Antic Hay · Chapter
XV explained
Gumbril and Mrs.
What happens
Gumbril and Mrs. Viveash dance at an artistic cabaret to the tune 'What's he to Hecuba?', a song that obsessively repeats the refrain 'Nothing at all.' The music and atmosphere evoke a sense of emptiness and ennui, as Mrs. Viveash complains about the same old faces and longs for novelty. Gumbril, meanwhile, is distracted by memories of Emily and a cottage room, contrasting the hollow gaiety of the cabaret with a more genuine connection.
Themes in this chapter
Modern Ennui and Disillusionment
The pervasive sense of emptiness and boredom is embodied in the song's refrain 'Nothing at all' and Mrs. Viveash's complaint about the same old faces, highlighting the characters' search for meaning in a hollow social scene.
Art and Artifice
The cabaret's artistic pretensions, the 'divine tune,' and the fancy dress costumes underscore the artificiality of the entertainment, contrasting with Gumbril's genuine memory of Emily.
Characters to notice
- Theodore Gumbril
Dances with Mrs. Viveash, muses on the song's nihilistic refrain, and recalls a tender memory of Emily.
- Myra Viveash
Complains about the lack of new faces, adores the 'divine tune' as a distraction from the omnipresent sense of nothingness.
- Emily
Appears in Gumbril's memory as a vision of genuine connection and intimacy, contrasting with the cabaret's artificiality.
- Nil Viveash
Referenced in the song's refrain and in Mrs. Viveash's thoughts as a symbol of absence and loss, a charming nothing.
Key passages
“What's he to Hecuba? Nothing at all. That's why there'll be no wedding on Wednesday week, Way down in old Bengal.”
The song's refrain emphasizes a sense of utter insignificance and disconnection, leading to the cancellation of a wedding.
This refrain recurs throughout the chapter, underscoring the theme of nihilism and the characters' emotional void.
“Always the same people, complained Mrs. Viveash, looking round the room. The old familiar faces. Never anyone new. Where's the younger generation, Gumbril? We're old, Theodore. There are millions younger than we are. Where are they?”
Mrs. Viveash expresses her boredom and dissatisfaction with the repetitive social circle, longing for novelty and youth.
This complaint highlights her modern ennui and the sense of stagnation in her life.
“He imagined a cottagey room, under the roof, with a window near the floor and a sloping ceiling where you were always bumping your head; and in the candlelight Emily's candid eyes, her grave and happy mouth; in the darkness, the curve, under his fingers, of her firm body.”
Gumbril daydreams about a simple, intimate cottage with Emily, contrasting the artificial cabaret with a genuine, physical connection.
This memory serves as a counterpoint to the hollow gaiety of the dance hall, representing a search for authenticity.