Abstract
Attitudes toward gentility significantly changed during the lifetime of Charles Dickens (1812–70), leading to a redefinition of the term gentleman. Dickens keenly observed the social dynamics of the Victorian period, and his works reflected the evolving perceptions of class, morality, and social responsibility. This study analyzes Dickens’s descriptions of key changes in the definition of a gentleman in his novel Bleak House (1852–53), focusing on the backgrounds of Mr. Jarndyce, Sir Leicester Dedlock, Mr. Rouncewell, Richard Carstone, and Allan Woodcourt. The analysis examines the changes in social mobility and industrialization, professionalism, and meritocracy as well as the emphasis on character and morality, philanthropy, and social responsibility. Findings revealed that the definition of a gentleman considerably changed during Dickens’s lifetime. The sudden end of the Jarndyce and Jarndyce lawsuit implies the decline in hereditary property and rise of self-made gentlemen. The contrasts between those with inherited property and the self-made gentlemen in Bleak House reflect the broader societal shifts toward equal opportunity, moral character, and social responsibility. Challenges to the traditional criteria for gentility led to a more inclusive and dynamic understanding of the concept in Victorian England. The various types of gentlemen portrayed in Bleak House reflect and contribute to the evolving notions of what it meant to be a gentleman during this period.
Author Information
Akiko Takei, Chukyo University, Japan
Paper Information
Conference: ACAH2024
Stream: Literature/Literary Studies
This paper is part of the ACAH2024 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Takei A. (2024) The Decline of Inherited Property and Rise of Working Gentlemen in Bleak House ISSN: 2186-229X – The Asian Conference on Arts & Humanities 2024 Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 505-513) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2186-229X.2024.44
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2186-229X.2024.44
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