Bleak House Themes

The 19th century was a period in which the strict class systems of the previous centuries began to break down. Increased social mobility meant that middle- and lower-class men could, for the first time, improve their circumstances and become wealthy by finding work in the new jobs and industries that became available during the Industrial Revolution. This presented a challenge to the upper classes, who had inherited and maintained their wealth across several generations and…

Many of the characters in Bleak House are involved in a notorious lawsuit known as Jarndyce and Jarndyce, which has been in dispute in the court of Chancery for several generations. The court of Chancery was a British legal institution which dealt primarily with disputes over inheritance, and throughout Bleak House, Dickens criticizes the Chancery court process as an archaic and unnecessarily convoluted system that does not help its clients. Instead, it allows predatory…

The 19th century was a period in which philanthropy (charitable contributions to social causes) was considered extremely important and fashionable. Many people in both the middle and upper classes felt that society had a responsibility to take care of the poor and to end the squalor and destitution that was rife among the lower classes. This attitude also extended beyond British borders as well, and many Victorians felt that it was Britain’s responsibility to manage…

The are many examples of hauntings in Bleak House, and the line between the past and the present is blurry and uncertain throughout. Characters are also influenced by their past and by powerful emotions such as guilt and shame, which are associated with these private histories. In the resolution of Bleak House’s many plots, Dickens suggests that a person’s past behavior influences their future and demonstrates that greed and selfishness have their punishments…

Appearances can be deceiving in Bleak House, and the identity that a person presents to the world does not necessarily represent their inner life or their real personality. Many of the novel’s characters use this to their advantage, while others are at odds with their appearance and long for their true self to show through their physical or public exteriors. Dickens uses these contrasts between interiors and exteriors to demonstrate that appearances should not…