Bleak House

Bleak House is the ninth novel by Charles Dickens.

The novel, set in the 1820s, was published from March 1852 to September 1853 in 20 sequels. Each episode contained two illustrations by Phiz and cost a shilling, the last two episodes have been released together and cost two shillings.

The frame story is a many years lasting inheritance dispute against Jarndyce Jarndyce. Here Dickens tells the story of many people who are directly and indirectly linked to the case. The persons and stories are becoming more intertwined in the many narrative threads. In addition to an omnipresent narrator, Esther Summerson tells also, one of the main characters in the novel, parts of the novel in their view of the first-person narrative.

Bleak House is both a social novel that especially the English upper class as well as their relations with the middle and lower layer in the 19th century characterizes the life, on the other hand, a satirical settlement with the English legal system, in particular the Court of Chancery, which regulated inheritance disputes among others. In the last chapters of the book also contains elements of a detective novel.

Synopsis

Esther Summerson grew up as a child in Miss Barbery, without knowing that this is their aunt or who their parents; she learns only that her mother had brought great shame on himself. After the death of her Aunt Esther is taken from John Jarndyce, a wealthy and charitable member of the upper class, which is one of the parties to the mentioned inheritance dispute against Jarndyce Jarndyce. She works as a housekeeper of Bleak House and as a partner of Ada Clare and their distant cousin Richard Carstone, two other parties involved in the dispute over the inheritance in the Jarndyce case that receives John Jarndyce in Bleak House as a guardian.

At the same time Sir Leicester and his much younger wife, Lady Dedlock are introduced that result with respect to a limit interpretation of a legal dispute in which they are represented by their family lawyer Tulkinghorn. It turns out that Esther Summerson the result of a pre-marital affair of Lady Dedlock and thus this is their mother. However, this fact must of course necessarily remain secret, so their discovery leads among other things by the lawyer Tulkinghorn to dramatic complications which eventually culminate in the death of Dedlock Tulkinghorn and Lady.

Meanwhile, Ada and Richard were married ( initially without the knowledge of her guardian John Jarndyce ). However, Richard is a labile character, the absence of other goals in life deepens on self-destructive manner in the case of Jarndyce versus Jarndyce and his life planning is based entirely on a (for him and Ada ) positive outcome of the proceedings. When he threatens to sink into a spiral of debt, disease and self-contempt, emerges a new, favorable for him and Ada Testament. Not, however, a judgment, but because of the finding that to be distributed legacy now by court and legal costs - He runs with his wife to court, where he learns, in fact, that the method Jarndyce was finally closed against Jarndyce after many years is exhausted.

After Richard's death Ada is taken with her son back from John Jarndyce in Bleak House. This had meanwhile planned to marry Esther Summerson. However, he recognizes her love for Allan Woodcourt, they are for free and this gives both a small estate in the country.

Translations into German

• Bleak House. ( Complete edition in the transfer of Carl Kolb, reviewed by Anton Ritthaler With the illustrations to the first edition of Halbot Knight Browne ( Phiz ). .. ), Munich: Winkler Verlag 1977, ISBN 3-538-05031-7.

• Bleak House, translated by Gustav Meyrink; Frankfurt am Main: Zweitausendeins 2003; Re: Waltrop Manuscriptum 2004, ISBN 3-933497-98-1

• Bleak House, translated by Richard Zoozmann; Frankfurt am Main and Leipzig: Insel-Verlag 2003, ISBN 3-458-32810-6