Bleak House

The double narrative, which Dickens uses in Bleak House, represents both the linear and non-linear timescale, adapted by the physical and emotional sides of the narrative. The omniscient narrator, narrates the non-linear chapters and is portrayed as the all-knowing and all concealing entity which adds substance to the self-importance and proud humbleness of Esther Summerson; our first person narrator.

Emotion is presented to the reader on two levels, as in most cases; emotion can only be brought to life through human adoption or connection. We require a character to bring together situation and emotion; one without the other would engage confusion and distance. This is where the double narrative is used by Dickens to make the connection subconscious and therefore oblivious to the reader so that they are left to believe that they are watching over Esther Summerson when in fact they are becoming connected to the story by their own need for resolve.

The function of the narrative crossover in Bleak House is to make the book appear to be whole, rather than as two halves. The linearity of Esther’s narratives become representative of the non-linear first person narrative, in respect to the fact that both are simultaneous but at the same time not parallel. Esther’s Narratives represent sections of the circular narrative. Without touching them, the omniscient narrator uses the physical connection of Esther Summerson’s chapters to link the series of events together, acting as another pair of eyes to the reader, but being careful not to reveal anything other than what is relevant to either the past or present. This would imply that the first person narrative dictates the speed and direction of the non-linear narrative. Dickens reflects this idea in the form of fog.

"Fog everywhere. Fog up the river... fog down the river."

The usage of the present tense rather than the past removes the linear dictation by time and restricts knowledge to situation rather than chronology. To refer to the end (or non-end) of the fog would allow the reader to share knowledge with the narrator and assume that by the next chapter, it would all be gone. ‘Fog everywhere’, shrouds the reader’s view not only physically but also emotionally, it removes the idea that the fog has limits, it becomes immovable as it has no ends. The reader accepts it’s presence, and benefits from its thinner areas.

The fog is comparable to the omniscient narrative, it is never ending but in places we are given windows to a wider view. In the narrative structure these windows are in the form of Esther’s Narratives. These windows are all given the same name throughout the book; "Esther’s Narrative", unlike the fog these areas have a beginning and an end. Although they seem to be areas where the reader is given freedom they are also areas where the reader has the chance to get lost with the character plot and development.

"The fog is very dense indeed…not that it affects you though…it seems to do you good."

The quote from Mr. Guppy reflects the importance of the double narrative to the reader; a more concentrated view is beneficial to the reader as their restriction acts as a freedom to explore without losing the narrative concentration, which is typical of Dickens’ style. Mrs. Jellyby’s concentration on the distant results in negligence to things around her, she is more engulfed with charity in different countries than with her own family. Like with a camera focus, the photographer will get the best picture if their subjects are together, rather than trying to focus on his/her outstretched hand as well as a car down the road. Fog is associated with restriction, as if it is hiding something, at the same time it could be seen as protecting us from something, that something is not necessarily distant. Maybe, like in the case of Mrs. Jellyby it is protecting us from ourselves.

"Around and around the house the leaves fall thick – but never fast."

Repetition of around implies that the movement of the leaves is constant and endless, as part of a non-linear chapter this signifies the endlessness of weather, the house represents the persistence of autumn, and almost as if it is constant and never-ending, time essentially freezes. Like the fog, the leaves fall thick, but this time vision is not restricted by reduction in visible opacity, but by partial or total cover by a physical shroud of leaves. The reference to the time extension or suspended animation, along with the physical impossibility of leaving the building due to the leaves, presents the inhabitants of the house with a problem. The non-linear exclusion of time is contrasted with the linear presence within the house; this narrative crossover shows the abrupt domination of the omniscient narration over the first person. The reader is brought to realise that the first person control of time is, in this case, ironic. As people are physically restricted within the house and as the first person controls progression of the non-linear timescale, they are holding themselves still in the house as they do not progress and therefore nor does the non-linear narrative. The linear narrative is forced into chronological progression so that it does not get caught up in itself and is restricted by the ever presence of the circular narrative.

"The Dedlocks of the past doze in their picture-frames, and the low wind murmurs through the long drawing-room as if they were breathing pretty regularly."

The dead sleeping represents the fact that even after death people can still exist, in this case it is as paintings. In linear existence they are dead and all that remains is a painting but with the inclusion of the wind they are brought to life and seem to still be breathing. Breathing causes air to move, the Dedlocks in the paintings theoretically caused wind in the past by breathing. This idea has been inverted, the wind is causing the Dedlocks to breathe, and there is a murmur in the drawing room almost as if they are just sleeping rather than actually being dead. This non-linear representation of life shows the significance of the past, with a first person narrative the reader has only the exploration of the present and the exploration of the present is only of that through the eyes of the narrator. With the double narrative the reader is allowed to explore the past as well as the present, the omniscient narrator gives the reader insights into the present, which are not available from the first person narrative.

"The winds are his messengers, and they serve him in these hours of darkness."

This idea is used with Tom in Tom-all-alone’s but from the other side of death, in this case the wind is used to carry Tom’s breath, this wind will not bring life to Tom but bring death to all that come into contact with it. Tom’s revenge "propagates infection and contagion", this is the opposite of that which happens to the Dedlocks. In life the Dedlocks had lots and did little with it, Tom has nothing and gives all he has in his death. With both of these situations the dead pass down all that they had. The Dedlocks who got everything from the Dedlocks pass everything down to the Dedlocks; Tom who got everything from no one passes everything down to everyone.

The double narrative structure used by Dickens in Bleak House allows the reader to follow a very human narrator who aids character and plot development, as well as an omniscient narrator who gives a wider (yet restricted) view of the book without losing Dickens descriptive style. The book follows a tightly woven circular path with areas of linear narrative which allow the reader to make links between chapters and plot whilst at the same time being able to link current events with past events which the first person narrator could not explore. The two separable narratives can be seen as obstructive due to the structure in which they are employed, with the omniscient narrator taking a long time to tell us nothing and the first person narrative more interested in etiquette than plot. Whereas the narratives compliment each other when interpreted together. The super-descriptiveness along with the emotional involvement of the narratives allows the reader to have a contextualised relationship with both the emotional and physical sides of the plot and characters.