BLEAK HOUSE

“Bleak House” is a novel written by Charles Dickens. Just reading the title, the reader understands that the story is concentrated in a house and it’s defined “bleak”.

The text is mainly composed by narration and in the first chapter there is a description of the situation and of the context where actions take place. The first chapter starts with a description of an autumn London. After which the writer focuses the attention on the Court of Chancery, a legal department, where “Jarndyce and Jarndyce”, a famous lawsuit, is brought before the Lord Chancellor. The court is empty except for a “mad old woman”, who visits the court daily and a man who is determinated to attract the attention of the Chancellor but the man is ignored every day.

The description of London puts in evidence the presence of a costant fog and it is referred to the court, the fog creates confusion and depression in which people are lost. This is evident in two characters: the “mad old woman” and the man who tried to attract the attention of the Chancellor. With this two character, Dickens wants to underline that the High Court of Chancery is an abuse of the law.

In the first chapter, Dickens eliminate all kind of movement with the use of static verbs and he provides description of places and characters.

Considering the whole chapter, we understand that Dickens wants to underlines the social criticism towards the High Court of Chancery, which has ruined and continues to ruin the lives of many people.