# XII: On the Watch explained — Bleak House > Chapter companion for Bleak House by Charles Dickens. ## What happens Sir Leicester and Lady Dedlock return to Chesney Wold from Paris, where Lady Dedlock's profound boredom is evident. At the estate, Lady Dedlock notices and briefly compliments the young maid Rosa, sparking jealousy in her French maid Hortense. The chapter also introduces the fashionable guests arriving at Chesney Wold and hints at a superficial dandyism affecting even religion among the elite. ## Themes in this chapter ### Social Class and Inequality The chapter contrasts the bored, privileged existence of Lady Dedlock with the lively, appreciative response of Rosa and the servants, highlighting class divisions. ### Appearance vs. Reality The brilliant and distinguished circle at Chesney Wold appears virtuous and cultured, but the narrative hints at a superficial dandyism and moral emptiness beneath the surface. ### Secrets and Identity Lady Dedlock's hidden past and the watchful, jealous nature of Hortense suggest underlying secrets that threaten the facade of the Dedlock household. ## Character check-ins ### Lady Dedlock Returns to Chesney Wold from Paris, deeply bored and weary; shows fleeting interest in Rosa. ### Sir Leicester Dedlock Returns home with Lady Dedlock, complacent and self-absorbed; reviews his importance to society. ### Mrs. Rouncewell Housekeeper at Chesney Wold, welcomes the Dedlocks home and discusses Lady Dedlock's distant nature with her grandson Watt. ### Rosa Young scholar of Mrs. Rouncewell, praised by Lady Dedlock for her beauty; becomes object of Hortense's jealousy. ### Hortense Lady Dedlock's French maid, bitterly jealous of Rosa's attention from Lady Dedlock; described as cat-like and watchful. ### Watt Grandson of Mrs. Rouncewell, jokes about the Dedlock pride and shows interest in Rosa. ## Key lines > Weariness of soul lies before her, as it lies behind—her Ariel has put a girdle of it round the whole earth, and it cannot be unclasped—but the imperfect remedy is always to fly from the last place where it has been experienced. Lady Dedlock is trapped in an inescapable boredom that surrounds her everywhere, so her only flawed solution is to keep moving from place to place. _Highlights Lady Dedlock's profound ennui and restless escape from boredom._ > There is something indefinably keen and wan about her anatomy, and she has a watchful way of looking out of the corners of her eyes without turning her head which could be pleasantly dispensed with, especially when she is in an ill humour and near knives. Hortense has a sharp, pale appearance and a habit of glancing sideways without moving her head, which is unsettling, particularly when she is angry and near sharp objects. _Portrays Hortense as predatory and dangerous, foreshadowing her role in the plot._ > Yet there is something a little wrong about it in despite of its immense advantages. What can it be? Dandyism? ... But is there dandyism in the brilliant and distinguished circle notwithstanding, dandyism of a more mischievous sort, that has got below the surface and is doing less harmless things than jack-towelling itself and stopping its own digestion, to which no rational person need particularly object? Despite all the wealth and refinement of the guests at Chesney Wold, there is a subtle corruption—a modern, superficial dandyism that affects even religion and morality, more harmful than mere fashion. _Critiques the shallow and morally hollow nature of high society._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bleak_house_se/chapters/xii-on-the-watch - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bleak_house_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bleak_house_se/chapters