# Mr. Vholes — Bleak House character guide

> Mr. Vholes in Bleak House by Charles Dickens.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Vholes

**First appearance:** 0039-xxxviii-a-struggle

## Snapshot

A pale, soft-spoken Chancery solicitor whose relentless diligence in Richard's suit quietly consumes his client's fortune.

## Who they are

Mr. Vholes is a lawyer of pinched respectability who keeps his shoulder to the wheel of Jarndyce and Jarndyce with grim, unflagging patience. He presents himself as a man of duty and family feeling, yet his fees and his calm encouragement keep Richard Carstone tethered to a case that is bleeding him dry. His bloodless professionalism embodies Chancery's appetite for costs, and his office becomes the quiet engine of Richard's ruin.

## In the story

### [Attorney and Client](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bleak_house_se/chapters/xxxix-attorney-and-client)

Vholes, the respectable attorney with impaired digestion, manipulates Richard's distrust of Jarndyce while professing his own professional duty and disinterest.

### [XLV: In Trust](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bleak_house_se/chapters/xlv-in-trust)

Vholes delivers the grim news of Richard's debts, emphasizing his own disinterestedness while subtly shifting responsibility.

### [Perspective](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bleak_house_se/chapters/lx-perspective)

Richard's lawyer; scrupulous and self-serving; keeps his eyes on Richard during dinner; associated with Richard's decline.

### [Another Discovery](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bleak_house_se/chapters/lxii-another-discovery)

Called in by Mr. Kenge to examine the will; discusses its implications regarding the Receiver-General and costs.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bleak_house_se/characters/mr_vholes
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bleak_house_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bleak_house_se/characters