# The Balcony at Basle explained — Can You Forgive Her?

> Chapter companion for Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope.

## What happens

Alice, Kate, and George Vavasor conclude their Swiss tour in Basle. On the hotel balcony overlooking the Rhine, they reflect on their journey and its costs. Kate leaves Alice and George alone, leading to a tense, intimate conversation where George abruptly asks Alice when she will marry John Grey.

## Themes in this chapter

### Duty vs. Desire

Alice feels torn between her duty to John Grey and the dangerous attraction of being alone with George.

### Love and Marriage

George's cynical philosophy on marriage contrasts with Alice's impending marriage to John Grey.

## Character check-ins

### Alice Vavasor

Reflects on the tour and her future with John Grey; feels the danger of being alone with George.

### George Vavasor

Enjoys the tour as a despot; philosophizes about marriage and poetry; asks Alice about her wedding date.

### Kate Vavasor

Praises the tour's success despite financial ruin; leaves Alice and George alone on the balcony.

### John Grey

Mentioned as Alice's fiancé; his earlier letter about the tour is recalled.

## Key lines

> Girls are always happier in spoiling some man than in being spoiled by men.

Women find more joy in pampering a man than in being pampered themselves.

_Narrator's observation on the dynamic between Alice, Kate, and George._

> In this world things are beautiful only because they are not quite seen, or not perfectly understood.

Beauty depends on mystery and incomplete knowledge.

_George's poetic philosophy about mountains and life._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/can_you_forgive_her_se/chapters/v-the-balcony-at-basle
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/can_you_forgive_her_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/can_you_forgive_her_se/chapters