-knowledge, character development, meaning in life, and much more.
Timestamps:
0:00 my personal love of Bleak House
4:00 three grand motifs of the novel
6:00 disease, influence, and society
8:00 Charles Dickens’ characterisation
10:00 we are the people in our lives
12:00 the tragedy of Richard Carstone
14:00 how to be a good influence
16:00 darkness on Tom-All-Alones
18:00 Dickens on theory vs practice
20:00 storytelling as moral impulse
24:00 the blessing of escapist fiction
26:00 Mr Woodcourt in the slums
28:00 death of the street-sweeper Jo
30:00 the many meanings of will
32:00 why must the good suffer?
34:00 acting just in an unjust world
36:00 bleak Malthusian philosophy
38:00 upper class fear of contagion
40:00 ‘the Incarnation of Selfishness’
42:00 ‘people are dying every day’
44:00 the forms of death in this novel
46:00 the many genres of Bleak House
48:00 the rise of the bildungsroman
50:00 reading to better know ourselves
52:00 childhood & nature vs society
54:00 rise of the industrial revolution
58:00 how Dickens gives us all of life
1:00:00 romance vs realism in novels
1:02:00 statistical analysis of orphans
1:04:00 Esther becomes fairy godmother
1:06:00 you get a chance to live again
1:08:00 Mr Vholes vs Mr Woodcourt
1:10:00 how worry changes us forever
1:12:00 Ada & Richard’s marriage
1:14:00 the murder of Tulkinghorn
1:18:00 Tulkinghorn becomes Nemo
1:20:00 Bleak House as early whodunit
1:22:00 Inspector Bucket arrests George
1:24:00 why George refuses a lawyer
1:26:00 mistaken beliefs about justice
1:28:00 Charles Dickens on prison reform
1:30:00 injustice of the justice system
1:32:00 reunion, rebirth & forgiveness
1:34:00 the self-made vs self-unmade
1:36:00 ‘even in Death he pursues her’
1:38:00 the forgiveness of Sir Leicester
1:40:00 Mrs Bucket cracks the case
1:42:00 inspiration for Madame Hortense
1:44:00 Bucket as kind face of justice
1:46:00 the search for Lady Dedlock
1:48:00 can we wipe the slate clean?
1:50:00 how to spot a social parasite
1:52:00 Lady Dedlock at Hawdon’s grave
1:54:00 Ada reveals that she is pregnant
1:56:00 restoring our parents through us
1:58:00 Mr Woodcourt declares his love
2:00:00 Jarndyce & Jarndyce burns out
2:02:00 Esther as mistress of Bleak House
2:04:00 the death of Richard Carstone
2:06:00 appreciating the happy ending
2:10:00 your thoughts on Bleak House?
Resources & Exercises:
Adaptations: We have already recommended some great film and television adaptations of this phenomenal novel, but, if you haven't watched any yet, I would love to take another moment to encourage you to do so. Reward yourself for finishing this sprawling work by treating yourself to a private screening of a great adaptation. My go-to recommendation is Andrew Davies' 2005 BBC adaptation. Having enjoyed this adaptation a couple of times, I'm now excitedly seeking out the 1985 adaptation from Masterpiece Theatre. If you fancy going far back in cinema history, you might find this 1922 silent film adaptation of the novel interesting. Radio lovers may also enjoy this five-part production of the story from 1998 starring Anton Lesser.
Christmas Stories: Did you get a moment to reread the classic festive story that is A Christmas Carol again this year? Did you watch any film adaptations? Did you read or watch any other festive works? If you're well acquainted with the story and would like some alternative options for festive reading, Dickens has many more great Christmas stories. The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth, The Battle of Life, and The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain all make for excellent options to explore.
Complementary: Meaning arises from juxtaposition. And, for me, the meaning of Bleak House is made all the more rich and apparent when I consider the novel's motifs in combination with the scriptural wisdom of Ecclesiastes, the Sermon on the Mount, the soliloquies of Hamlet and Macbeth, the motifs of The Tempest, the fairy tale of Cinderella, and the storytelling prowess of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre.
