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).

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.

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.

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.

Ada Clare  is another young ward of Chancery in Jarndyce and Jarndyce.
She falls in love with Richard Carstone, a distant cousin.
They later marry in secret and she has Richard's child.

Harold Skimpole is a friend of Jarndyce "in the habit of sponging his friends" (Nuttall).
He is irresponsible, selfish, amoral, and without remorse.
He often refers to himself as "a child" and claims not to understand human relationships, circumstances, and society – but actually understands them very well, as he demonstrates when he enlists Richard and Esther to pay off the bailiff who has arrested him on a writ of debt.
He believes that Richard and Ada will be able to acquire credit based on their expectations in Jarndyce and Jarndyce and declares his intention to start "honoring" them by letting them pay some of his debts.
This character is commonly regarded as a portrait of Leigh Hunt. "
Dickens wrote in a letter of 25 September 1853, 'I suppose he is the most exact portrait that was ever painted in words! ...
It is an absolute reproduction of a real man.'
A contemporary critic commented, 'I recognised Skimpole instantaneously; ... and so did every person whom I talked with about it who had ever had Leigh Hunt's acquaintance.'"
G. K. Chesterton suggested that Dickens "may never once have had the unfriendly thought, 'Suppose Hunt behaved like a rascal!';
he may have only had the fanciful thought, 'Suppose a rascal behaved like Hunt!'".

Lawrence Boythorn  is an old friend of John Jarndyce's; a former soldier who always speaks in superlatives; very loud and harsh, but goodhearted.
Boythorn was once engaged to (and very much in love with) a woman who later left him without giving him any reason.
That woman was in fact, Miss Barbary, who abandoned her former life (including Boythorn) when she took Esther from her sist
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).
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.
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.
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.
Ada Clare  is another young ward of Chancery in Jarndyce and Jarndyce. She falls in love with Richard Carstone, a distant cousin. They later marry in secret and she has Richard's child.
Harold Skimpole is a friend of Jarndyce "in the habit of sponging his friends" (Nuttall). He is irresponsible, selfish, amoral, and without remorse. He often refers to himself as "a child" and claims not to understand human relationships, circumstances, and society – but actually understands them very well, as he demonstrates when he enlists Richard and Esther to pay off the bailiff who has arrested him on a writ of debt. He believes that Richard and Ada will be able to acquire credit based on their expectations in Jarndyce and Jarndyce and declares his intention to start "honoring" them by letting them pay some of his debts. This character is commonly regarded as a portrait of Leigh Hunt. "Dickens wrote in a letter of 25 September 1853, 'I suppose he is the most exact portrait that was ever painted in words! ... It is an absolute reproduction of a real man.' A contemporary critic commented, 'I recognised Skimpole instantaneously; ... and so did every person whom I talked with about it who had ever had Leigh Hunt's acquaintance.'" G. K. Chesterton suggested that Dickens "may never once have had the unfriendly thought, 'Suppose Hunt behaved like a rascal!'; he may have only had the fanciful thought, 'Suppose a rascal behaved like Hunt!'".
Lawrence Boythorn  is an old friend of John Jarndyce's; a former soldier who always speaks in superlatives; very loud and harsh, but goodhearted. Boythorn was once engaged to (and very much in love with) a woman who later left him without giving him any reason. That woman was in fact, Miss Barbary, who abandoned her former life (including Boythorn) when she took Esther from her sist
Bleak House