Family in Bleak House

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In Bleak House Charles Dickens uses the metaphor of parenting to expose elements that are undermining English society. In the world of the novel society is comprised of two supporting legs the social as represented by connections of individuals and the state which is made up of legal, economic and political elements. Families are the core organizing unit in society. Failures of legitimate authority in the family reverberate in the larger social order, weakening the moral bonds that prevail throughout society. Conversely, failure in the larger social order weakens the framework of support necessary for most families to thrive. The central theme is taking responsibility of self and those around you. Dickens world looks at how English society is being undermined by the willful neglect of the weakest, most vulnerable members- women, children, the poor and uneducated. The relationship between citizens and society is captured by the metaphor of the family. In the world of Bleak House family can be positive and negative. When positive the family not only functions properly, but it strengthens outside institutions. When family doesn’t work society feeds upon itself. Since the larger structure of society, as Dickens, perceives it, is deeply flawed, non-traditional families, must be created like those created by John Jarndyce and Esther Summerson-Woodcourt. These non-traditional families gather people of good will who have been stunted and limited by failed families within a failed larger social order. The novel opens with several examples of traditional families who provide bad parenting. Initially none of them are meeting the needs of its members which eventually lead to the members to weaken the society to which they belong. The Jellyby family is asked to house the Jarndyce wards and Esther Summerson on their journey to Bleak House. As members of the upper
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