Can You Forgive Her? · Chapter
The Roebury Club explained
George Vavasor travels to Roebury in Oxfordshire for the hunting season.
What happens
George Vavasor travels to Roebury in Oxfordshire for the hunting season. He visits the Roebury Club, a group of men including Maxwell, Grindley, and Calder Jones, where they play whist and discuss his political ambitions and financial standing. The next day, they prepare for a hunt at Edgehill, with Vavasor's horse and character being topics of gossip among the club members.
Themes in this chapter
Social Class and Ambition
The Roebury Club members discuss Vavasor's social standing, finances, and political ambitions, highlighting class dynamics and the pursuit of status.
Wealth and Financial Dependence
Vavasor's financial situation is a topic of gossip; his horse purchase and gambling at whist reflect his precarious finances.
Characters to notice
- George Vavasor
Arrives at Roebury for hunting; plays whist at the Roebury Club; discusses his horse and political ambitions; is the subject of gossip among club members.
- Mr. Maxwell
A banker and member of the Roebury Club; plays whist with Vavasor; defends Vavasor's character and finances against Grindley's criticisms.
- Mr. Grindley
A would-be fast attorney and club member; plays whist; makes ill-natured remarks about Vavasor's finances and character.
- Calder Jones
A young unmarried Member of Parliament and club member; loses money at whist; questions Vavasor's presence at the club.
- Bat Smithers
A groom who discusses Vavasor's brown horse with him; notes the horse's reputation as a 'roarer'.
Key passages
“He was not a man that made himself really popular in any social meetings of men. He did not himself care for the loose little talkings, half flat and half sharp, of men when they meet together in idleness.”
George Vavasor was not the type to become popular in male social circles, as he had no interest in the trivial and often dull conversations that occur when men gather casually.
Describes Vavasor's unsociable nature among men.
“With women he could be happy. With women he could really associate. A woman he could really love;—but I doubt whether for all that he could treat a woman well.”
Vavasor found happiness and genuine connection with women, and was capable of loving them, but the narrator questions whether he could treat a woman kindly.
Contrasts Vavasor's behavior with men versus women.
“The bad rider, like the bad whist player, pays highly for what he does not enjoy, and should be thanked. But at both games he gets cruelly snubbed.”
An unskilled rider or whist player pays a lot for an experience they don't enjoy, and deserves gratitude, yet they are often harshly criticized.
Commentary on social snobbery in hunting and card games.
“I don't like George Vavasor, and I don't know who does; but I like him better than dummy. And I'd sooner play whist with men I don't like, Grindems, than I'd not play at all.”
Maxwell admits he dislikes Vavasor, but prefers playing whist with him over playing dummy (a three-handed game), valuing the game over personal feelings.
Maxwell's pragmatic view of Vavasor's company.