# Chapter XVII explained — Crome Yellow

> Chapter companion for Crome Yellow by Aldous Huxley.

## What happens

Denis returns to the drawing-room in deep depression after failing to carry Anne and being rejected in his romantic advance. The room is silent and static, with each character absorbed in their own activity: Henry Wimbush in his account books, Mr. Scogan smoking, Gombauld reading, Jenny scribbling, and Priscilla examining Ivor's spirit drawings. Ivor and Mary eventually return from the garden, having watched the gibbous moon rise. Ivor plays the piano, evoking the garden and stars. Mary later visits Anne's room, relieved to find Anne's absence from the garden was due to a twisted ankle, and shares her excitement about the evening's conversation with Ivor. The chapter also includes a flashback to the garden scene where Denis kissed Anne after tending to her wounded hand, only to be rebuffed and humiliated when he attempted to carry her.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Sexual Repression

Denis's romantic advance on Anne is rebuffed, and his attempt to carry her ends in humiliation, highlighting the awkwardness and repression of desire in the social setting.

### Eccentricity and Aristocracy

Priscilla's absorption in Ivor's spirit drawings and Henry's delight in the 350th anniversary of Sir Ferdinando's oyster consumption exemplify the eccentricities of the aristocratic household.

### Art and Artifice

Ivor's piano playing and his spirit drawings represent artistic expression, while the artificiality of the social interactions contrasts with genuine emotion.

## Character check-ins

### Denis

Returns to the drawing-room in profound depression after his failed romantic advance on Anne and his humiliating inability to carry her.

### Anne

Injured her ankle and hand in a fall; is helped by Denis but rejects his kiss, stating that romance is 'not our stunt'; later visited by Mary in her room.

### Ivor

Returns from the garden with Mary after watching the moon rise; plays the piano evocatively and sings a French song about shepherds and kisses.

### Mary

Returns from the garden with Ivor, excitedly discussing the moon, meteorites, and their wide-ranging conversation; later visits Anne's room, relieved that Anne's absence was innocent.

### Priscilla Wimbush

Sits in her armchair examining Ivor's spirit drawings, reading titles like 'Portrait of an Angel' and 'Astral Beings at Play'; dressed in sea-green with diamonds.

### Henry Wimbush

Deep in his account books, discovers that Sir Ferdinando ate seven dozen oysters on this day 350 years ago, delighting in the memorial coincidence.

## Key lines

> All silent and all damned, he reflected, as he looked at them.

Denis thought the group was both quiet and doomed as he observed them.

_Denis's bleak mood colors his perception of the drawing-room scene._

> Trente moutons pour un baiser.

Thirty sheep for a kiss.

_The line from Ivor's song underscores the theme of transactional love and the value placed on affection._

> It spoils our friendship, and that was so jolly.

Anne argues that kissing would ruin their pleasant friendship.

_Anne's rejection of Denis's kiss reflects her view of their relationship as platonic._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xvii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/crome_yellow_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters