A Pair of Blue Eyes · Chapter
Chapter XXVII explained
Elfride struggles with her promise to meet Stephen Smith as her feelings for Henry Knight deepen.
What happens
Elfride struggles with her promise to meet Stephen Smith as her feelings for Henry Knight deepen. She decides not to meet Stephen, rationalizing her faithlessness as obedience to her father. Knight, unaware of her past with Stephen, confides to Stephen that he and Elfride are engaged. Elfride fears Knight will discover her prior relationship with Stephen, and she confesses to her father that she has broken off correspondence with Stephen. Her father advises her to tell Knight the truth, but she begs him not to reveal it.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Marriage
Elfride's shifting affections from Stephen to Knight highlight the complexities of love and the social pressures surrounding marriage.
Social Class and Ambition
Elfride's preference for Knight over Stephen is partly driven by Stephen's lower social status and her family's expectations.
Innocence and Experience
Elfride's loss of innocence is evident in her secretiveness and the moral compromises she makes to secure Knight's love.
Characters to notice
- Elfride Swancourt
Struggles with her promise to meet Stephen, now preferring Knight; feels guilt and fear of discovery.
- Stephen Smith
Returns to Endelstow and meets Knight and Elfride; learns of their engagement and feels the cruelty of his fate.
- Henry Knight
Unaware of Elfride's past with Stephen; confides his engagement to Stephen and tries to maintain a cheerful demeanor.
- Mr. Swancourt
Questions Elfride about her promise and the telegram; advises her to tell Knight the truth but reassures her.
Key passages
“a sense of wrong, too, that such an appreciative breadth as a sentient being possesses should be committed to the frail casket of a body.”
Knight reflects on the injustice that a person's vast consciousness is confined to a fragile physical body.
Knight's philosophical musing sets a somber tone for the chapter.
“God forgive me—I can’t meet Stephen! I don’t love him less, but I love Mr. Knight more!”
Elfride decides to break her promise to Stephen, rationalizing that her stronger love for Knight justifies her faithlessness.
Elfride's internal conflict and decision to prioritize Knight over Stephen.
“The match was looked upon as made by her father and mother.”
Elfride's parents consider her relationship with Knight as an established engagement.
Indicates family approval of Knight as a suitor.