Question

Fog everywhere. Fog up the river... fog down the river,

where it rolls defiled among the tiers of shipping, and the
waterside pollutions of a great (and dirty) city. ... Fog lying
out on the yards, and hovering in the rigging of great ships;
fog drooping on the gunwales of barges and small boats.
Fog in the eyes and throats of ancient Greenwich
pensioners, wheezing by the firesides.... Chance people
on the bridges peeping over the parapets into a nether sky
of fog, with fog all round them, as if they were up in a
balloon and hanging in the misty clouds.1
-Charles Dickens, Bleak House
What was a major cause of the conditions described in the passage?
OA. The spread of steam-powered factories and mills
OB. The increase in division between social classes
OC. The increase of women in the workforce
D. The growth of economic inequality

Answer 1

The major cause of the conditions described in the passage was the spread of steam-powered factories and mills during the Industrial Revolution, which led to severe air pollution and a ubiquitous fog in cities like London. The correct answer is option A.

Step-by-step explanation:

The passage from Charles Dickens' Bleak House vividly describes a pervasive fog that is a result of the industrialization and the prevalence of smoke from coal-powered factories. This fog illustrates the poor air quality that beset London during the Industrial Revolution. References to the fog lying on various parts of the city including the river, ships, and in the eyes and throats of people, highlight the omnipresence of pollution caused by the spread of steam-powered factories and mills. The passage reflects more than just the physical conditions; it is a metaphor for the murkiness and corruption of the legal system as represented by the Court of Chancery during Dickens' time.

Additional historical contexts reinforce this interpretation, like the descriptions from Life in the Iron Mills by Rebecca Harding Davis that detail the suffocating smoke engulfing the town from iron-foundries. The discussion about city air being dirty due to coal being burned for steam power and electricity, and the resulting soot covering everything is also indicative of the issues of the era.