Could LAdy Dedlock be Esther's mother or aunt?

The whole time I’m reading this book, one of the things I want to know is who Esther’s actual parents are. I sympathize with Esther greatly because of her having such a sad and horrible childhood, where she did not know who her mother and father was and her birthday being “the most melancholy day at home, in the whole year” (p.18). She had no one who gave her motherly care and the little bit she received from Rachael is not enough to satisfy a child’s hunger for love and affection as growing up. I felt bad about how her godmother neglected her and the time she told Esther that she was a “disgrace” to her mother, which was probably traumatic for Esther. This being said, after reading chapter 18, I’m 98% sure that Lady Dedlock is either Esther’s actual mother (I’m not very sure about who Esther’s father is because more clues and information are needed) or she is Esther’s aunt (the other two percent I’m not sure because we have yet to meet more characters).
Mr. Guppy seeing the portrait of Lady Dedlock, on chapter 7, was the first time I had a feeling she was somehow related to Esther. Lady Dedlock probably resembled Esther and Mr. Guppy who never saw Lady Dedlock, but saw Esther before, was fascinated about how much Esther and Lady Dedlock looked alike hence later on he became completely infatuated with Esther (stalking her and wanting to marry her). The second example that shows why Lady Dedlock is Esther’s mother or is related to Esther is when Esther finally sees Lady Dedlock in the church. After she sees her, Esther gets the same frightening reaction she use to have when she used to be around her godmother. Lady Dedlock also had the similar voice of Esther’s godmother which reminded Esther of her godmother. The third example is when John Jarndyce and Lady Dedlock were speaking about Lady Dedlock’s sister who was also John Jarndyce’s friend. The fact that Lady Dedlock had a sister who was also a good friend of John Jarndyce is another clue that Esther and Lady Dedlock are related.
To me it seems like Lady Dedlock probably has two sisters, one being Esther’s godmother, the other who is Esther’s actual mother, but whatever the case is, Esther and Lady Dedlock are related by blood. Lady Dedlock always being so miserable and her life show that her past is what makes her sad. She is probably sad all the time because she thinks about her mistake (or her sister’s mistake) for abandoning (Esther). Do you guys think that there will be other characters who are more likely to be Esther’s mother? Or does everyone think that Lady Dedlock is Esther’s mother or aunt?

Mudless: The Smallweed Family

(This is a late blog entry, Professor please be merciful!)

The Smallweeds are one of the dysfunctional groups of people that Dickens introduces us to. Through the eyes of the Dickensian narrator we are shown an image of people that, like most of London, have been swept under the rug and are living lives that closely resemble those of savages. The Smallweeds are an exceptionally dysfunctional and poor family. Their household is comprised of nothing but turmoil, with random acts of violence; a collision of everything negative in London, all under one roof.

One of the first scenes introduces us to Grandmother and Grandfather Smallweed; we are notified immediately that the grandmother is not dealing with a full deck, and the grandfather does not comprehend this, and “immediately throws the cushion at her…the effect of this jaculation is twofold” (pg. 259). It goes on to explain that not only did he inflict harm on the grandmother, but the exertion from his thrust of the pillow causes him to fall back into the chair himself, hinting that his violence towards his wife hurts him as much as it does her. It’s as if Dickens wanted to show the reader that the grandmother’s madness and the grandfather’s violence was in no way worse than one another, but when you put them together it made them both worse than they would be individually.

The children are no better; they are painted by Dickens to be seemingly oblivious to the conditions that surround them, engulfed in their own Smallweed world. The little girl Judy has never known the company of a doll, and has only played with other children a couple of times, both of which ended with her being alienated from them. It is described that it is “very doubtful whether Judy knows how to laugh” (pg.260) and she herself is described as seeming “like an animal of another species” (pg. 259). Another child, Bart, is essentially being taught by his grandfather to be a freeloader of sorts. As soon as Bart makes his entrance into the home he is greeted by his grandfather who asks him how dinner with his friend went, congratulating him for “dining at his expense” (pg. 261). Bart is encouraged to “live at [his friend’s] expense” as much as he can and to “take warning by his foolish example. That’s the use of such a friend. The only use you can put him to” (pg. 261). From a young age Bart is taught to manipulate people.

