Bleak House: Chapter 7 Summary & Analysis

In Lincolnshire, at Chesney Wold, the rain continues to fall. The house is quiet—Sir Leicester and Lady Dedlock are in Paris—and the horses in the stables and the dogs in the kennels dream of summer days. Mrs. Rouncewell, the housekeeper, looks out at the rain from her sitting room at Chesney Wold. Mrs. Rouncewell knows the house better than anyone. She is a widow and has worked at Chesney Wold for 50 years, since the time of Sir Leicester’s father.

Sir Leicester is a good master and relies on Mrs. Rouncewell to manage all household affairs. Mrs. Rouncwell has two sons, but one joined the army when he was young and was never heard from again. Mrs. Rouncewell still grieves for him and has a habit of wringing her hands whenever he is mentioned. Her other son could have become Sir Leicester’s steward at Chesney Wold, but he became an Ironmonger instead, growing very successful in the Iron business in the north of England. Sir Leicester is rather perturbed by this and thinks that this son of Mrs. Rouncewell’s may be of a revolutionary disposition.

Mrs. Rouncewell’s grandson, Watt, is currently down at Chesney Wold for an apprenticeship and is in the sitting room with his grandmother. Watt asks Mrs. Rouncewell about one of the maids in the house, who he thinks is extremely pretty, and Mrs. Rouncewell tells him that her name is Rosa.

As they sit and talk, a carriage appears outside. Rosa enters the room and tells them that two men have come to view the house. Mrs. Rouncewell is indignant because the house is not currently open to visitors, but Rosa insists that the men are very interested to see it and gives Mrs. Rouncewell a card from one of the men, which reads “Mr. Guppy.” Mrs. Rouncewell complains that she does not know who this is but agrees to show them the house. Rosa and Watt accompany them.

Mr. Guppy and his friend find the tour very boring, but Mr. Guppy suddenly livens up when he sees a portrait of Lady Dedlock. He seems very struck by the picture and remarks that he knows the lady’s face. When they pass the Ghost’s Walk terrace, Watt asks Rosa to tell them the ghost story attached to the house, but Mrs. Rouncewell says that it is not given out to visitors.

When Mr. Guppy and his friend have gone, however, Mrs. Rouncewell relates the story to Rosa and Watt. During the English Civil War, when Parliament rebels overthrew Charles I, Sir Morbury Dedlock married a woman whose brother joined the revolution against the crown. The lady’s brother was killed during the skirmish and, after this, she swore revenge on the Dedlock family.

On the night before a famous battle, Sir Morbury caught his wife in the stables attempting to lame his horse, which he would ride into battle the next day. He managed to stop her, but the horse kicked her, and she walked with a limp for the rest of her days. She never recovered from this injury, but she took to walking on the terrace, brooding silently over her fate. One day, her husband saw her collapse on the terrace and tried to carry her inside. She refused his aid, however, and, before she died, promised that she would walk the terrace until the Dedlock line was punished. When that day came, she said, they would hear her footsteps approach.

Mrs. Rouncewell concludes that the lady’s steps are still heard today whenever there is a death or an illness in the family. Watt suggests that it comes when “disgrace” occurs, but Mrs. Rouncewell says it is not possible to disgrace the Dedlock name. She says that Lady Dedlock often hears the footsteps on the Ghost’s Walk, and that the sound is impossible to block out. She asks Watt to wind up a clock in the corner of the room and takes Rosa to the window. The rain is still audible over the chimes of the clock.