Dangerous Ages · Chapter
XVI: Time explained
At St.
What happens
At St. Mary's Bay on a rainy February evening, Mrs. Hilary struggles with the oppressive weight of time, feeling abandoned after her psychoanalysis ended, while Grandmama sits placidly by the fire reading and playing casino with the maid May. The chapter contrasts their relationships with time: Mrs. Hilary sees it as an enemy to be killed, May feels it flies too fast, and Grandmama, near the end of life, finds it nearly dead. The Salvation Army's music blares outside, highlighting the different ways each character experiences the passage of time.
Themes in this chapter
The Passage of Time
The chapter's central theme: time is experienced differently by Mrs. Hilary (enemy to be killed), May (fleeting bird), and Grandmama (nearly dead, faithful steed).
Aging and Mortality
Grandmama's placid acceptance of time's end contrasts with Mrs. Hilary's fear of being stranded and empty-handed in middle age.
Generational Conflict
Mrs. Hilary resents Grandmama's contentment, feeling that 'things are all very well for her,' highlighting the divide between their experiences of time.
Characters to notice
- Rosalind Hilary
Struggles with time as an enemy after psychoanalysis ended; feels stranded and empty-handed, unable to fill the long evening.
- Grandmama
Sits contentedly by the fire, reading and playing casino; time is nearly dead for her, and she looks over the edge into eternity.
- Margery
The little maid May plays casino with Grandmama; time flies before her like a bird she can never catch.
Key passages
“Psychoanalysis, which had made her so much better while the course lasted, now that it was over (and it was too expensive to go on with forever) had left her worse than before. She was like a drunkard deprived suddenly of stimulants; she had nothing to turn to, no one now who took an interest in her soul.”
Mrs. Hilary's psychoanalysis helped temporarily, but after it ended she felt worse, like an addict without support, with no one to care about her inner life.
Illustrates Mrs. Hilary's dependence on external guidance and her despair after therapy ends.
“Time, who flew, birdlike, before May's pursuing feet; time, who stared balefully into Mrs. Hilary's face, returning hate for hate, rested behind Grandmama's back like a faithful steed who had carried her thus far and whose service was nearly over.”
Time moves quickly for May, confronts Mrs. Hilary as an enemy, and for Grandmama is a loyal horse nearing the end of its journey.
Summarizes the three characters' distinct relationships with time.