Lady Rowley Makes an Attempt explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Marital Jealousy and Possessiveness

  Trevelyan's demand for Emily's complete submission and his obsession with Colonel Osborne's influence drive the conflict, showing his possessive and jealous nature.

• Pride and Stubbornness

  Both Trevelyan and Lady Rowley refuse to yield: Trevelyan insists on penitence, while Lady Rowley cannot admit any fault on Emily's part, leading to a failed reconciliation.

• Gender Roles and Power in Marriage

  Trevelyan asserts his right to be 'master in his own house' and demands obedience, reflecting the era's patriarchal norms. Lady Rowley challenges this by defending Emily's innocence.

Characters to notice

• Lady Rowley

  Arranges and attends the meeting with Trevelyan, hoping to heal the breach between him and Emily. She is firm in her belief that Emily has done nothing wrong and leaves when Trevelyan demands penitence.

• Louis Trevelyan

  Meets with Lady Rowley, insisting on Emily's complete submission and penitence. He appears thin, pale, haggard, and pompous, showing a changed character. After the meeting, he tells Bozzle he will make no further attempts at reconciliation.

• Sir Marmaduke Rowley

  Attempts to locate Trevelyan and the child by visiting Bozzle's residence in the Borough. He is frustrated by Mrs. Bozzle's evasiveness and later by Bozzle's refusal to disclose Trevelyan's address.

• Mr. Bozzle

  Trevelyan's detective. He is found at home by Sir Marmaduke but refuses to give Trevelyan's address. After the meeting, Trevelyan tells him he will make no further attempts at reconciliation.

• Emily Trevelyan

  Though not present in the chapter, she is the subject of the discussion. She is reported to have said that her husband's conduct must prove him mad, but the family hesitates to use that plea.

• Mrs. Bozzle

  Displays admirable discretion when Sir Marmaduke calls, refusing to give any information about Trevelyan or her husband's business.

Key passages

• “She, probably, was alive to the fact that a man of fifty might put on the airs and assume the character of a young lover; and acting on that suspicion, entertaining also some hope that bad as matters now were they might be mended, she had taken care that Colonel Osborne and Mrs. Trevelyan should not be brought together.”

  Lady Rowley suspected that Colonel Osborne, despite his age, might still act like a young suitor, so she deliberately kept him and Emily apart, hoping to improve the situation.

  Highlights Lady Rowley's strategic thinking and her role in managing the conflict.

• “If my wife means to come back to me, and to have her child in her own hands, she must be penitent as regards the past, and obedient as regards the future.”

  Trevelyan insists that Emily must show remorse for her past actions and promise to obey him in the future before he will allow her to return and see their child.

  Captures Trevelyan's uncompromising stance and his view of marriage as a hierarchy.

• “She must be crushed in spirit, Lady Rowley, before she can again become a pure and happy woman.”

  Trevelyan believes Emily needs to be humbled and broken in spirit to be considered pure and happy again.

  Reveals Trevelyan's extreme and punitive attitude toward his wife.