Soprano Obligato explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Womanhood as a Moral and Regenerative Force

  The chapter portrays women as carriers of a 'choicer sunlight' and agents of tenderness and moral uplift, especially toward the suffering and voiceless.

Characters to notice

• Unknown Narrator

  The narrator reflects on the ideal of royal-hearted women who embody nobility and tenderness.

• George Eliot

  Quoted as the source of the poetic vision of womanhood that opens the chapter.

Key passages

• “For they the Royal-hearted Women are Who nobly love the noblest, yet have grace For needy, suffering lives in lowliest place; Carrying a choicer sunlight in their smile, The heavenliest ray that pitieth the vile.”

  These are the noble-hearted women who love what is best, yet still show kindness to the poorest and most suffering, bringing a special warmth and divine compassion in their smiles.

  The opening lines define the chapter's ideal of womanly virtue as combining nobility with tender care for the lowly.

• “Though I were happy, throned beside the king, I should be tender to each little thing With hurt warm breast, that had no speech to tell Its inward pangs; and I would soothe it well With tender touch and with a low, soft moan For company.”

  Even if I were seated in happiness next to a king, I would still be gentle toward every small creature that suffers in silence, comforting it with a soft touch and a quiet sound of sympathy.

  This passage emphasizes the woman's innate tenderness and empathy for the voiceless and vulnerable, regardless of her own elevated status.