History Literature / BleakHouse

* NeverLearnedToRead: Jo is entirely without any form of education; there's also Krook, who obstinately tries to teach himself how to read with no real success.

** This suit was based on the actual suit ''Jennens and Jennens'', a lawsuit over the contested will of the "Acton Miser," William Jennens, which took ''one hundred and seventeen years'' to resolve. The case was initially filed in 1798, fifty-five years prior to the publication of ''Bleak House'' and ended in 1915, sixty-two years after the serial publication had been completed. To the surprise of no one, the case was resolved in exactly the same manner as its fictional counterpart: [[spoiler:the legal fees consumed the entire estate, which had been estimated to be over ''two million quid'' (more than two hundred thirty million pounds, putting inflation into account, as of 2015)]].

** Subverted in Messrs. Badger and Bagnet, both of whom are perfectly happy to have their wives take the lead. Mr. Bagnet is especially notable, since all of his opinions come from "the old girl's" mouth, without their ever having consulted each other.

* OrphansOrdeal: Jo suffers badly due to this. Esther Summerson ultimately subverts this, although her original guardian, Miss Barbary, was [[AbusiveParents emotionally abusive]], she had the good fortune to become John Jarndyce's ward, narrowly avoiding this fate. Moreover, the novel later reveals that not only was [[spoiler:Miss Barbary actually her aunt, her parents were both alive (however, none of them knew each other to be alive), but this comes to nothing as both parents die in the course of the novel]].

* PseudoRomanticFriendship: Esther and Ada, bordering on LesYay to modern eyes. They kiss on the mouth and call each other by pet names, which was considered normal in close female friendships at the time.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Subverted in the altercation between Hortense and Mr. Tulkinghorn, when you expect this to happen; both ''do'' tell the other why the other sucks, however, they are actually merely throwing insults at each other, neither paying any attention to what the other is saying.
* TheResenter: Hortense is this and then some. [[RevengeBeforeReason She goes above and beyond]] to exact a [[DisproportionateRetribution disproportionate revenge.]] And, if that wasn't enough to convince you, she thereafter continues to harangue someone who was only tangentially involved.

* TwoLinesNoWaiting: In fact, ''more'' than two lines, however, they are all ultimately tied into each other by that of ''Jarndyce and Jarndyce'', through which most of the central characters know each other. With only three exceptions, the characters knowing each other is purely from their mutual involvement in Chancery, being introduced by mutual friends or acquaintances, or physical proximity to each other.

* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs: Of the GarnishingTheStory form. The omniscient narrator describes the London streets as so muddy, one might imagine a ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalosaurus megalosaurus]'' lumbering up them, in the first paragraph, no less. It is quite possibly the UrExample of dinosaurs appearing in fiction: non-avian dinosaurs had only recently been discovered; the use includes the traits belonging to the then-current reconstruction of the animal, seen in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2005-03-30_-_London_-_Crystal_Palace_-_Victorian_Dinosaurs_1_4887762470.jpg its statue] among the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Palace_Dinosaurs Crystal Palace Dinosaurs] (a clear example of ScienceMarchesOn).

* RobbingTheDead: It's easy to miss, but Nemo is a victim of this, courtesy of [[spoiler:Mr. Tulkinghorn]]. Krook also might well have snatched somethings.

* ClearMyName: Mr. George, who also happened to walk by [[spoiler:Mr. Tulkinghorn]]'s house at the time of the murder, is arrested as a primary suspect, thanks to having been previously exhorted and insulted by the victim. Meanwhile, [[spoiler:Hortense]] tries to frame Lady Dedlock for the same crime.

* BlackSheep: Mr. George considers himself a prodigal son and so refuses to reveal himself to his mother, [[spoiler:Mrs. Rouncewell]].

* DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou: [[Esther]] was raised as an orphan (death being an unavoidable reason), however, it's later revealed that her father was lost at sea and her mother had been lied to, so neither of her parents were aware of her whereabouts.

* IAmNotPretty: Esther Summerson is convinced that she is no beauty and will not be persuaded under any circumstances to be anything of the kind, despite all evidence to the contrary (not the least of which is the [[LikeFatherLikeSon resemblance of herself]] to [[spoiler:[[LikeFatherLikeSon her mother]]]], a very handsome woman in her own estimation, which even has people confuse the two after she recovers from smallpox).

* IAmNotPretty: Esther Summerson is convinced that she is no beauty and will not be persuaded under any circumstances to be anything of the kind, despite all evidence to the contrary (not the least of which is the [[LikeFatherLikeSon resemblance of herself to her mother]], a very handsome woman in her own estimation, which even has people confuse the two after she recovers from smallpox).

* KarmaHoudini: Neither Smallweed not Skimpole are punished for their behaviour, in fact Smallweed has gained a tidy sum from Sir Leicester.