While this portrayal of the family is brief, it captures a bit of what Dickens was laying out for us, and also what he didn’t lay out. Nothing about this family is optimistic in the slightest, their neighborhood is “ill-favoured and ill-savoured” (pg. 257); and the family complement this. All of this, and yet the presence of mud is absent. All of mud’s characteristics, the darkness and depravity that have accompanied it throughout the entire book, are all there without mud as their harbinger. Most of the descriptions about the characters and the neighborhood that they reside in are corroborated by other descriptions of deplorable conditions in the book. The difference with the Smallweeds is that Dickens did not feel the need to show Mud in his description of the family, it was as if he was showing the reader that the family dynamic could founder in London without mud to accompany it. Somehow this family is special in a way, which is why their house is shown as being tucked away in a dark corner, away from everyone else. I believe that there may be some type of subtext implanted here; Dickens is trying to show the reader the true darkness, the true underbelly of London.

Characters and Things in Bleak House Which Seem Confusing

Esther as everyone can see is a caring and loving person and that is why we know she can make friends and that everyone will like her. What puzzles me though is why does Richard want Esther to move in with him and Ada when they get married. I wonder if there is kind of a love triangle going on. I wonder if Richard has any kinds of feelings for Esther. I also wonder if Richard is trying to say that Esther would not find some one to love and when she has to move out of Jarndyce house that she would not have a place to stay? or does he mean that Ada and himself really wants their friend to live with them because of how motherly she is?


Something else that confuses me is Jo's significance in this story. We all know that Jo seems to be just a boy who is poor and gets money from a man named Nemo who was found died and from other people for giving out information. We also know that Jo is the person who shows a mysterious woman around but if Jo is such a no body (like it seems in the text) then why does his character show up so much in Bleak House. I'm wondering could Jo be related to the Jarndyce case in anyway or related to any of the more wealthy characters in the story? Jo also always claim not to know anything but he is asked about what seems like everything from his connection to Nemo to the mysterious lady's identity, but why is that? Is it because he does know everything but does not want to say anything? or does he really not know anything at all?


Another character that seem to be confusing is Richard. Richard seems not to know exactly what he really want to do with his life. He even kept changing his mind about what he wanted to study from being a doctor to being a lawyer then wanting to join the military. If Richard can not make up his mind about what he wants to do in life how do we expect him to make up his mind about his love life. Richard claims to be in love with Ada and want to marry her but I wonder if Richard will eventually change his mind about wanting to be with Ada just like he does with his future? I also wonder if Richard would change his mind about wanting Esther to move in with Ada and himself?


The last character which will be mentioned and seems confusing is Lady Deadlock. She seem to be in a loveless marriage because of how dull and unhappy she is portrayed in the book. I wonder why she would not just leave her husband so that she could end up being happier. Another thing is that it seems as if she is the woman who wants Jo to show her where Nemo was (even though it is not stated) because it just so happens that she disappears when the lady appears to Jo. Also Jo recognizes her maids clothes but not her maids rings or voice. So I'm thinking that Lady Deadlock dressed in her maids clothes to disguise herself. Jo also seen the mysterious lady's fancy rings and Lady Deadlock owns a lot of fancy jewelry including rings. What I would like to find out is if Lady Deadlock is the mysterious woman and if she is why is she so concerned about the places where Nemo lived, died, and was buried?

Thoughts on Esther's parents

This is one of the biggest mysteries surrounding Bleak House, who are Esther's parents? Now as we're getting deeper in the book I feel like the mystery is slowly unraveling. I feel this because of everything that's been happening in the past installments. For example, in chapter 17, when Esther and Mr. Jarndyce were speaking about her past and how all she remembers from her early childhood is that she is "her mother's disgrace." This conversation leads to Mr. Jarndyce revealing some little information that he knows, which is that nine years ago he "received a letter from a lady[...] It told me of a child, an orphan girl just twelve years old [...]"(pg113)

This was how Mr. Jarndyce came to know Esther and he felt obligated to take her under his care since it is in his nature to do so, or was it because of something more than just that?. Further through their conversation he said "I saw my ward oftener than she same and I always knew she was beloved useful and happy. she repays me twenty-thousand-fold, and twenty more to that, every hour in every day!" speaking about Esther in which she replied "And oftener still she blesses the Guardian who is a Father to her!" The word Father is key here because of the way that Mr. Jarndyce reacts to it as soon as he hears it. It's as if it stirred him or caught him by surprise because "At the word Father" Esther "saw his former trouble come into his face. He subdued it before but it was gone in an instant; but it had been there, and it had come so swiftly upon my words that I felt as if they had given him a shock" It seems like Jarndyce asked himself in his head "does she know?"

