# III explained — Basil

> Chapter companion for Basil by Wilkie Collins.

## What happens

Basil reflects on his father's character, describing him as the proudest man he ever knew. His father's pride is not conventional but is a quiet, inbred pride based on ancestry rather than rank. Basil illustrates this with an anecdote where his father, at a dinner, prioritizes a penniless Abbe of ancient lineage over a newly ennobled merchant. Basil also describes his father's demeanor towards his family—distant, formal, and never intimate—and his special gallantry towards his sister.

## Themes in this chapter

### Social Class and Pride

Basil's father's pride is rooted in ancestry, not wealth or rank, as shown in his treatment of the Abbe versus the new peer.

### Family Duty and Estrangement

Basil describes his father as a father but never a companion, creating an emotional distance in their relationship.

## Character check-ins

### Basil

Narrator reflecting on his father's character and pride.

### Mr. Bernard

Basil's father, described as the proudest man, with a pride based on ancestry.

### Clara

Basil's sister, treated with old-fashioned gallantry by their father.

### The Abbe

A penniless Italian Abbe, descendant of an ancient Roman family, honored by Basil's father.

## Key lines

> He never boasted of his ancestors; he never even spoke of them, except when he was questioned on the subject; but he never forgot them.

He did not brag about his lineage, but he always remembered it.

_Illustrates the quiet, inbred nature of his father's pride._

> We were none of us ever on intimate terms with him. I mean by this, that he was a father to us, but never a companion.

None of us were ever close to him; he was a father but not a friend.

_Highlights the emotional distance in the family._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/basil_se/chapters/part-i-iii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/basil_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/basil_se/chapters