Justin Williamson
05-24-2005, 06:07 PM
In none of Dicken's novels is the effect of Division and Discontinuity more pervasive than in Bleak House, with its double plot, double time scheme and double narrative conducted by two separate narrators with markedly different voices, perspectives and value systems; particularly as Dickens avoids all the obvious ways of conferring symmetry on the divisions. Most notably, the plot division is not aligned with the narrative division, as it might have been by having one narrator handle the Chancery elements and the Lady Dedlock Mystery. Nor does the cast of characters divide neatly. There are some characters, like Mr Guppy, who figure more or less equally importantly in both narratives. Others like Mr George or Mr Bucket, function in both, but more significantly in one of the two.