The way Mr. Jarndyce acted was strange, and I'm gonna put it out there, maybe he is her father? And maybe he doesn't want her to know just yet. I say I would rather want him to be her father than other potential parents such as Nemo; because for starters Nemo is dead and Jarndyce is not. I would also say that Esther and Mr. Jarndyce have one thing in common, and that's dealing with emotions. Mr. Jarndyce has to go into the Growlery in order to deal with them if not he runs away and as for Esther, she has trouble dealing with them when it comes to her own feelings. I hope all you agree because we all know that Esther doesn't exactly share every detail about herself when she feels self-conscious.

So that's what I have to say on that, and as for a potential Mother for Esther, I say it may not be Lady Dedlock but the possibility is still out there. We just have to find out as we read on.

Is John Jarndyce a real Guardian?

John Jarndyce told Esther to call him Guardian but not to Richard and Ada. (there was a reason for that) In the installment that we have read, In chapter 17, pp. 212-213, John Jarndyce tells Esther what he knows about her and her history. He tells her a BS story about a letter he receives from a woman caring for a child and that if she dies before the child becomes a women John should take care of that child. (this is why he wants her to call him Guardian). What is hard for me to understand is why a man that gets a letter from a woman about an orphan girl decides to take care of the orphan after the woman dies without a woman in his life to show the orphan girl some guidance. Another thing is why would a woman write to a man about an orphan unless the orphan is related to the man. There is more to the story about Esther and her real parents. Personally, I believe that John Jarndyce should have told Esther the truth about her history and the truth about the letter (if the letter does exist). John Jarndyce is not being the Guardian that he should be to Esther, Esther wants to know about her parents and where she came from and he is holding that back from her which is not fair. (Second thought, John Jarndyce is not a guardian at all to Esther because he is not helping with anything, all he did was make her a housekeeper while he help Richard find a profession and support Ada and Richard on their incest love. Now what good will that make Esther if she learns how to be a housekeeper.)

John Jarndyce is holding something back from Esther, what do you think that is? and Do you guys believe that John Jarndyce did the right or wrong thing on not telling her the truth about her history?

ahhmmm.. Please Do Not hate me

XI. “ Our Beloved brother”(Dickensian narrator)

This is the chapter following the finding of Nemo (Nimrod) by Mr Tulkinghorn at Nemo’s apartment after his death. The chapter deals with the crud factors of being a loner in the sense that no one really know who Nemo is other than a little boy, Jo, whom he occasionally gives to, the only thing that the by can state is that “He wos wery good to me, he wos!”(138). The importance of this chapter I believe is to give us some information on how this character is important and vital to the story by giving his DEATH AN ENTIRE CHAPTER! But since he has no ties( as of yet at least) to any important characters yet we can not draw the line of how important he is just yet. The inquisitive nature of certain characters lead me to believe so and so does his appearance in an early and the concerns of others in later chapters.

XII. ”On The Watch” (Dickensian narrator)

p145 Mockery of the court, to show how big of a joke it has become and how it has became a nuisance among the people because of its bureaucracy .p149 Mr. Tulkinghorn presented Nemo’s death to Sir Leicester and Lady Deadlock and it brought fourth an awkward vibe in the room that leads to the factor that Nemo must be important.

idk what to make of this but yea:

“ Mr. Tulkinghorn, we remember your existence when you are not here to remind us of it by your presence . We bestow a fragment of our minds upon you, sir, you see!” 147 Sir Leicester .Why?

