by Patrick Henry Reardon
Early in the first autobiographical account in Bleak House, Esther Sommerson speaks of Mrs. Rachael, a domestic servant of Miss Barbary, who is Esther’s aunt and guardian. Mrs. Rachael, a fairly non-descript person in the early part of the novel, disappears after the death of Miss Barbary, nor is there any reason to suppose, at that point, that we should ever hear about her again.
Later in the book, nonetheless, Dickens brings the same lady back, now the wife of a pompous preacher named Chadband. At a crucial point in the narrative, it is this Mrs. Chadband who recognizes Esther’s name in a context that throws light on her parentage. Thus, Dickens uses an otherwise minor character, who appears in only two s . . .
This article is only available to subscribers.
Not a subscriber? Subscribe to Touchstone today for full online access. Over 30 years of content!
subscription options
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95. That's only $1.66 per month!
Purchase Print &
Online Subscription
Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access for only $29.95. That's only $2.50 per month!
Transactions will be processed on the secure server of The Fellowship of St. James website, the publisher of Touchstone.
OR get a subscription to Touchstone to read on your Kindle for only $1.99 per month! (This option is KINDLE ONLY and does not include either print or online.)
Your subscription goes a long way to ensure that Touchstone is able to continue its mission of publishing quality Christian articles and commentary.
more from the online archives
20.8—October 2007
The Deep & Abiding Biblical Roots of Western Liberal Education by David Lyle Jeffrey
27.2—March/April 2014
Higher Education Should Advance the Glorious Liberty of the Sons of God by Anthony Esolen
the 2018 conference
get touchstone
Full access to the online archives (over 30 years of content): $19.95
Full access to the online archives PLUS 6 issues of the magazine sent to your mailbox: $29.95
from our sponsors
the current issue
top articles online
Watchful Dragons: Neil Gaiman's Brush with Narnia Lingers by Russell D. Moore
The Truth About Men & Church: Robbie Low on the Importance of Fathers to Churchgoing
Sanger's Victory: How Planned Parenthood's Founder Played the Christians—and Won by Allan Carlson
The Abusive Society: The Far Country of Sexual Rebellion by James M. Kushiner & James Hitchcock
The Genuine Preacher: What All Clergy Can Learn from Billy Graham by Robert Hart
the 2017 conference
the 2016 conference
Audio
Purchase and download the conference talks
Calendar
Anno Domini 2018
The St. James Calendar of the Christian Year—
CLOSEOUT SALE: Only $7.95
Devotional Guide
The Daily Devotional Guide
by Patrick Henry Reardon
Touchstone is a Christian journal, conservative in doctrine and eclectic in content, with editors and readers from each of the three great divisions of Christendom—Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox.
The mission of the journal and its publisher, The Fellowship of St. James, is to provide a place where Christians of various backgrounds can speak with one another on the basis of shared belief in the fundamental doctrines of the faith as revealed in Holy Scripture and summarized in the ancient creeds of the Church.
Touchstone is published by
All content The Fellowship of St. James — 2018. All rights reserved.
Returns, refunds, and privacy policy.
