Bleak House · Chapter
A New Lodger explained
Mr.
What happens
Mr. Weevle (formerly Tony Jobling) takes up lodging at Krook's, decorating his room with portraits from the Galaxy Gallery of British Beauty and settling into the court's social life. Meanwhile, during the long vacation, Mr. Guppy languishes at Kenge and Carboy's office, resentful of Richard Carstone's presence and confiding in Young Smallweed. Guppy and Smallweed meet Jobling for a hearty meal, where Jobling discusses his uncertain future and the possibility of enlisting.
Themes in this chapter
Social Class and Inequality
Mr. Weevle's fascination with the fashionable world and his collection of portraits of titled ladies highlight the allure and distance of high society for those in lower social strata.
Bureaucracy and Dehumanization
The idle, unproductive atmosphere of Kenge and Carboy's office during the long vacation, with Mr. Guppy stabbing his desk and making gyrations, reflects the dehumanizing tedium of legal work.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Weevle
Takes up lodging at Krook's, decorates his room with portraits, and becomes a familiar figure in the court.
- Mr. Guppy
Languishes at Kenge and Carboy's office during the long vacation, resentful of Richard Carstone and confiding in Young Smallweed.
- Richard Carstone
Established in Kenge's room at the office, causing Mr. Guppy to chafe.
- Mr. Smallweed
Young Smallweed, an old limb of the law, aspires to be like Guppy and advises him on private matters.
- Mr. Weevle
Referred to as Tony Jobling, he meets Guppy and Smallweed for a meal and discusses his uncertain future.
- Miss Flite
Lends Mr. Weevle a needle and thread for his new lodging.
Key passages
“Mr. Weevle modestly appears at Krook's, by no means incommoded with luggage, and establishes himself in his new lodging, where the two eyes in the shutters stare at him in his sleep, as if they were full of wonder.”
Mr. Weevle arrives at Krook's with little luggage and settles in, while the painted eyes on the shutters seem to watch him sleep.
Describes Weevle's arrival and the eerie atmosphere of his new room.
“But fashion is Mr. Weevle's, as it was Tony Jobling's, weakness.”
Mr. Weevle, like his former self Tony Jobling, is obsessed with fashion and high society.
Highlights Weevle's enduring fascination with the fashionable world.
“Mr. Guppy suspects everybody who enters on the occupation of a stool in Kenge and Carboy's office of entertaining, as a matter of course, sinister designs upon him.”
Mr. Guppy believes that anyone who takes a desk at the office must have malicious intentions toward him.
Reveals Guppy's paranoid and self-important nature.