Live the Great Books: As we turn our minds to the New Year, you might want to listen to one of our discussions on using the Great Books for deep self-development. If you need some pragmatic tips when it comes to motivation, check out this video: How to Motivate Yourself to Read. If you're thinking about creating a new daily routine or morning practice, then you might enjoy this podcast: How to Create a Powerful Daily Reading Practice. If you're interested in deep reading poetry, need help overcoming common obstacles in regards to reading, or would like to hear some of my reflections on the great books, then you might like one of these talks: How to Read Poetry for Personal Growth, Reflecting on Life, Literature & Reading the Great Books, How to Overcome the Challenges Facing Readers Today.
Your Personal Canon: Does Bleak House make it into your personal canon? What about the other books we've journeyed through together across the course of the year? What were the top 3-5 works, in any mode (novel, poem, play), you enjoyed this year? Which works will you revisit again in the future? Which works are most covered in your marginalia? A fun challenge is to try to sum up each of the books you've read from memory in just one powerful line. For a discussion on personal canons, books that are uniquely special to us, and forming subjective vs objective appreciations of great books, check out this video: How to Create Your Personal Literary Canon. If there is one author in particular who you fell deeply in love with, you might like to approach their works in a dedicated fashion. And we have a discussion on exactly that in this show: How to Approach a Special Author Project.
Congratulate Yourself: I will be formally wishing you a very Happy New Year shortly (and I'm sure Evie would love to do so too), but I want you to know now that you should feel incredibly proud of the great books you have read this year. You have brought yourself to some intensely challenging masterworks of great literature with so much love, curiosity, and passion. And I am so grateful for you making our community such a special literary oasis. Looking back on the year, what books, writers, and insights remain in your mind and heart?
Reflections: When I come to the end of a year, I try to answer three powerful reflection questions. 1) What are you proud of this year? Wins come in all shapes and sizes. And we should take a moment to appreciate the commitments we've met and where we've valiantly applied ourselves. Let us know how you feel about your wins this year. 2) What obstacles have you overcome? This isn't always the happiest thing to reflect upon. But confronting our difficulties is the first step towards growing from them. It's empowering to realise that we are resilient and resourceful in the face of what life throws at us. 3) Do you have any New Year's resolutions? Which books are you most keen to read? What would you like to get out of the year ahead? What small habits would exert a big positive effect on your life?
Journals: A new year is a great opportunity to start some new journals. You likely already know my recommended journals and my personal journalling routine by now. They are the Leuchturrm1917 bullet journal range with dotted graph paper, and the pen of choice for me is the Japanese Muji ballpoint gel pens. Journals are great for those ideas that require much more space and reflection than can fit in the margins of the actual books. This coming year, I will be making a conscious effort to carry a pocket sized notebook with me everywhere I go to capture thoughts on the page.
Our Next Masterpiece: As mentioned at the end of the above discussion, we are keeping it simple going into next year with the same weekly release rhythm for our big read lectures. This weekend coming we will have our 'how to read' introductory lecture for Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove. The following weekend we will have our introduction to Ancient Greek Tragedy, and we will move back and forth in that fashion between Lonesome Dove and our tragic plays (in this order: Oresteia, Oedipus Rex, Medea). We will talk in depth about our approach, pacing, themes, and much more in that first dedicated introductory video, and all you need to do at this point is secure your copies. Although, if you want to get started now, I recommend deep-reading the very first chapter of Lonesome Dove this week for an easy way to begin settling into the world and steadily meeting the characters. I've put my recommended editions in a downloadable document you can access at the bottom of the schedule post here, which can also be found at the top of the pinned contents page here.
Questions for You:
1) What did you make of the ending of Bleak House?
2) How would you persuade another to read the novel? And what advice would you give to facilitate a meaningful reading experience?
3) What was your favourite part of the story? What resonated with you the most? Which characters did you connect with? And what will you remember most vividly from your reading?
4) How does this novel compare with the other works of Charles Dickens you have read? If this is your first Dickens novel, are you excited to read more of his stories?
Happy reading and love to you all!