Beauvallet · Chapter
Chapter X explained
Dominica struggles with her aunt Doña Beatrice's pragmatic and cynical advice on religion and marriage, while Don Diego grows impatient with Dominica's coldness.
What happens
Dominica struggles with her aunt Doña Beatrice's pragmatic and cynical advice on religion and marriage, while Don Diego grows impatient with Dominica's coldness. Sir Nicholas Beauvallet, posing as the Chevalier de Guise, arrives in Madrid and secures an introduction to the Carvalho household, meeting Doña Beatrice but not yet Dominica.
Themes in this chapter
Identity and Disguise
Beauvallet continues his masquerade as the Chevalier de Guise to infiltrate Spanish society and approach Dominica.
Power and Authority
Doña Beatrice wields subtle but firm control over her family, while Dominica resists being treated as a pawn in marriage plans.
Cultural Clash
Dominica's independent spirit clashes with the strict expectations for Spanish noblewomen, and her aunt's pragmatic advice on religion highlights the tension between personal belief and social conformity.
Characters to notice
- Doña Dominica de Rada y Sylva
Dominica is wary of her aunt's influence, resists family plans to marry her to Don Diego, and secretly harbors feelings for Beauvallet.
- Doña Beatrice de Carvalho
Doña Beatrice is a calm, cynical manipulator who advises Dominica to practice religious hypocrisy and controls her husband and son.
- Don Diego de Carvalho
Don Diego is frustrated by Dominica's coldness and threatens to treat her more harshly; he is eager to secure her as his bride.
- Don Rodriguez de Carvalho
Don Rodriguez is a weak-willed man, dominated by his wife, and receives Beauvallet with polite but empty condolences.
- Sir Nicholas Beauvallet
Beauvallet, disguised as the Chevalier de Guise, successfully gains entry to the Carvalho home but does not yet see Dominica.
Key passages
“She was like a snail, she thought, trailing a sticky poison in her wake. What she touched she soiled; all virtue was made to seem a little foolish; all vice was merely smiled upon.”
Dominica feels that her aunt Doña Beatrice corrupts everything she touches, making virtue seem silly and vice acceptable.
Dominica's internal view of her aunt's cynical influence.
“I will use her more hardly if this coldness endures.”
Don Diego threatens to treat Dominica more harshly if she continues to reject him.
Don Diego's frustration and possessive attitude toward Dominica.
“How should a maid think of Diego who had lain trembling in Beauvallet's arms?”
Dominica cannot consider marrying Diego because she is still emotionally affected by her time with Beauvallet.
Explanation of Dominica's emotional conflict.