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Michael Kadish
Naive, or figuratively blind, characters with an unrealistic or oblivious view of reality, when combined with shady, obscure incidents and places, which even mystify the reader, as well as the characters, make Dickens' sympathetic characters add to the suspense of the story. The predominant oblivious blind characters, Esther and Richard, become people that are as confusing to us as they are to themselves, while making the fog enshrouded places, such as ;"Jarndyce and Jarndyce", Chauncery Court, and the upper class mysteries equally vague, distant, and threatening. But the added dimension of suspense that this provides is not the only reason that this misty covering of detail exists. On the contrary, we find that, throughout the course of the novel, this cloud of mystery is slowly removed, leading to a discovery that alters reader perception, and, in many cases, results in a new, less trusting view, whether or not this is agreed with by the reader of the other characters. It is these epiphanies, that reveal interesting character qualities. Furthermore, it is with the blindness of some characters that allows social reform-oriented morals to emerge. This would include Esther Summerson, Richard Carstone, and the London society scene in general.
Esther Summerson, when the mystery is lifted, is the deceived, illegitimate child of Lady Deadlock, is separated from the others by an important distinction. Her first-person narratives give us access to her thoughts and opinions, but it is also important to know that we don't see a true criticism of her. We know her thoughts and are aware of her motivations through these chapters. From these chapters we can get a fairly good picture of her. Her story shows this intent of this essay, from naivete to understanding. Through the course of the novel, we come to know a traditionally romantic Esther, a character whose cause for action is in the future; she is working towards something, in this case her proposed marriage to John Jarndyce. But her beginnings were of a sad, lonely childhood in which she was constantly told that she was an unwanted mistake and disgrace. Her views of others and, consequently, herself were distorted. She has painted everyone around her with a pink film. The reader however, should be able to see through her overly pitiful memories.
"I was brought up, from my earliest remembrances-like some of the princesses in the fairy stories, only I was not charming- by my godmother. She was a good, good woman! She went to church three times every Sunday, and to morning prayers on Wednesdays and Fridays, and to lectures whenever there were lectures; and never missed. She was handsome, and if she had ever smiled would have been (I used to think) like an angel- but she never smiled. She was always grave and strict. She was so very good herself, I thought, that the badness of other people made her frown all her life...It made me very sorry to consider how good she was and how unworthy of her I was, and I used ardently to hope that I might have a better heart." (pg. 31)
This was told with no negative statements against Miss Barbery, or even does Esther give a defense of her actions. This whole situation could show us that she believes not only is Miss Barbery correct, but that she agrees with either the Puritanical opinion, or being ordered. This case of obvious reality-distortion, (or at the least reality suppression), indicates Esther's existence in a deceived, blinded state.
It is this blindness to the truth, however, that makes it possible for Esther to advance, in a limited way, from this self to a more realizing, braver self. Take for example, this excerpt, in which Esther's anger is aroused against Mr. Skimpole, much later in the novel and more than six years later in Ms. Summerson's life:
"I felt as if there were something in (Skimpole's) careless gaiety too inconsistent with what I knew of the depths of Ada's life. I there- fore resolved, after much thinking of it, to make a private visit to Mr. Skimpole and try delicately to explain myself...I was strongly inclined to turn back, for I felt what a desperate attempt it was to make an impression on Mr. Skimpole...(but) I would go through with it." (pg. 828)
We can still detect apprehension, but there is something here that was not present before. Esther now recognizes a fault in another and, through her belief in herself, shows assertiveness, and an urge to right what she sees is wrong, with a degree of self-righteousness, and self-superiority.
Admittedly, Esther does not undergo a complete character alteration throughout the novel. Indeed, she comes out far ahead at the end of the book, in a novel where tragic outcomes are not uncommon. She obviously suffers, however; seeing her mother dead in front of her, discover the lie that was her childhood, her having to deal with a love other than her fiancee, and her bout with smallpox. Nevertheless, all ends up happy for the first mentioned blind character, successful, and assumed to be adored by the other characters.
Unfortunately for the surrounding characters, some character's new attitudes are not so pleasant or benevolent. Richard Carstone is just such a character. The details of the suit of Jarndyce and Jarndyce are kept in the dark for most of the novel, and little more than small ironic anecdotes are ever revealed. This obscurity is the foil to which Richard's demise plays counterpart; once the trial is put out of its misery, so is Richard.
(Esther speaking) "There is a ruin of youth which is not like age, and into such a ruin Richard's youth and youthful beauty had all fallen away. He ate little and seemed indifferent what it was, showed himself to be much more impatient than he used to be, and was quick even with Ada. I thought at first that his old light-hearted manner was all gone...(his laugh) was like the echo of a joyful sound, and that is always sorrowful."
Richard's new state, being compared by the always forgiving Esther to "the echo of a joyful sound", is a sad state of affairs, but this was what lay beneath the shroud of discovery for Richard. It is important to note the method in which Richard chooses not to see, remains stubborn and becomes expectant, after his failures at most of everything else, on inheriting his fortune. His discovery, late in the novel, is a grim one: His young life has been wasted on a fruitless search, and he realizes that he might never see the money. But nevertheless, he has made a fundamental character change into a more assertive character. In his eyes, he could be said to have made a discovery of truth that was waiting, silently hidden behind a mask of pretension, denial, lies. It is important to say that this is just as important a discovery as the previous one, in that it teaches us as much about Richard's character as it does about the danger of foolishly chasing unreachable goals.
This fascinating epiphanic device can be applied to entities other than people, as well. A large portion of the book deals with entities or types of persons rather than specifically named characters, so they must be mentioned. One of the more obvious cases is the ever-present London fog:
This mysterious mist makes itself apparent as a heavily- relied upon device, and is an obvious symbol of the darkness of Chauncery Court. But, beyond it's descriptive words, and it's symbolic nature, the fog serves to make the illumination of things more startling later, just as Esther's self-deception and Richard's ignorance and denial flaws. Nevertheless, the discoveries made by these characters parallels the discovery that awaits us at the novel's close. We find that the protagonist escapes unscathed, with even her smallpox scars symbolically faded, as well as tragedy for a great deal of the others, as in the world of Jellybys and Dedlocks and Carstones and Courts of Chauncery. With the setting of the novel's introduction, compared with the novels close (i.e., Bleak House II), we can see neither locations changing, but with the characters shifting focus and discovering the new world of the New Bleak House.
The titles of the final chapters can make us aware of this fact. Consider: "Perspective": "Discovery": "Another Discovery": "Beginning the World". All indications that these people with whom we have become more or less acquainted with throughout the novel have opened there eyes, epiphonized, or realized there situation, and found themselves removed from it or otherwise changed, as normal in a romantic novel. On the other hand, though these might not have been necessarily a tragic conclusion, these discoveries still moralize to the reader and the inhabitants of Bleak House, one and two, a lesson, and provide a feeling of satisfying release. That these examples of blindness of eyes and obscurity of things lead only to the bringing about discovery is entirely fitting in a novel so intent upon preaching to an "immoral society". Consequently, one could find many other examples of this obscurity-leading-to-a discovery cycle. One might, in fact, argue that this pattern repeats itself in most literature, or at least literature with some moral goal. In any case, these methods can probably be considered effective for Mr. Dickens' purposes.