Bleak House : Lady Dedlock: The End

So in an era of writing, where by and large, the good guys are sent through hell but get a happy ending (Esther), and the bad guys are usually just sent to hell (Tulkinghorn), My Lady Dedlock dies painfully and alone in a cemetery (convenient, I suppose). Her mean-spiritedness aside, she was not a villain in the story, yet it seems she was given one of the saddest endings in the book.

Among the graves of the departed, this cemetery is for the dishonored, the unidentified and the poor, and it is here where Esther eventually comes upon the body of her mother. She had gone to this cemetery in the hopes of finding the grave of Nemo/Hawdon, arguably the only man she truly loved.

While it was appropriate for Nemo to be buried in such a place, having Lady Dedlock die in this cemetery has more layers to it than we think. Granted, it has a certain melodramatic flare to it, dying alongside her former lover, something that is spookily romantic, and not surprising in Victorian era writing. But dying in this cemetery for the dishonored and the poor, she dies not as Lady Dedlock but as Honoria, her true self; her secrets laid barethe affair with Nemo, the child out of wedlock. She isn't the haughty, phlorizin and self-centered woman whose regal demeanor and money kept her in the richest of circles. She is the fallen woman, dying among the wretched and the poor.

Lady Dedlock died alone believing her world to be over. She believed she was hunted for a murder she did not commit, believed Sir Leicester hated her for her secrets, for what they would do to the Dedlock name. She died horribly, and the ending wasn't happy. However, the reader is cued in on some other truths. Sir Leicester's love for her was so great he felt sorry for her. He didn't care about the Dedlock family legacy, and had forgiven her totally for her pasthe loved her more than he could have expressed to her. My Lady died in pursuit of her first love, and when she was found, the first hands upon her was Esther, her daughter. So in that way, her death was perhaps more bittersweet. When she died, people mourned her, unlike Tulkinghorn whose death was probably met with a ticker-tape parade. Lady Dedlock died surrounded by the love of other people. http://bleakhouseconnections.blogspot.com/2009/11/lady-dedlock-end.html

Excellent post, well thought out and well written.

My feelings on Lady Dedlock are as she saw herself as a trophy wife or more or less a fine piece of porcelain on the mantle shelve. She marries this wealthy man and can spend her days doing as she wishes. In the beginning she is looking out the window and says And I am bored to death with it. Bored to death with this place, bored to death with my life, bored to death with myself.

But she does know should she leave her husband her life would change for the worst.

Now when she finds out that her husband will find out about her spotted past she feels that will be a chip in the fine porcelain piece and it will be thrown away. So rather than asking her husband what will he do, she leaves him.

Yes, to all that you said, but keep in mind due to the moral code of the period there is no way that she could have lived. She was punished using the code for her transgressions, as was Tulkinghorn and even Nemo. In literature of the period a fallen woman always meets her demise. Esther's honor is unquestioned throughout and so she prevails as a hero, so, in a sense, a story like this only reinforces Victorian codes of behavior.

OP has written a lovely piece and I'd only disagree with the term "mean-spiritedness", having not seen it as that emotion.
And I do think that Lady Dedlock not only worried about the possible rejection by her husband, but that she truly did not want to hurt his reputation, as she as fond of him and grateful.
The restraints and considerations of women during that era certainly was a tragedy and theme in the story. Lady Dedlock was a victim of it from early on and never recovered. Her life with her husband was the best fate she could have hoped for considering her past. She probably remained cool and aloof most of the time so she wouldn't break down emotionally. Sad . But she did get some satisfaction and peace knowing her daughter was well and leading a good life.

Out of interest, what was lady Dedlock's death scene (or final scenes) like?

I watched just a handful of episodes as it originally aired but can't remember this. I think I may get the dvd. Her death always was very sad to me, how she tries to get in the cemetary but ends up dying at the gates. Very very tragic

mitchflorida, this is a fantastic post. I like your insight into and interpretation of Lady Dedlock's death scene. Thank you for sharing.

LBE

*****
On your feet, Sam.

by all accounts he was a war hero and great friend and lover it seems his only "crime" was fathering a child out of wedlock; or perhaps Honoria Barbary decided to marry for money instead of love. Either way it set him off on an undeserved downward spiral.

by all accounts he was a war hero and great friend and lover it seems his only "crime" was fathering a child out of wedlock; or perhaps Honoria Barbary decided to marry for money instead of love. Either way it set him off on an undeserved downward spiral.