A Damsel in Distress · Chapter
XXVII explained
George Bevan, despondent and packing for his return to America, receives a surprising telephone call from Lady Maud Marsh, who playfully quizzes him about trivial matters before revealing that their engagement has been announced in the Morn
What happens
George Bevan, despondent and packing for his return to America, receives a surprising telephone call from Lady Maud Marsh, who playfully quizzes him about trivial matters before revealing that their engagement has been announced in the Morning Post and that she has changed her mind about Geoffrey Raymond. She proposes marriage, and George joyfully accepts, discovering she is waiting for him downstairs at the Carlton Hotel.
Themes in this chapter
Love vs. Duty
Maud chooses love for George over her duty to family expectations and her previous attachment to Geoffrey Raymond.
The Comedy of Errors
The absurd telephone conversation about butter, pompano, and wallpaper highlights the humorous misunderstandings and playful banter between the lovers.
Characters to notice
- George Bevan
Packing for America, sunk in gloom, then elated after Maud's call.
- Lady Maud Marsh
Calls George, asks whimsical questions, announces their engagement and her change of heart.
- Mac
Mentioned as the stage-door keeper who called George 'blarzy'.
Key passages
“In his bedroom at the Carlton Hotel George Bevan was packing. That is to say, he had begun packing; but for the last twenty minutes he had been sitting on the side of the bed, staring into a future which became bleaker and bleaker the more he examined it.”
George Bevan is in his hotel room, supposedly packing, but has been sitting on the bed for twenty minutes, growing increasingly depressed about his future.
Opens the chapter with George's despair before the phone call changes everything.
“I was asking you what sort of wallpaper you would like in your den after we were married and settled down.”
Maud explains that her earlier questions about wallpaper were about their future home together after marriage.
Reveals Maud's intention to marry George, turning the conversation from nonsense to a proposal.