What it seemed to me what the overall point that Dickens was trying to make was the shortcomings of the society of the time. He was trying to point out inefficiencies of agencies, greed, and self-delusion. Instead of one organized crime there were child farms, abused burial practices, no restriction on slums, and other documentary elements of a horrible society. He was unable to ignore such things and decided to expose those many scandals through a carefully organized plot. Just some of the examples would be the procrastination of Chancery which is similar to the disorder of Krook’s emporium, the dirt and mismanagement of the Jellyby household, the cobwebs of Tulkinghorn’s bottle of port, the filth of Tom-all-Alone’s, and the grit and grime of the “iron country” up north, and so on. Then to contrast those examples in the story there is the cleanliness of Bagnets, the dependability of Trooper George, and the efficiency of Inspector Bucket. I feel that Dickens was establishing Sir Leicester as both character and significant symbol with cross-reference with the Chancery and Tom-all-Alone. It seems that Dickens is comparing Sir Leicester to Chesney Wold. Chesney Wold (like Sir Leicester) is wet, dark, and damp compared to a place with ample sunlight (like Esther or Mrs. Bagnet).
I understand that London may actually be pretty dark, rainy, and smoggy throughout most of the densely populated area, but Dickens makes it sound more so of a place of death. Through this physical landscape that he is willing to show the reader he assists in showing the horrible living conditions of the true London citizens. I am sure there are other areas that are nice and efficient; however, Dickens wants to show the reader how bad the conditions are in London during that time. That political atmosphere may not be as obvious in the current U.S., but there are still many authors that seem to want to follow Dickens’ lead on expression. The bureaucracies do not run very quickly because they are not there to please the customer; however, they do keep their standards to a professional level in today’s government.
Have you read Kafka's The Trial? It was published in 1925, and it's an absurdist novel in which the main character wakes up one morning and finds that he's on trial with no understanding of how the judicial system works or what he's done. It's not Dickensian, per se, but it is deeply critical of the legal system.
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