[fantasyfan]

For me one of the high points of Esther's narrative occurs in chapter 35 when she has the delirium while suffering from Smallpox. It is written with remarkable beauty and is very moving. It's the one point where Esther shares something of the universality of the Omniscient narrator.

I very much like John Jarndyce too. In fact I think Esther should have married him, not Allan Woodcourt. Allan comes into the novel rather late and does a series of good deeds {to make him worthy of Esther}. His actual relationship with Esther and why they should love each other is never spelt out in any significant way. I know there's an age difference between Esther and John, but the Victorians weren't really hung up on that.

BTW do any of you have an opinion about the way Dickens generally portrays women in this novel?