# VIII: Yram, Now Mayoress, Gives a Dinner-Party, in the Course of Which She Is Disquieted by What She Learns from Professor Hanky: She Sends for Her Son George and Questions Him explained — Erewhon Revisited

> Chapter companion for Erewhon Revisited by Samuel Butler.

## What happens

Yram, now Mayoress, hosts a dinner party for Professors Hanky and Panky and other Erewhonian intellectuals. During the dinner, Hanky mentions encountering a ranger in the forest wearing the old Erewhonian dress, which deeply unsettles Yram. She suspects the ranger might be Higgs, her former lover, who has returned in disguise. After the party, she summons her son George and questions him about the incident.

## Themes in this chapter

### Hypocrisy and Deception

Yram's internal suspicion and the Professors' obliviousness highlight the theme of hidden truths and deceptive appearances.

### Memory and Nostalgia

Yram's unease stems from memories of Higgs, and the old dress symbolizes a past era now forbidden.

### Satire of Institutions

The dinner party satirizes academic and social institutions, with characters like Dr. Downie and Miss La Frime embodying absurd intellectual pursuits.

## Character check-ins

### Yram

Now Mayoress, she hosts the dinner party and becomes disquieted upon learning of a man in old Erewhonian dress, suspecting it is Higgs.

### Professor Hanky

Guest at the dinner, he recounts meeting a ranger in the forest wearing the old dress, triggering Yram's suspicions.

### Professor Panky

Accompanies Hanky to the dinner and confirms their forest adventure.

### George

Yram's son, summoned after the dinner to be questioned about the ranger and the old dress.

### Mrs. Humdrum

Attends the dinner, known as Ydgrun, and is described as the ideal of a stately dowager.

### Dr. Downie

Professor of Logomachy and guest at the dinner, known for his skill in obscuring issues.

## Key lines

> We all of us have skeletons, large or small, in some cupboard of our lives, but a well regulated skeleton that will stay in its cupboard quietly does not much matter.

Everyone has secrets, but as long as they remain hidden, they cause no trouble.

_Reflects Yram's anxiety about Higgs potentially returning._

> My father was Yram’s skeleton.

Higgs was Yram's hidden secret that she feared might resurface.

_Directly states Yram's personal connection to Higgs._

## Links

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