Dombey and Son · Chapter
The Interval Before the Marriage explained
In the days leading up to Mr.
What happens
In the days leading up to Mr. Dombey's marriage to Edith Granger, Florence experiences a mix of hope and anxiety. She grows closer to Edith, who shows her tenderness and promises to improve her rooms. Florence wishes to move into her deceased brother Paul's room but hesitates to ask her father. The chapter depicts the final evening before the wedding, with Mrs. Skewton manipulating Mr. Dombey into leaving Florence in her care while Edith remains distant and brooding. Florence, full of hope for a new family, goes to bed in a room adjoining Edith's, sobbing herself to sleep with joy.
Themes in this chapter
Marriage and Power
The impending marriage between Mr. Dombey and Edith is portrayed as a transaction, with Mrs. Skewton maneuvering for control and Edith displaying indifference, highlighting the power dynamics at play.
Family and Neglect
Florence's longing for her father's affection and her desire to move into Paul's room underscore the emotional neglect she has suffered, while her hope for a new mother figure suggests a potential for healing.
Love and Sacrifice
Florence's love for her dead mother and her willingness to embrace Edith as a new mother reflect themes of sacrificial love and the blending of past and present affections.
Characters to notice
- Florence Dombey
Florence is hopeful about her father's upcoming marriage, feeling a new bond with Edith. She wishes to move into Paul's old room but is hesitant to ask her father.
- Edith Dombey
Edith shows tenderness toward Florence but remains aloof and indifferent to the wedding preparations. She spends the evening before the marriage at a dark window, brooding.
- Mr. Dombey
Mr. Dombey is preparing for his marriage to Edith, displaying a lofty gallantry. He agrees to leave Florence with Mrs. Skewton during the honeymoon.
- Mrs. Skewton
Mrs. Skewton manipulates Mr. Dombey into leaving Florence in her care, feigning fragility and delighting in her youthful dress for the wedding.
- Diogenes
Diogenes is in a constant state of barking due to the workmen in the house, convinced that an enemy is sacking the premises.
Key passages
“Although the enchanted house was no more, and the working world had broken into it, and was hammering and crashing and tramping up and down stairs all day long keeping Diogenes in an incessant paroxysm of barking, from sunrise to sunset—evidently convinced that his enemy had got the better of him at last, and was then sacking the premises in triumphant defiance—there was, at first, no other great change in the method of Florence’s life.”
The house was no longer a magical place; workmen were constantly making noise, causing Diogenes to bark endlessly, as if he believed an enemy was finally victorious and ransacking the house. Yet, aside from this disruption, Florence's daily routine remained largely unchanged.
This passage sets the scene of disruption and Florence's resilience amidst the chaos of renovations.
“The beautiful lady who had soothed and carressed her, in the very room in which her heart had been so wrung, was a spirit of promise to her.”
The lovely woman who had comforted her in the same room where she had once felt deep pain now seemed like a symbol of hope.
Florence sees Edith as a source of hope and healing, contrasting with past sorrows.
“Every gentle word that had fallen from the lips of the beautiful lady, sounded to Florence like an echo of the voice long hushed and silent.”
Each kind word from Edith reminded Florence of her deceased mother's voice, which had been silent for so long.
Florence associates Edith's kindness with memories of her own mother, blending past and present love.