His Family · Chapter
XXXII explained
Laura arrives at the Gale home seeking refuge from her troubled marriage.
What happens
Laura arrives at the Gale home seeking refuge from her troubled marriage. Deborah informs her father, Roger, that Laura is divorcing her husband and plans to remarry. Roger struggles with the news, reflecting on his own past and the judgment of his late wife Judith. He confronts Laura in her darkened room, reluctantly accepting her decision while forbidding her from seeing the other man. The chapter ends with Roger alone, wrestling with his conscience and the encroaching pressures of modern urban life on his family.
Themes in this chapter
Family and Generational Change
Roger grapples with his children's choices, reflecting on how his own past contrasts with Laura's actions and the changing moral landscape.
Love, Marriage, and Women's Roles
Laura's divorce and planned remarriage challenge traditional expectations of women's fidelity and dependence within marriage.
The Impact of Modernity and War
The encroaching city and its 'eyes' symbolize the pressures of modern urban life on the family's privacy and values.
Characters to notice
- Roger Gale
Roger is troubled by Laura's divorce and remarriage plans, reflecting on his past and his wife Judith's values. He struggles with his role as a father and the changing times.
- Deborah Gale
Deborah mediates the crisis, informing Roger of Laura's situation and arranging for Laura to stay. She shows practicality and emotional restraint.
- Edith Gale
Edith is tactful and supportive during dinner, smoothing over the tension. She is later hurt when Deborah asks to speak privately with Roger.
- Laura Gale
Laura is in distress, having left her husband. She stays in Deborah's room and later reveals to Roger her intention to marry the other man.
- Judith
Judith is remembered by Roger as his deceased wife, a broad-minded woman who would not have approved of Laura's actions.
Key passages
“This eternal school business of Deborah’s was beginning to get on his nerves. Yes, just a little on his nerves! Why couldn’t she give up one evening, just one, and get Laura out of this snarl she was in?”
Roger is irritated by Deborah's constant commitment to her schoolwork, wishing she would prioritize helping Laura with her marital problems.
Shows Roger's frustration with Deborah's priorities and his traditional expectation of family duty over personal pursuits.
“The news of the world had such a trick of suddenly receding a million miles away from a man the minute he was in trouble.”
Personal crises make global events seem irrelevant and distant.
Highlights Roger's emotional withdrawal and the isolating nature of family troubles.
“What would she think of him if she knew? Judith had been a broad-minded woman, sensible, bighearted. But she never would have stood for this.”
Roger imagines his late wife Judith's disapproval of Laura's divorce and remarriage, feeling guilty for not upholding her standards.
Reflects Roger's internal conflict and the lingering influence of Judith's moral authority.
“From bad to worse, very likely. A woman can’t stop when she’s started downhill.”
Roger fears that Laura's divorce and remarriage will lead to a downward spiral, as he believes a woman cannot recover once she strays from propriety.
Exposes Roger's conservative views on female morality and his anxiety about Laura's future.
“Yes, the town was crowding down on him tonight, on his house and on his family. He realized it had never stopped, and that his three grown children, each one of them a part of himself, had been struggling with it all the time.”
Roger feels the oppressive presence of the city encroaching on his home, recognizing that his children have been battling these urban pressures all along.
Symbolizes the theme of modernity's impact on family and the loss of a simpler rural past.
