Cakes and Ale · Chapter
Chapter XVII explained
The narrator reflects on his year-long affair with Rosie Driffield, marked by secret meetings and a growing sense of possessiveness.
What happens
The narrator reflects on his year-long affair with Rosie Driffield, marked by secret meetings and a growing sense of possessiveness. His contentment is disrupted by the arrival of Jack Kuyper, a wealthy Dutch Jew who showers Rosie with expensive gifts, including a sable cape worth £260. The narrator's jealousy and mortification reveal his insecurity and the transactional nature of Rosie's relationships, leading him to suspect she has been unfaithful with other men.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Sexuality
The narrator's affair with Rosie is contrasted with her acceptance of gifts from other men, raising questions about the nature of love and sexual fidelity.
Social Class and Snobbery
The narrator's disdain for Jack Kuyper's vulgarity and wealth highlights class-based snobbery, as he feels threatened by Kuyper's material display.
Hypocrisy and Reputation
The narrator's secret affair and his judgment of Rosie's behavior reveal the hypocrisy of societal expectations and personal desires.
Characters to notice
- The Narrator
Reflects on his affair with Rosie, feeling happy and affectionate, but becomes jealous and mortified upon seeing her accept expensive gifts from Jack Kuyper.
- Rosie Driffield
Shows a childlike delight in the sable cape and muff from Jack Kuyper, displaying a materialistic side that clashes with the narrator's ideals.
- Jack Kuyper
A wealthy Dutch Jew who lavishes Rosie with expensive gifts, including a sable cape, and is seen as vulgar and old by the narrator.
- Quentin Forde
Shares the narrator's dislike for Jack Kuyper, and the two become more cordial in their mutual disdain.
- Harry Retford
Invites the narrator to dinner, hinting at his knowledge of the affair, and is described as a 'gay dog' with a sarcastic humor.
- Lionel Hillier
Gives the narrator a quizzical look, suggesting he might suspect the affair, and is described as having a 'nasty mind' by Rosie.
Key passages
“After that for more than a year whenever Rosie came out with me she used on the way home to drop into my rooms, sometimes for an hour, sometimes till the breaking day warned us that the slaveys would soon be scrubbing the doorsteps.”
For over a year, Rosie would visit my rooms after our outings, staying until dawn.
Describes the routine of their secret meetings.
“I was young, only just over one and twenty, Quentin Forde and the others seemed old to me; it did not seem unnatural to me that to Rosie they were only friends.”
Being young, I assumed Rosie's older male friends were just friends, not lovers.
The narrator's naivety about Rosie's relationships.
“Two hundred and sixty pounds was an enormous sum to me. I did not know one could pay so much for a cape.”
The cost of the cape was astronomical to me, highlighting my financial limitations.
The narrator's shock at the cape's value.