Charles Dickens, Bleak House

Bleak House, Chapter 2

“But the evil of it is that it is a world wrapped up in too much jeweller’s cotton and fine wool, and cannot hear the rushing of the larger worlds, and cannot see them as they circle round the sun. It is a deadened world, and its growth is sometimes unhealthy for want of air.” (Chapter 2, pg 10)

The 19th century saw the rise of the middle class as a direct result of the Industrial Revolution. This phenomenon had a profound impact on the economical, social, and cultural fabric of British life. During this period, England’s then agrarian society turned into a purveyor of factories and dirt everywhere.

As the middle class rose, the upper class dwindled, as evidenced by the “deadened world” of Chesney Wold in Bleak House. Indeed, in Dickens’ later descriptions of Chesney Wold the whole house is described as being ghost like, a maid leaves and there is a “ghostly walk” in a hall. Therefore the Dedlocks are members of an outdated society, reflected in the “deadened world” of their house, as well as position in life. Mostly I’d like to remember this quote so I can attribute it to the rise of the middle class in the Victorian Era.