**This chapter just gives me abrupt confused feelings of WTH!

XIII. Esther’s Narrative (Esther, Duh?)

Richard is confused and wishes to go into military service specifically Navy but then was suggested the army and did not dislike the idea. I believe he simply wanted to situate himself into a life where he feels he accomplishes something with his life after talking it over with Boythorn and Jarndyce he found himself selecting the occupation of a surgeon which was way off the original mark of being in the military. Through a connection with Mr Kenge’s cousin who is a surgeon Richard finds himself being his student later on. The nature of Richard’s choice may grow from a need to be able to stand on his own two feet and declare that he can stand alone (or with ada,lol).

pg154 Esther is being stalked by her beloved friend, Mr. Guppy, who is at every event that she is at. Esther states he has “ a general feebleness about him” which makes her uneasy, and does not allow her to focus on the plays that she attends. She is scared to tell anyone because she meant to mean him no harm but she wanted him to leave her alone. the reason that she may not be able to do anything normal may be that she does not know how to react to the opposite sex, we do not have any evidence leading in the other way telling us about her having any intimate relationships, although she does tend to be in everybody else’s relationships (i.e Richard and Ada, Prince and Caddy).

***Notable female Mrs. Badger, her greatest accomplishment is marrying 3 men that were “great”, that does not sound good in any context that one may try to put it in but is glorified, why?

Then the obvious is stated between Richard and Ada to Esther by Ada and she tells her how she is in love with Richard. Clearly Esther already knew as she has stated before that they “shared the greatest of secrets”, Esther wishes them to live happy and wishes to be the maid of honor. p 162 Mr Jarndyce is told of the relationship and he does not want to tell them that their love is not wrong and that he is only “friend and distant kinsman”. he is trying to maintain a close relationship with them by not denying them the chance to be together yet he condoles it in order to allow them to stay close to him so that he does not lose their trust and maybe affection as an elder who they can trust.

XIV. Deportment (Esther)

I love this quote by Esther, “I was to be made happy forever and a day”

Besides that caddy jellyby comes back on the scene to provide Esther with information that has to do with her hardships and that of those which her family shares against her mother whom is bleeding them to the poor house. Caddy is engaged to Prince Turveydrop who is the opposite of everything her mother wants Mr Quale, and she believes through him she can escape her life which she believed is damned because she considers herself a slave to her mother . The older Turveydrop, prince’s father, is a complete d---he and has this ultimately dooming façade of “deportment" that embodies his horrid persona.

On page 180 also name the Miss Flite’s names for her birds “ Hope, Youth, Peace, Rest, Life, Dust, Ashes, Waste, Want, Ruin, Despair, Madness, Death, Cunning, Folly, Words, Wigs, Rags, Sheepskin, Plunder, Precedent, Jargon, Gammon, and Spinach” and s there was a reference to them and the cat earlier in the early chapters this could reference the chancery and what it gives and takes away.

181-182 Krook’s unwillingness to learn to read and write from someone else may not so much that he does not want to be taught wrong but instead be told that he was wrong, admitting to something that awful already makes him a target for ridicule being taunted for it would be even worse.

182 reference by surgeon that Krook was almost always drunk.(interesting I believe)

XV. BELL Yard (Esther)

mr skimpole gets into a rant of three children(Tom Emma, Charolette), the Coavinses, who are left to there own antics because of the passing of their father. Jarndyce is in a panicked frenzy and goes them immediately upon arrival he cannot help ask but why people do not help them and it is because her father was a follerer and she is a child. then a man goes into a rant about how he was in the courts and it has taken his life away and how the children and for the children’s misfortune and his he blames the individual workers of “that system”. all in all after Jarndyce’s inquiry with the children he leaves them alone because he some how sees this as being fit for them....

im not done yet...

The Dickenzian in Esther

In our earlier readings of the book we understand Dickens to be an arrogant narrator while Esther was more humble and easier to relate to. Some may appeciate the imagery and descriptiveness that is offered by Dickens for it provides a visual view of what is taking place. Others admire how Esther is able to form a closer relationship with the reader and allow them to experience the plot first hand.
However, as we continue to read and meet new people we can see a new approach in Esther's descriptions. She seems to be developing a new found confidence. In her descriptions we can see that she is more critical and judgmental of the other characters. Why do you think she is becoming more bold? Could it be because of her maturing? I personnally am a fan of this judgemental Esther. She is still the Esther we all know, love and can relate to but now with a bit of edge. I wonder if this Esther will further develop as the book progresses.

Law writer spoken of on page 55 ...

ok this law writter spoken of by miss. flite who sells his soul to the devil that is NEMO!! he has more importance then you ALLL THINK!!!!