* TruthInTelevision: ''Jarndyce and Jarndyce'' is based on ''Jennens and Jennens'' (1798-1915): Dickens' description of Chancery [[ShownTheirWork is not inaccurate,]] and ''Jennens and Jennens'' [[ForeverWar provides a prime example]], as he himself mentions in his preface to the novel. There are also many characters who are [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed based on actual people of the era.]]

* ShaggyDogStory: ''Jarndyce and Jarndyce'' has droned on for ''generations'', and the once-large estate has been nearly consumed by costs. This becomes far worse when [[spoiler:a third and later will is found among the papers hoarded by the late Krook, which the Smallweed family kept quiet about and had to be convinced to reluctantly give to Mr. Jarndyce. Not only does this testament render the entire suit pointless, it also gives a considerable sum to Richard and Ada (then in poverty), however, the will is dragged out of the Smallweeds grasp a few months too late, and the next session of court does not even bother with that will for the entire estate has been consumed by legal costs]].

* TheAlcoholic: Krook is described as constantly drinking, which leads to [[spoiler:[[SpontaneousHumanCombustion his death]]]]. The Jellybys maid, Priscilla, is another example: she constantly smells like a pub.

* AnyoneCanDie: A number of characters, both major and minor, die in the course of the story. This includes a victim of murder, among others, for a total of eight ([[spoiler:Nemo, "Coavinses," Mr. Gridley, Krook, Jo, Mr. Tulkinghorn, Lady Dedlock, and Richard Carstone in chapters 10, 15, 26, 32, 47, 48, 59, and 65, respectively]]), plus an infant who passes into and out of the story in chapter 8.
* ArtifactOfAttraction: The Court of Chancery and its suits are all have a fatal allure. As Miss Flite explains in chapter thirty-five:

* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs: It doesn't affect the story, but this novel is notable for containing ''the very first'' mention of a dinosaur in modern fiction--specifically, in the opening paragraph, where the omniscient narrator describes the streets of London as being so muddy he could imagine a ''Megalosaurus'' lumbering up them (in the first paragraph, no less).

* EmotionallyTongueTied: In the [[UpToEleven extreme case]] of Mr. Jellyby, it hardly matters ''what'' he's saying, since he habitually opens his mouth to say something and closes it without a word. In chapter thirty, he has a more clear-cut example: he repeatedly tries to thank Esther for [[spoiler:helping Caddy prepare for her marriage]] and cannot seem to say it; Esther responds to his attempts with "You are very welcome, sir. Pray don't mention it!"

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: [[spoiler:Mr. Jarndyce]] does this for [[spoiler:Esther]], once he realises that she (without realizing it) is in love with [[spoiler:Allan Woodcourt]], who returns her affections. Not only does he break off his engagement to her, he [[MatchmakerCrush gets]] [[spoiler:[[MatchmakerCrush Esther and Woodcourt together]]]], convinces the prospective groom's mother to assent to the match, and even prepares a second "Bleak House" for the couple, making him a positively [[UpToEleven munificent]] example.

** The Smallweed family does this in character alone which they take to [[UpToEleven new heights]], by [[GenerationXerox all being]] consummate misers who have never been "children" (with the sole exception of Mrs. Smallweed who is too senile to be anything but a "child").

** Hortense UpToEleven, without there having been any romantic feelings involved, clearly does not deal well with first being let go and then not getting exactly what she wanted out of her deal with [[spoiler:Mr. Tulkinghorn]].

* TheResenter: Hortense is this [[UpToEleven and then some]]. [[RevengeBeforeReason She goes above and beyond]] to exact a [[DisproportionateRetribution disproportionate revenge.]] And, if that wasn't enough to convince you, she thereafter continues to harangue someone who was only tangentially involved.

* ShaggyDogStory: ''Jarndyce and Jarndyce'' has droned on for ''generations'', and the once-large estate has been nearly consumed by costs. This becomes [[UpToEleven far worse]] when [[spoiler:a third and later will is found among the papers hoarded by the late Krook, which the Smallweed family kept quiet about and had to be convinced to reluctantly give to Mr. Jarndyce. Not only does this testament render the entire suit pointless, it also gives a considerable sum to Richard and Ada (then in poverty), however, the will is dragged out of the Smallweeds grasp a few months too late, and the next session of court does not even bother with that will for the entire estate has been consumed by legal costs]].

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: UpToEleven, with a total of twenty-two major characters alone.

** This was one of John Jarndyce's plans for Esther (given his personality, it is most likely that he thought of this an option and ended up falling for her), and [[spoiler:they do get engaged. However, Mr. Jarndyce first suspects and then confirms that Esther is in love with someone else, and then [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy revokes his own engagement and blesses Esther's marriage]] to Allen Woodcourt]].

* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Harold Skimpole's diaries, in which he calls his benefactor, John Jarndyce, "the incarnation of selfishness," are published and become popular.