Anna of the Five Towns · Chapter
At the Priory explained
Anna faces the aftermath of her father's wrath over her secret actions to help Willie Price.
What happens
Anna faces the aftermath of her father's wrath over her secret actions to help Willie Price. She finds a grim satisfaction in having survived his extreme anger and in having secured Willie's deliverance. Weeks later, she reconnects with the Suttons and Mynors, but her hidden turmoil persists. When Miss Sarah Vodrey falls gravely ill, Anna selflessly nurses her at the Priory, where she encounters Willie Price. The chapter also reveals the financial collapse of the Price family business and the impending mayoralty of Mr. Sutton, deepening Anna's internal conflict between her love for Mynors and her compassion for Willie.
Themes in this chapter
Female Agency and Constraint
Anna exercises agency by secretly helping Willie and later nursing Miss Vodrey, yet remains constrained by her father's authority and societal expectations.
Money and Moral Corruption
The financial ruin of the Price family and the creditors' meeting highlight how money and debt shape moral judgments and social standing.
Class and Social Mobility
The contrast between the Suttons' rising status (mayoralty) and the Prices' decline underscores class dynamics and the precariousness of social position.
Characters to notice
- Anna Tellwright
Anna endures her father's wrath and finds strength in her secret success. She later nurses Miss Vodrey and wrestles with her feelings for Willie Price.
- Ephraim Tellwright
Ephraim's anger reaches a new peak, but his power over Anna is diminished as she realizes she can survive his fury.
- Henry Mynors
Mynors continues his courtship of Anna, taking her to tea at the Suttons' and later for a walk, but remains unaware of her deep concern for Willie Price.
- Willie Price
Willie is found at the Priory, exhausted and caring for the dying Miss Vodrey. He is later discussed as a failed businessman, evoking Anna's pity.
- Beatrice Sutton
Beatrice returns to Bursley and enthusiastically supports Anna's romance with Mynors, while also revealing her father's upcoming mayoralty.
- Miss Sarah Vodrey
Miss Vodrey is gravely ill with pericarditis and pleurisy, and Anna nurses her in her final hours at the Priory.
Key passages
“She was not to be pardoned: the offence was too monstrous, daring, and final.”
Anna's father considered her actions unforgivable, viewing them as a grave and final transgression.
This reflects the severity of Ephraim's judgment and the breaking point in their relationship.
“I come home, and I find this.”
Willie Price returns to find Miss Vodrey gravely ill and the household in disarray.
Willie's words express his helplessness and the burden of his circumstances.
“Gross carelessness and neglect all through!”
The doctor criticizes the lack of proper care that led to Miss Vodrey's severe illness.
This highlights the theme of neglect and the consequences of poverty and isolation.