Bertram Cope’s Year · Chapter
XVIII: Cope at the Call of Duty explained
Cope finally pays a call on the Ashburn Avenue circle after receiving an urgent note from Amy.
What happens
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 continue to idealize Cope's role in the sailing rescue, while Pearson disparages him. Hortense confronts Cope about his neglect of her. Later, Amy leads a musical performance with Cope singing and Carolyn at the piano. Cope declines to stay longer and is pressed by Mrs. Phillips to improvise a story, which he begins by seizing on a branch of sassafras as a subject.
Themes in this chapter
Performance and Artifice
Cope is pressured to perform—first singing, then improvising a story—highlighting the social expectation of entertainment and the artifice involved.
Unrequited and Ambiguous Desire
Amy's idealization of Cope and Hortense's confrontational demand for attention both reflect ambiguous and unreciprocated feelings.
Social Manipulation and Patronage
Mrs. Phillips orchestrates the evening's activities, using Amy and Cope for her own social ends, while Pearson and Hortense maneuver for attention.
Characters to notice
- Bertram Cope
Makes a long-delayed call; feels uneasy about being heroized; sings reluctantly; begins an improvised legend about sassafras.
- Amy Leffingwell
Sends an urgent note to Cope; idealizes his role in the rescue; performs violin obbligato and is buoyed by Cope's voice.
- Medora Phillips
Continues to make Cope a hero; puts Amy in a subordinate place; presses Cope to sing and then to improvise a story.
- Hortense Dunton
Sits silent and watchful; confronts Cope about ignoring her; remains behind the lampshade after the music.
- George F. Pearson
Disparages Cope; wishes he had been the rescuer; thanks Amy for her part in the music, ignoring Cope and Carolyn.
- Joe Foster
Brought down by Peter; sits in a dark corner listening to tones and undertones; keeps his own counsel.
Key passages
“Why am I spinning such stuff?”
Cope inwardly questions why he is fabricating excuses for his delay.
Reflects Cope's self-awareness and discomfort with social pretenses.
“See me! Speak to me! I am no kitten, like Amy. I am no tame tabby, like Carolyn... Throw a few poor words my way.”
Hortense demands Cope's attention, contrasting herself with the other women.
Highlights Hortense's assertiveness and her feeling of being overlooked.
“It's one thing to be ridiculous and another to go on being ridiculous. I hope you don't mean to do that?”
Hortense warns Cope not to prolong his embarrassing situation.
Shows Hortense's bluntness and her concern with social perception.
“Heavens! I am not an author—still less an improvvisatore.”
Cope protests that he cannot create a story on the spot.
Illustrates Cope's reluctance and the pressure to perform.