# XIX explained — Amaryllis at the Fair

> Chapter companion for Amaryllis at the Fair by Richard Jefferies.

## What happens

Amaryllis is unexpectedly praised by her parents after Grandfather Iden sends an angry letter about her behavior at the fair. She uses the sovereign her father gave her to buy boots for herself and her mother, as well as bloaters for her mother, but her father is repulsed by the smell of the fish.

## Themes in this chapter

### Family Conflict and Misunderstanding

The grandfather's angry letter paradoxically unites Amaryllis's parents in support of her, deepening the rift between the generations.

### Social Class and Money

Amaryllis's sovereign allows her to buy practical goods; the Idens' financial struggles and the grandfather's favoritism toward the Pamments highlight class dynamics.

### Gender Roles and Female Experience

Amaryllis's thoughtful purchase of boots and bloaters for her mother reflects domestic duty and affection, while her mother's gratitude underscores maternal bonds.

## Character check-ins

### Amaryllis Iden

Receives unexpected praise from her parents after Grandfather Iden's angry letter; uses her sovereign to buy boots and bloaters.

### Mr. Iden

Shows kindness to Amaryllis after the grandfather's letter; secretly resents his father's neglect and insults; dislikes the smell of bloaters.

### Mrs. Iden

Delighted by the grandfather's anger; praises Amaryllis for vexing him; tries on new boots and enjoys the bloaters.

### Grandfather Iden

Sends a furious letter upbraiding Amaryllis's behavior, which ironically makes her a heroine to her parents.

### Tiras Wise

The shoemaker, thin and nervous, complains about his workmen and the decline of shoemaking; Amaryllis buys boots from him.

## Key lines

> The fact is, the men don't know their work as they used to, they spoil the leather and cut it wrong, and leave jobs half done, and they're always drinking; the leather isn't so good as it used to be; the fact is, with a still deeper sigh, we can't make a boot.

Tiras Wise laments that modern workmen are incompetent, the leather is inferior, and after two centuries in business, they can no longer produce a proper boot.

_Highlights the theme of decline in craftsmanship and the irony of a long-established trade failing at its core skill._

> A lady whose hand smells of bloaters is not, I hope, too ideal; I hope you will see now that I am not imaginative, or given to the heroinesque.

The narrator insists that Amaryllis is a realistic, unromanticized heroine, as shown by her hands smelling of fish after carrying bloaters.

_Emphasizes the novel's rejection of idealized heroines in favor of authentic, everyday details._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/amaryllis_at_the_fair_se/chapters/xix
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/amaryllis_at_the_fair_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/amaryllis_at_the_fair_se/chapters