The Curse of the Case // Abigale Bell
In chapter 37 of Bleak House, Richard has become entangles in the drama of the Jarndyce case. He has been drawn into the promise of future riches that seems as though it will never come. Richard, himself, is terrible with money. He has no sense of the value of money. Richard and Skimpole have struck up a friendship that seems unsurprising considering their mutual lack of monetary sense and otherwise carefree attitude toward life. Esther also makes note of the likeness between Richard and Miss Flite; perhaps as a sort of foreshadowing of Richard's fate.
Esther says Richard is "...so young and handsome, and in all respects so perfectly the opposite of Miss Flite! And yet, in the clouded, eager, seeking look that passed over him, so dreadfully like her!" (Dickens, 528).
Richard has the same expectation for the conclusion of the Jarndyce suit. Like Miss Flite, he has invested all his hope for the future in the suit. Maybe this warns of Richard's eventual fate. Maybe this comparison is a further illustration of the state of insanity to which the Jarndyce and Jarndyce lawsuit drives a person.
One of Richard and Esther's first encounters with Mr. Skimpole is when they bail him out of debt. This event seems to set the tone for the progression of Richard's character. I can't help but make a connection between this first experience and, here, in chapter 37. Esther asks him if he is in debt. Richard is "astonished at [her] simplicity" for thinking he was not. Even Richard's words are similar, in chapter 37, to the words of Harold Skimpole.
Skimpole says he is "...not called upon to account to you or myself for anything..." (529). A few lines earlier, Richard said, "...I am not accountable to Mr. Jarndyce or Mr. Anybody" (527). Do these words sound similar to you? To me, eerily so.
The common themes surrounding the Jarndyce and Jarndyce lawsuit are obsession and insanity. We have seen a character, like Miss Flite, drawn in by the enticement of the suit and its future promises, only to come to a dismal end. We have seen another character, like Mr. Skimpole, completely disregard the pull of anything and especially responsibility. Richard seems to be on the path of destruction just like these characters. We shall see the length to which he allows himself to be devoured by the curse of the Jarndyce case.
Commented on Emory's and Emma Landry's posts.
I feel like this lawsuit has just slowly turned into an addictive drug that people such as Richard can't rid themselves of. This family's ever-evolving case is just dragging everyone and everything associated with it down to a deeper level than what can anticipated. And of course, it only makes sense that it affects the person at the center of the case, Richard, the worst in this endeavor.
ReplyDeleteSadly, watched the gradual downfall of Richard reminded me somewhat of the downfall of Smeagol from Lord of the Rings. The ring slowly corrupts him, as it eventually tries to do with Frodo. While these are very unrelated novels, the way in which the case consumes him and drives him insane was very reminiscent of Gollum for me.
ReplyDeleteThis case has become a disease, infecting anyone that becomes a part of it. They become someone totally different, someone unrecognizable. It's really sad to see these people become the worst version's of themselves with this case.
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