As I delved into the pages of Bleak House, I began to fear that it would take me just as long to read the book as it would take the Chancery to resolve Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce. Fortunately, after struggling through the first 300 pages, the pace picked up and I thoroughly enjoyed the last 500.
The fog that blankets London in the opening paragraph of the book symbolizes the fog of the court case in the Chancery.
It is a fog that envelops and destroys Richard Carstone. Carstone is a charming, if careless lad, in love with Esther's (the heroine and part time narrator's) best friend Ada. He studies to be a doctor, then a soldier. However, he has some chance of inheriting money from the disputed will in Jarndyce v. Jarndyce, and throws all his efforts into the case. The case is hopeless, and he begins a descent into illness and monomania. As obsessed and delusional as he becomes, he retains his love for Ada, even if his ability to treat her well has vanished. His is a subtle and profound portrait.
Caddy Jellybelly is my other favorite. Her mother is obsessed with charity work in Africa -- work which, in the end, will do nobody any good (the same as the Chancery case). Meanwhile, her own family is badly cared for due to her negligence. Caddy inherits some of her mother's energy, but more common sense, and more love.
Richard Carstone is an example of how a good man, with many advantages, goes wrong. Caddy is an example of how a good woman, with many disadvantages, goes right.
Harold Skimpole is an interesting character -- I've known men like him, some of whom have mooched off of me for years (not that I objected, except occasionally). He is charming -- like Richard -- but lacks Richard's essential goodness, which, although hidden by his obsessions, never vanishes completely.
Esther Summerson -- the part-time narrator -- is a fine lady, but not so interesting as some of the minor figures. John Jarndyce, of course, is practically a saint.
The fog of the Chancery, however, envelops all. Only the vision of the very best -- like John Jarndyce -- can see through it.