At the Villa Rose · Chapter
XIX: Hélène Explains explained
Celia recounts the horrifying details of the murder of Mme.
What happens
Celia recounts the horrifying details of the murder of Mme. Dauvray, orchestrated by Harry Wethermill and Hélène Vauquier with Adèle Rossignol. During a fake séance in the dark, Wethermill strangles Mme. Dauvray while Celia is bound to a pillar. After the murder, the accomplices strip the body of jewels, discover the safe is empty, and threaten Celia with vitriol to force her to reveal the hiding place of the remaining valuables. Adèle briefly shows pity and helps Celia escape, but Hélène recaptures her, removes her diamond earrings, and the group's frustration mounts as their prize proves insufficient.
Themes in this chapter
Deception and Manipulation
The fake séance is used to mask the murder, with Wethermill and Vauquier manipulating Mme. Dauvray's belief in the supernatural.
Greed and Materialism
The murder is driven by the desire for Mme. Dauvray's jewels, and the accomplices' fury at the empty safe underscores their avarice.
Trust and Betrayal
Celia's trust in Wethermill and Vauquier is shattered as she realizes they are the murderers, and Adèle's brief act of pity contrasts with the overall betrayal.
Characters to notice
- Celia Harland
Bound to a pillar during the murder, she overhears the killing and is later threatened with vitriol by Hélène.
- Harry Wethermill
The murderer, who strangles Mme. Dauvray during the séance and later becomes hysterical when the safe is found empty.
- Hélène Vauquier
The cold and calculating maid who orchestrates the crime, threatens Celia with vitriol, and removes her earrings.
- Adèle Rossignol
Accomplice who briefly shows pity for Celia and helps her escape, but later joins in the frantic search for the missing jewels.
- Mme. Dauvray
The victim, murdered during the fake séance; her body is stripped of jewelry.
Key passages
“And what she heard made her blood run cold. Mme. Dauvray spoke in a hushed, awestruck voice. 'There is a presence in the room.'”
Celia is horrified as she hears Mme. Dauvray, in a reverent whisper, announce that a spirit is present.
Highlights the deception of the séance and Celia's dawning horror.
“They were murdering her—murdering an old, kind woman silently and methodically in the darkness.”
Celia realizes that Wethermill and Vauquier are quietly and systematically killing Mme. Dauvray in the dark.
Emphasizes the brutality and premeditation of the crime.
“Hélène Vauquier replied again contemptuously. She spoke aloud and quite indifferently. Nothing of any importance whatever, one would have gathered, had occurred.”
Vauquier responds with disdain, acting as if nothing significant has happened, showing her cold detachment.
Illustrates Vauquier's callousness and control.
“She caught her by the neck and lifted her up. She pushed the lace scarf up at the side of Celia’s head. Celia began to struggle furiously, convulsively.”
Vauquier grabs Celia by the neck and moves her scarf aside to access her earrings, causing Celia to struggle violently.
Shows Vauquier's physical dominance and Celia's desperate resistance.
“It's all for nothing! Nothing but the one necklace and a handful of rings!”
Wethermill screams in despair that the crime yielded only a single necklace and a few rings, not the fortune they expected.
Reveals the accomplices' disappointment and the futility of their greed.
