Bleak House : 階級がもたらす孤立状態と個人による孤立状態の超越

概要

論文の詳細を見る
Bleak House (1853) is Dickens's ninth novel, published in monthly parts in1852_53. Often characterized as the first of the late novels, Bleak House describesEngland as a Bleak House, devastated by an irresponsible and selfservinglegal system, symbolically represented by the Lord Chancellor orensconced in foggy glory in the Chancery. Dickens attacked court abuses ofChancery ; his most extended criticism appears in Bleak House, in which thecourt's delays, obfuscation of issues, and self-serving procedures lead to indolence,despair, and suicide, and produce such social ills as festering slums.Dickens not only attacked court abuses but also represented the mystery of thebirth of Esther Summerson and the mystery of the murder of Tulkinghorn.Esther's narrative traces her discovery of her identity as the illegitimate child ofLady Dedlock. Abandoned in infancy and raised by an abusive aunt, Esther isself-denying, unassertive young woman, grateful for any recognition she receivesfrom the patriarchal society around her. Her situation encapsulates that of thelarger society, in which traditions of aristocratic privilege deny human needs anddesires and patriarchal institutions such as the courts make orphans of society'schildren, enable slums and disease to flourish, and suppress individual autonomyby a "philanthropy" that makes dependents of its recipients.Dickens represented children who felt alienated and abandoned in the relationto the story of Esther. The "telescopic philanthropy" of Mrs. Jellyby causesher neglect of her family, even when her young son Peepy gets his head caughtin the railing and when Mr. Jellyby, her mild-mannered husband, goes bankrupt.She employs her daughter Caroline (Caddy) as her amanuensis but neglects instructingher in domestic skills or personal grooming. Caddy resents this exploitationand confesses her resentment to Esther. Caddy escapes her chaotic homeby marrying Prince Turveydrop. Vain and indolent, his father depends onhim to maintain the family income. Prince works himself to the point of exhaustionteaching dancing lessons. Jo, an illiterate crossing-sweeper and street urchin,is employed by a veiled lady (Lady Deadlock) to show her Nemo's grave.He carries smallpox to Bleak House, infecting Charley and Esther. Dickens emphasizedan abandoned child and Esther's destiny by Jo, and suggested thatEsther was separate from her mother.Lady Dedlock hides her guilt about her past beneath a facade of being "boredto death", but she cannot conceal from Tulkinghorn, the family lawyer, her interestin a particular law writer. Tulkinghorn pursues her story and learns of herrelationship with Captain Hawdon and of their illegitimate daughter, EstherSummerson. Lady Dedlock reveals herself to Esther, but she runs from ChesneyWold when Sir Leicester learns of her past. Disguised as a poor brickmaker'swife, she makes her way to London where she dies by the graveyard whereHawdon is buried. The flight of Lady Dedlock means not only that she can escapefrom the terror that Sir Leicester Dedlock might know her secret and shemight disgrace the family name, but also that she is released from her class consciousnessand transcends her isolation. Dickens shows that Lady Dedlock transcendsher isolation which class brings by her conscience, whereas Esthertranscends her state of alienation with the help of Mr. Jarndyce and Woodcourt.Dickens demonstrates that all the people have to have benevolent spirits to helpthose who are in the state of alienation.
2007-03-15

Bleak House : 階級がもたらす孤立状態と個人による孤立状態の超越

スポンサーリンク

概要

著者

関連論文

スポンサーリンク