# Christmastide explained — Greenmantle

> Chapter companion for Greenmantle by John Buchan.

## What happens

Hannay escapes from Stumm's house after incapacitating him, flees through a snowstorm while suffering from fever, and finds refuge in a poor cottage where a kind woman and her children take him in.

## Themes in this chapter

### Deception and Disguise

Hannay exchanges clothes with the post-wagon driver and uses Stumm's pass to pose as a member of the Imperial Secret Service.

### Courage in the Face of Death

Despite fever and exhaustion, Hannay forces himself to keep moving through the snowstorm, knowing that stopping means death.

### The Chaos of War

Hannay's desperate flight through picketed roads and a blizzard illustrates the disorder and peril of wartime espionage.

## Character check-ins

### Richard Hannay

Flees Stumm's house, exchanges clothes with a drunken post-wagon driver, evades bicyclist sentries in a snowstorm, and collapses with fever at a cottage.

### Ulric von Stumm

Put to sleep by Hannay; his pass is used by Hannay to gain trust.

## Key lines

> Everything depended on whether the servant was in the hall. I had put Stumm to sleep for a bit, but I couldn't flatter myself he would long be quiet, and when he came to he would kick the locked door to matchwood.

Hannay's escape hinges on the servant's presence; he knows Stumm will soon break down the door.

_High tension as Hannay begins his flight._

> I was like a drunk man who keeps running, for he knows that if he stops he will fall, and I had a sort of bet with myself not to lie down—not at any rate just yet.

Hannay compares his fever-driven flight to a drunkard's desperate race against collapse.

_Illustrates his physical and mental deterioration._

> The good Lord has sent you. Now the little ones will have their prayers answered and the Christkind will not pass by our door.

The woman believes Hannay's arrival is a divine gift that will bring Christmas to her children.

_Shows the kindness and poverty of his hosts._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/greenmantle_se/chapters/vii-christmastide
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/greenmantle_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/greenmantle_se/chapters