VII explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Social Class and Snobbery

  The narrator's discomfort with the Driffields' openness about their working-class past highlights the rigid class distinctions of the time.

• Hypocrisy and Reputation

  The narrator observes the community's pretense and the Driffields' refusal to hide their history, contrasting with the prevailing hypocrisy.

Characters to notice

• The Narrator

  Reflects on his summer with the Driffields, feeling both superior and embarrassed by their frankness about their past.

• Edward Driffield

  Shares his enthusiasm for brass rubbing and speaks openly about his past jobs, shocking the narrator.

• Rosie Driffield

  Reveals her history as a barmaid and casually befriends Mary-Ann, showing her lack of concern for social conventions.

• Mary-Ann

  The vicarage cook, who is visited by Rosie Driffield for tea and a chat about old times.

Key passages

• “I was under the impression that it was condescension on my part to consort with the son of Miss Wolfe’s bailiff, and he what my uncle called a penny-a-liner.”

  I felt I was doing the Driffields a favor by spending time with them, given their lower social standing.

  The narrator's initial sense of superiority.

• “I could not get over what Mary-Ann had told me about Mrs. Driffield.”

  I was still shocked by the gossip Mary-Ann had shared about Rosie's past.

  The narrator's lingering disbelief about Rosie's history.

• “It never ceased to embarrass me, the way in which they talked of incidents in their past that I should have thought they would not dream of mentioning.”

  I was always embarrassed by how openly they discussed their past, which I thought should be kept secret.

  The narrator's discomfort with the Driffields' frankness.