Making the Rounds /// Emma Landry

     The section in Bleak House which struck me was the passage in which Mrs. Pardiggle, who is insufferable from the moment she is introduced, forces the girls to make visits with her. Upon the arrival at the brickmaker's house, it is evident that Mrs. Pardiggle is much more concerned in fulfilling what she sees as her duties to the community than in actually caring for the people she encounters. Even though the family is living in deplorable conditions, she shows no concern for their situation. The group encounters "a woman with a black eye, nursing a poor little gasping baby by the fire" and "a bold girl, doing some kind of washing in very dirty water" (p. 98). If Mrs. Pardiggle were truly the charitable person she thinks herself to be, she might take some useful, helpful action. However, it is disappointing to see that she does not fuss over the idea of helping the group get medical attention, furniture, or clean water. As indicated by the brickmaker, it seems that Mrs. Pardiggle merely stops by the house to ask a series of intrusive questions and to check this errand off her to-do list, so to speak. The brickmaker's proactive answering of her questions indicates that nothing ever changes, and that the visits only serve to point out the faults of the family members and of the living conditions without providing assistance to actually improve living conditions. Mrs. Pardiggle's attitude is incredibly condescending as she seems quite un-humanlike in her interactions with the family. Instead of benefiting the people by teaching the illiterate to read, she forces them to listen to her loud voice while she treats them like children. 

    Mrs. Pardiggle is one of the worst characters because of her obsession with image. Instead of actually raising her children to be naturally generous, she takes their money as she pleases to help craft the perfect family picture of dedication to the good of others. It is perhaps because of her constant obsession with her image and likely desire to make herself feel good by helping others that Mrs. Pardiggle is blind to others' pain. Seeing those in front of her as simply projects, she does not care that the people have undrinkable water, are being abused, or, most poignantly, have lost a dear child. It is heartbreaking how engrossed in her selfish "duties" Mrs. Pardiggle is that she is oblivious to the tragedy in front of her. However, the sensitive Ada provides a much better example for performing acts of kindness to others. "Such compassion, such gentleness, as that with which she bent down weeping, and put her hand upon the mother's, might have softened any mother's heart that ever did beat. The woman at first gazed at her in astonishment, and then burst into tears" (p. 100). If Mrs. Pardiggle had simply paused to empathize with those in misery, she might have had much better luck with gaining their trust. Sometimes, a small gesture of understanding and love is the greatest gift one can receive. A personal connection with another is always more meaningful than half-hearted, disinterested acts of charity.

I commented on Emma Dalgety's and Abigale Bell's posts.