Montreal Dickens Fellowship Study Questions: “Bleak House”
May 4, 2021
Chapters 51 - 60
- Why doesn’t George want proper representation to defend him against the murder charges? Who do you think the lady on the stairs was?
- Do you believe that Lord Dedlock had absolutely no knowledge of his wife’s past or of her persecution by Mr. Tulkinghorn? Could he have killed him to protect his name or Lady Dedlock’s honor?
- Compare and contrast the two mother-child reunions in the novel (Lady Dedlock and Esther, Mrs. Rouncewell and George). Both were separated by shame. Both mothers were desperate to find their children. Both reunions were highly emotionally charged involving heart-rending pleas for forgiveness. Discuss Dickens’s portrayal of these reunions and of the ideal mother (Mrs. Bagnet?) in terms of his relationship with his own mother.
- Why does Lady Dedlock “fly”? Is it shame, guilt, fear of her husband’s reaction, fear she will be accused of the murder or all of the above? Do you think she would have stayed if she knew of Sir Leicester’s forgiveness or of the arrest of Hortense?
- Comment on Dickens’s use of natural elements (snow, sleet, rain, slippery roads and pavements, bitter cold) as a background for human emotions.
- Comment on the sentimentality and melodrama of Lady Dedlock’s death scene with Esther discovering that the lifeless form is not that of Jenny.
- How has Mr. Bucket’s character developed? Can he be seen as a hero?
- What caused Lady Dedlock’s death? Exposure to cold? Exhaustion? Infection? Suicide? Do you feel sorry for Lord Dedlock?
- Dickens often used the film technique of intercutting between scenes in his writing. The flight of Lady Dedlock and her husband’s anxious waiting is an example. Discuss how theatrically his scenes are written (appealing to every sense, fast-paced, suspense ridden) making them ideal to be transcribed to T.V. or movies.