# IX: Alone at Llanfeare explained — Cousin Henry

> Chapter companion for Cousin Henry by Anthony Trollope.

## What happens

After the reading of the will, Cousin Henry is left alone at Llanfeare, tormented by guilt and indecision over the hidden will. He contemplates revealing it to claim moral victory over Isabel, who scorned him, but also fears the consequences of exposure. He writes to his London employer requesting a six-month leave, unable to leave the house while the will remains hidden. Mrs. Griffith interrupts his solitude, questioning his plans.

## Themes in this chapter

### Guilt and Conscience

Cousin Henry is paralyzed by his conscience, unable to destroy the will or reveal it, fearing both earthly punishment and eternal damnation.

### Isolation and Paranoia

Cousin Henry feels utterly alone and paranoid, convinced that servants and tenants are watching him and that the hidden will will be discovered.

### Justice and Injustice

Cousin Henry wrestles with the idea of abstract justice versus legal justice, believing the old Squire's change of mind was unjust.

## Character check-ins

### Cousin Henry

Alone at Llanfeare, tormented by the hidden will, oscillating between revealing it and keeping it secret, unable to leave the book-room.

### Isabel Brodrick

Has left Llanfeare; Cousin Henry recalls her scornful words and considers forcing her to accept the property from him.

### Squire Indefer Jones

Deceased; his change of mind and the new will are the source of Cousin Henry's dilemma.

### Mrs. Griffith

The housekeeper who interrupts Cousin Henry's solitude, questioning his plans and noting his strange behavior.

## Key lines

> He had done nothing wrong⁠—so he told himself⁠—had not even coveted anything that did not belong to him.

Cousin Henry insists to himself that he is innocent and never desired what wasn't his.

_Highlights his self-justification and denial of guilt._

> If he could bring himself to do so he might rush off to Carmarthen with the document in his pocket, and still appear before the lawyer as a man triumphant in his own honesty

He imagines dramatically revealing the will to the lawyer, appearing as a hero of honesty.

_Shows his fantasy of moral victory over Isabel._

> There was something of a conscience within him. Were he to commit a felony, from the moment of the doing of the deed the fear of eternal punishment would be heavy on his soul

His conscience prevents him from destroying the will because he fears eternal damnation.

_Illustrates his religious scruples and internal conflict._

> The only one thing not possible would be for him to leave Llanfeare and take himself up to the delights of London while the document was yet hidden within the volume.

He cannot bear to leave Llanfeare for London as long as the will remains hidden.

_Emphasizes his paralysis and inability to act._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/cousin_henry_se/chapters/ix-alone-at-llanfeare
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/cousin_henry_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/cousin_henry_se/chapters