A Pair of Blue Eyes · Chapter
Chapter IV explained
Stephen Smith continues his work on the church restoration and is drawn into the Swancourt household.
What happens
Stephen Smith continues his work on the church restoration and is drawn into the Swancourt household. Elfride reveals her secret of writing her father's sermons, and Mr. Swancourt boasts about his manual labor on the church roof. The chapter explores the dynamics between Stephen, Elfride, and the vicar, with Worm providing comic relief.
Themes in this chapter
Innocence and Experience
Elfride's childish confession about writing sermons contrasts with her growing awareness of social propriety and romantic interest.
Social Class and Ambition
Stephen's position as a humble architect's assistant is contrasted with the Swancourts' clerical gentility, and Mr. Swancourt's disdain for dissenters reflects class and religious tensions.
Characters to notice
- Elfride Swancourt
Reveals she writes her father's sermons, shows playful and confident side, interacts closely with Stephen in the church.
- Stephen Smith
Works on church restoration, is impressed by Elfride's cleverness, and begins to feel a romantic attraction.
- Mr. Swancourt
Boasts about his manual work on the church roof, discusses church restoration and dissenters, and shares Elfride's secret with Stephen.
- William Worm
Provides comic relief with his complaints about noise in his head and his recollections of working with Mr. Swancourt.
Key passages
“that’s a pity, because writing a sermon is very much like playing that game. You take the text. You think, why is it? what is it? and so on. You put that down under ‘Generally.’ Then you proceed to the First, Secondly, and Thirdly. Papa won’t have Fourthlys—says they are all my eye. Then you have a final Collectively, several pages of this being put in great black brackets, writing opposite, ‘ Leave this out if the farmers are falling asleep .’ Then comes your In Conclusion, then A Few Words And I Have Done.”
Elfride explains that writing a sermon is like a game of forfeits: you analyze the text, structure it into points, and include optional sections to keep the congregation awake.
Elfride reveals her method for composing sermons, showing her cleverness and her father's reliance on her.
“I write papa’s sermons for him very often, and he preaches them better than he does his own; and then afterwards he talks to people and to me about what he said in his sermon today, and forgets that I wrote it for him.”
Elfride confesses that she frequently writes her father's sermons, which he delivers better than his own, and then he later forgets she wrote them.
This confidence highlights Elfride's intellectual role in the household and her father's obliviousness.