# Bertram Cope’s Year — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for Bertram Cope’s Year by Henry Blake Fuller.

- [I: Cope at a College Tea](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/i-cope-at-a-college-tea.md): Bertram Cope, a young instructor in his mid-twenties, attends a college tea where he is drawn into conversation with the assertive and patronizing Medora Phillips. She treats him as a 'college boy,' which rankles his pri
- [II: Cope Makes a Sunday Afternoon Call](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/ii-cope-makes-a-sunday-afternoon-call.md): Bertram Cope pays his first Sunday call on Medora Phillips at her large, eclectic house west of the campus. He finds her alone, as the young women of the house are out walking. Their conversation is a playful, sparring e
- [III: Cope Is "Entertained"](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/iii-cope-is-entertained.md): Cope is entertained by Mrs. Phillips and her three young female protégées—Amy, Hortense, and Carolyn—who perform music, painting, and poetry for him. He mentally composes a letter to Arthur Lemoyne, comparing the afterno
- [IV: Cope Is Considered](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/iv-cope-is-considered.md): Basil Randolph investigates Bertram Cope's background by consulting university records, finding his faculty page and address. He later visits Medora Phillips to discuss Cope, learning about his family, his singing, and h
- [V: Cope Is Considered Further](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/v-cope-is-considered-further.md): Randolph visits Joseph Foster, who is confined to a wheelchair and nearly blind, in his cluttered room. They discuss Foster's isolation, the noise of the young women in the house, and Cope's recent singing, which Foster 
- [VI: Cope Dines—and Tells About It](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/vi-cope-dines-and-tells-about-it.md): Cope writes a long letter to Arthur Lemoyne describing his recent dinner at Mrs. Phillips' mansion. He details the social scene, the other guests, the three young women living in the house, and his interactions with Rand
- [VII: Cope Under Scrutiny](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/vii-cope-under-scrutiny.md): Bertram Cope writes to Arthur Lemoyne, detailing his growing interactions with Basil Randolph. Randolph visits Cope's modest lodgings, invites him to dinner and the theatre, and discusses topics such as the Bacon-Shakesp
- [Cope Undertakes an Excursion](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/viii-cope-undertakes-an-excursion.md): Randolph and Mrs. Phillips discuss Cope's behavior during a recent dinner and theater outing, highlighting his refusal of cocktails and his evasive manner of address. Mrs. Phillips invites Randolph to bring Cope to her s
- [IX: Cope on the Edge of Things](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/ix-cope-on-the-edge-of-things.md): Randolph and Cope hike through the dunes to the lakeshore, swim, and discuss the social dynamics of the upcoming gathering at the cottage, with Cope expressing unease about romantic entanglements.
- [X: Cope at His House Party](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/x-cope-at-his-house-party.md): At a house party in the dunes, Medora Phillips hosts a gathering where Cope is the center of attention. He takes a walk with the group, guided by Mrs. Phillips, who points out the natural features of the landscape while 
- [XI: Cope Enlivens the Country](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/xi-cope-enlivens-the-country.md): During a Sunday outing at the dunes, Bertram Cope impresses the party with his singing, avoids swimming in the cold lake, and shares a reflective walk with Amy. The day ends with a moonlit stroll and a crowded trolley ri
- [Cope Amidst Cross-Purposes](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/xii-cope-amidst-cross-purposes.md): Cope receives a letter from Arthur Lemoyne, who expresses a desire to join him but is delayed by family and work obligations. Cope reflects on Lemoyne's volatility and their past companionship. Later, Cope meets Randolph
- [XIII: Cope Dines Again—and Stays After](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/xiii-cope-dines-again-and-stays-after.md): Medora Phillips hosts a formal dinner for high society, inviting Bertram Cope as the featured young man. Overwhelmed by the excess of food, flowers, and wine, Cope faints and is put to bed. The next morning, he recovers 
- [Cope Makes an Evasion](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/xiv-cope-makes-an-evasion.md): Randolph visits Joseph Foster, who is knitting and expresses bitterness about Cope's fainting episode at Mrs. Phillips' dinner. Foster compares the women's fussing over Cope to a religious festival in Florence. Randolph 
- [XV: Cope Entertains Several Ladies](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/xv-cope-entertains-several-ladies.md): Cope's aunt, Aunt Harriet, visits from Freeford after his landlady becomes concerned about his health. She stays two nights, prepares his meals, and leaves satisfied he is not seriously ill. Medora Phillips and Amy Leffi
- [XVI: Cope Goes A-Sailing](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/xvi-cope-goes-a-sailing.md): Cope recovers from his earlier indisposition and resumes his usual activities, disregarding advice from his aunt and Medora Phillips. On a late October Sunday afternoon, he and Amy Leffingwell take a walk along the lake 
