THE FAMILY AND THE PROBLEM OF IDENTITY IN CHARLES DICKENS’ BLEAK HOUSE

Abstract

The problem of selfhood in the context of family, especially as regards self-identification according to one’s unique position in a family, seems to be present in almost everything that Dickens wrote – either as a central theme or as a peripheral motif. Bleak House is no exception, with its plethora of characters whose identities are affected by the presence, or absence, of family. In this paper I aim at examining the connection between identity and family on the example of Charles Dickens’ novel Bleak House, thus hoping, in addition, to unveil the author’s specific perception of childhood.