Can You Forgive Her? · Chapter
Mr. George Vavasor at Home explained
The chapter describes George Vavasor's secretive and private life in his lodgings in Cecil Street, his minimal hospitality, and his hidden establishments in Oxfordshire and elsewhere.
What happens
The chapter describes George Vavasor's secretive and private life in his lodgings in Cecil Street, his minimal hospitality, and his hidden establishments in Oxfordshire and elsewhere. It then focuses on a political meeting with Mr. Grimes, a publican, who discusses electioneering and the 'game' of politics. Finally, George reflects on a letter from Alice to Kate, in which Alice expresses her resolve to break with John Grey, and considers the possibility of marrying Alice himself.
Themes in this chapter
Politics and Public Life
George Vavasor's political ambitions and his meeting with Mr. Grimes about electioneering and spending money on elections are central to the chapter.
Self-Deception and Moral Growth
George's self-deception about his own character and his plans regarding Alice are explored, as he considers marrying her while acknowledging his own unsuitability.
Love and Marriage
Alice's letter reveals her struggle with her engagement to John Grey, and George contemplates marrying her, intertwining love with ambition.
Characters to notice
- George Vavasor
The chapter centers on George's secretive lifestyle, his political ambitions, and his private reflections on Alice's letter.
- Mr. Grimes
A publican and political agent who meets with George to discuss electioneering and the need to spend money on elections.
- Alice Vavasor
Mentioned through her letter to Kate, which George reads; she expresses her determination to break her engagement with John Grey.
- Kate Vavasor
Mentioned as the recipient of Alice's letter, which she forwarded to George; she is also the author of a longer letter to George.
- John Grey
Referenced in Alice's letter as the man she resolves not to marry, feeling inferior to him.
- Bat Smithers
George's trusty groom in Oxfordshire, who knows only about his master's horse-related activities.
Key passages
“It cannot perhaps fairly be said that George Vavasor was an unhospitable man, seeing that it was his custom to entertain his friends occasionally at Greenwich, Richmond, or such places; and he would now and again have a friend to dine with him at his club. But he never gave breakfasts, dinners, or suppers under his own roof.”
George Vavasor was not entirely inhospitable, as he sometimes treated friends to meals at restaurants or his club, but he never hosted them at his own home.
Highlights George's secretive nature and his avoidance of personal hospitality.
“He was a man who would bear no inquiry into himself. If he had been out of view for a month, and his friends asked him where he had been, he always answered the question falsely, or left it unanswered.”
George Vavasor resented any questions about his whereabouts and would either lie or refuse to answer when asked where he had been.
Emphasizes George's secretive and mysterious character.
“But it's the game I looks to. If the game dies away, it'll never be got up again;—never. Who'll care about elections then? Anybody'd go and get hisself elected if we was to let the game go by!”
Mr. Grimes cares about preserving the traditional practices of electioneering, believing that if the 'game' of spending money and manipulating elections disappears, no one will take elections seriously.
Reveals the cynical view of electoral politics as a game of money and influence.
“She'll never marry him, at any rate, and she is right. He'd make an upper servant of her; very respectable, no doubt, but still only an upper servant. Now with me;—well, I hardly know what I should make of her. I cannot think of myself as a man married.”
George thinks Alice will never marry John Grey, believing Grey would treat her like a superior servant. He considers marrying her himself but cannot imagine himself as a married man.
Shows George's self-awareness and his ambivalent feelings about marriage and Alice.