- [XVII: Cope Among Crosscurrents](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/xvii-cope-among-crosscurrents.md): After the sailing accident, Amy Leffingwell is dreamy and defensive, while Hortense is angry and Medora Phillips concedes the foolishness. Cope faces subdued hilarity in his class and embarrassment at the president's wif
- [XVIII: Cope at the Call of Duty](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/xviii-cope-at-the-call-of-duty.md): Cope finally pays a call on the Ashburn Avenue circle after receiving an urgent note from Amy. The room is full of people, including the other young women, George Pearson, and Joseph Foster. Amy and Mrs. Phillips continu
- [XIX: Cope Finds Himself Committed](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/xix-cope-finds-himself-committed.md): Amy Leffingwell's persistent advances and letters push Bertram Cope into a reluctant commitment. As she writes home to her mother about her hopes, Cope struggles with his own repugnance toward marriage and the life it en
- [XX: Cope Has a Distressful Christmas](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/xx-cope-has-a-distressful-christmas.md): Cope awakens to the crushing reality of his engagement to Amy Leffingwell. He receives a letter from her and writes back, asking to keep the affair quiet. He also writes to Arthur Lemoyne, who responds with sarcasm and i
- [XXI: Cope, Safeguarded, Calls Again](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/xxi-cope-safeguarded-calls-again.md): Cope returns from Freeford with Lemoyne, and his engagement to Amy Leffingwell becomes known. He makes a tense visit to Mrs. Phillips' house on a stormy night, accompanied by Lemoyne, who acts protectively and possessive
- [Cope Shall Be Rescued](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/xxii-cope-shall-be-rescued.md): After a tense evening, Cope leaves early with Lemoyne, avoiding the household. Foster, sleepless, overhears their murmuring and later discusses Cope's situation with Randolph, who learns of Cope's disinterest in Amy. Ran
- [XXIII: Cope Regains His Freedom](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/xxiii-cope-regains-his-freedom.md): Cope receives a call from Amy, who is upset by his neglect. After a tense phone conversation, Amy abruptly ends the engagement. Lemoyne helps Cope draft a breakup letter, but before he can send it, Amy sends a note break
- [XXIV: Cope in Danger Anew](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/xxiv-cope-in-danger-anew.md): Cope's reputation at the university recovers after his earlier misadventure. Mrs. Phillips takes him to the opera, where he is admired, and Hortense Dunton reveals a portrait she has painted of him, asking him to sit for
- [XXV: Cope in Double Danger](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/xxv-cope-in-double-danger.md): Cope and Lemoyne settle into their new domestic routine, refining their ménage and focusing on their respective academic and artistic pursuits. Cope works on his thesis, while Lemoyne studies psychology and considers a r
- [XXVI: Cope as a Go-Between](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/xxvi-cope-as-a-go-between.md): Cope acts as an intermediary between Randolph and Lemoyne during a tense dinner. Randolph helps secure a university position for Lemoyne, while tensions simmer over Cope's health, Hortense's artistic pursuit of him, and 
- [XXVII: Cope Escapes a Snare](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/xxvii-cope-escapes-a-snare.md): Cope visits Hortense Dunton for a portrait sitting, intending to make it the first and last. He deflects her emotional advances and attempts to maintain a detached, friendly demeanor. Hortense, frustrated by his coldness
- [Cope Absent from a Wedding](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/xxviii-cope-absent-from-a-wedding.md): Amy Leffingwell marries George Pearson in a late April ceremony. Hortense Dunton, still bitter from her earlier confrontation with Cope, disrupts the wedding by fainting and crying out 'O Bertram, Bertram!' causing scand
- [Cope Again in the Country](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/xxix-cope-again-in-the-country.md): Medora Phillips sends Hortense south for her health and then takes Cope, Carolyn, and servants to the dunes for a spring weekend. Cope enjoys the natural setting and feels relief from his romantic entanglements with Amy 
- [Cope as a Hero](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/xxx-cope-as-a-hero.md): During a seaside retreat, a nighttime intruder attempts to break into the house. Bertram Cope raises the alarm, and Peter physically fights off the intruder. Medora Phillips and Carolyn Thorpe cling to Cope as a hero, th
- [XXXI: Cope Gets New Light on His Chum](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/xxxi-cope-gets-new-light-on-his-chum.md): Cope returns to Churchton and observes Lemoyne's intense preparation for a theatrical performance, where Lemoyne plays a female role with unsettling verisimilitude. The performance draws mixed reactions: Mrs. Phillips di
- [XXXII: Cope Takes His Degree](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/xxxii-cope-takes-his-degree.md): Bertram Cope prepares to leave after taking his degree, while Randolph and Medora Phillips reflect on his aloofness and attend the convocation together. At the ceremony, Cope receives his diploma and is briefly congratul
- [Cope in a Final View](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bertram_cope_s_year_se/chapters/xxxiii-cope-in-a-final-view.md): Cope leaves Freeford after graduation, sending a brief letter to Carolyn Thorpe. Medora Phillips and Basil Randolph discuss the fates of the young women in Medora's household, with Medora predicting Carolyn will marry Co

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