<P> Although not a character, the Jarndyce and Jarndyce case is a vital part of the novel . It is believed to have been inspired by a number of real - life Chancery cases involving wills, including those of Charles Day and William Jennens, and of Charlotte Smith's father - in - law Richard Smith . </P> <Ul> <Li> Esther Summerson is the heroine . She is Dickens's only female narrator . Esther is raised as an orphan by Miss Barbary, (who is in fact her aunt). She does not know her parents' identity . Miss Barbary holds macabre vigils on Esther's birthday each year, telling her that her birth is no cause for celebration, because the girl is her mother's "disgrace ." Because of her cruel upbringing she is self - effacing, self - deprecating and grateful for every trifle . The discovery of her true identity provides much of the drama in the book . Finally it is revealed that she is the illegitimate daughter of Lady Dedlock and Nemo (Captain Hawdon). </Li> <Li> Honoria, Lady Dedlock is the haughty mistress of Chesney Wold . The revelation of her past drives much of the plot . Before her marriage, Lady Dedlock had an affair with another man and bore his child . Lady Dedlock discovers the child's identity (Esther Summerson), and because she has revealed that she had a secret predating her marriage, she has attracted the noxious curiosity of Mr Tulkinghorn, who feels bound by his ties to his client, Sir Leicester, to pry out her secret . At the end of the novel, Lady Dedlock dies, disgraced in her own mind and convinced that her husband can never forgive her moral failings . </Li> <Li> John Jarndyce is an unwilling party in Jarndyce and Jarndyce, guardian of Richard, Ada, and Esther, and owner of Bleak House . Vladimir Nabokov called him "one of the best and kindest human beings ever described in a novel". A wealthy man, he helps most of the other characters, motivated by a combination of goodness and guilt at the mischief and human misery caused by Jarndyce and Jarndyce, which he calls "the family curse ." At first, it seems possible that he is Esther's father, but he disavows this shortly after she comes to live under his roof . He falls in love with Esther and wishes to marry her, but gives her up because she is in love with Mr Woodcourt . </Li> <Li> Richard Carstone is a ward of Chancery in Jarndyce and Jarndyce . Straightforward and likeable but irresponsible and inconstant, Richard falls under the spell of Jarndyce and Jarndyce . At the end of the book, just after Jarndyce and Jarndyce is finally settled, he dies, tormented by his imprudence in trusting to the outcome of a Chancery suit . </Li> </Ul> <Li> Esther Summerson is the heroine . She is Dickens's only female narrator . Esther is raised as an orphan by Miss Barbary, (who is in fact her aunt). She does not know her parents' identity . Miss Barbary holds macabre vigils on Esther's birthday each year, telling her that her birth is no cause for celebration, because the girl is her mother's "disgrace ." Because of her cruel upbringing she is self - effacing, self - deprecating and grateful for every trifle . The discovery of her true identity provides much of the drama in the book . Finally it is revealed that she is the illegitimate daughter of Lady Dedlock and Nemo (Captain Hawdon). </Li> <Li> Honoria, Lady Dedlock is the haughty mistress of Chesney Wold . The revelation of her past drives much of the plot . Before her marriage, Lady Dedlock had an affair with another man and bore his child . Lady Dedlock discovers the child's identity (Esther Summerson), and because she has revealed that she had a secret predating her marriage, she has attracted the noxious curiosity of Mr Tulkinghorn, who feels bound by his ties to his client, Sir Leicester, to pry out her secret . At the end of the novel, Lady Dedlock dies, disgraced in her own mind and convinced that her husband can never forgive her moral failings . </Li>

What is the name of lady dedlock's illegitimate daughter in bleak house