A recurring theme in the narrative of Bleak House is the failures of mothers towards their biological daughters. In the narrative, many mothers are both unintentionally and intentionally indifferent to the physical, mental, and emotional state of their daughters. The cruelty that mothers can and will subject their daughters to can be clearly shown in many of the relationships of some of the important characters in the story, such as Mrs. Jellyby and Caddy Jellyby. We have been shown that many women are able to find the maternal support they need and crave in their friendships with other women. Although Esther is essentially Dickens' blueprint of what traits women should want to embody, she manages to become a surrogate mother for many of the female characters. In making Esther the ideal woman, he gives her the perfect blend of traits to make her a kind person and nurturing mother figure. She allows herself to be a source of trust and kindness to many female characters in the novel despite her neglectful childhood under her aunt. Esther gives unconditional love to all the characters she encounters, but she offers a specific type of mothering to three young women in the story, each with their own circumstances. She is a source of motherly love for Ada, of whom she is the housekeeper, Caddy Jellyby, who becomes her friend, and Charley Neckett, who works as her Ada is an orphan and Esther is there to be nothing more than her housekeeper, the task of Esther is simply to teach Ada how to be a good lady. At their first meeting, Esther sees Ada and thinks she is a beautiful girl, but a few minutes after meeting she says, "it was so delightful to know that she could confide in me and that she liked me" (85). Throughout the narrative, Ada's mother is never mentioned and since she is orphaned her only source of maternal comfort is Esther. She confides in Esther about her love for Richard and tells Esther about her eventual elopement with Richard. When Esther becomes ill, Ada is so upset that Esther forcibly keeps her out so she doesn't get smallpox that it puts a strain on their relationship. “I heard my Ada crying at the door, day and night; I heard her scream that I was cruel and that I didn't love her” (449). When Esther recovers from smallpox, she isolates herself from Ada as she is so terrified that Ada will no longer love her as she was, Esther is afraid that Ada is afraid of her scarred face. When they are supposed to reunite, Esther is so scared that she goes to her room and attempts to hide from Ada. But when Ada finds her, Esther discovers that nothing has changed between them “Ah, my angel! The old dear look, all love, all affection, all affection. There is nothing else… no, nothing, nothing!” (471). Their relationship grew so much that when Ada and her son