Jellyby’s house, where they will spend the night. Esther is glad that she has not been born into this, as Richard and Ada have, and the three of them wait to be taken to a woman named Mrs. Many of the cases, like Jarndyce and Jarndyce, have gone on for several generations and have torn families apart in this time. The court of Chancery is a large, archaic institution which deals explicitly with disputes over property. Here, she is introduced to her new companion, Ada Clare, and another ward of the court, and Ada’s cousin, Richard Carstone. Esther arrives in London and finds herself directed to the court of Chancery by a clerk named Mr. She is very happy at school and is trained to be a governess.Īfter six years at school, Esther is told that she is to travel to London and become the companion of a young woman who is a ward of the court in a lawsuit called Jarndyce and Jarndyce.

Esther is amazed and incredibly grateful.

Kenge and he tells Esther that Miss Barbary was really her aunt, and that Esther is now to be sent to school under the care of her new guardian, a man named Mr. At her godmother’s funeral, Esther is approached by a man she has seen before at Miss Barbary’s house. Two years later, Miss Barbary has a stroke while Esther is reading to her from the Bible and dies not long after this. Miss Barbary bitterly tells Esther that she was “her mother’s disgrace.” Esther is distraught and does not understand what her Miss Barbary alludes to. Esther longs to be loved and accepted and, one day, on her birthday, she begs her godmother to tell her something of her past. Tulkinghorn continues to read and Lady Dedlock, who says she feels faint, retires to her room.Įsther Summerson is an orphan girl who has been raised by her godmother, Miss Barbary, a hard, pious woman who seems to dislike Esther and keeps her away from other children. Tulkinghorn, a reserved, steely man, explains that an anonymous law writer penned the document. Midway through, Lady Dedlock turns pale and asks who wrote the paper. Tulkinghorn, arrives and reads to them from some legal documents. She is considered a cold, haughty woman, but there is a rumor that she is not of noble birth and that Sir Leicester married her despite this. Lady Dedlock, the wife of aristocratic nobleman Sir Leicester Dedlock, is extremely bored in her fashionable London townhouse.

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