“Bleak House” (post 8) by Charles Dickens: Esther’s Conclusion

The last chapter of this novel is titled “The Close of Esther’s Narrative.” It begins:

“Full seven happy years I have been the mistress of Bleak House. The few words that I have to add to what I have written, are soon penned; then I, and the unknown friend to whom I write, will part for ever. Not without much dear remembrance on my side. Not without some, I hope, on his or hers” (1, p. 985).

Comment: It says that Esther, a character who evidently had a mind of her own—in essence, an alternate personality—was the principal writer of this novel, and that she communicated her part of the narrative to her friend, probably Charles Dickens, who, as the unnamed narrator, helped complete it.

This interpretation is based on the fact that, in real life, Dickens once confided in his friend and biographer, John Forster, that he didn’t invent his novels, but, in fact, after hearing and seeing them, wrote them down, as discussed in this blog’s first post: search “Dickens.”

You are entitled to disagree with this interpretation if you are a higher authority on Dickens than Dickens.

1. Charles Dickens. Bleak House [1853]. London, Penguin Books, 2003.