# VI: The Black Plush Coat explained — In Darkest London > Chapter companion for In Darkest London by Ada Elizabeth Chesterton. ## What happens The narrator, after a night at Kennedy Court, resumes selling matches and seeking cook work but is repeatedly denied due to lack of a reference. She sells matches in a pub, meets an elderly woman in a black plush coat who offers a business partnership selling trinkets on commission. The narrator accepts, but the next morning wakes to find the woman has stolen her money and bag. Enraged and starving, she experiences a desperate hunger that nearly drives her to violence, and she eventually stops a well-dressed man on the street to beg for breakfast. ## Themes in this chapter ### Destitution and Survival The narrator's daily struggle to earn enough for food and a bed, and the theft of her money, highlight the precariousness of survival. ### The Failure of the Labor Market Despite being a skilled cook, the narrator cannot find kitchen work without a character reference, forcing her into street selling. ### The Psychology of Homelessness The narrator experiences an overwhelming, animalistic hunger that nearly drives her to break windows, illustrating the psychological toll of destitution. ## Character check-ins ### George Gissing The narrator (author surrogate) continues her experiment in destitution, selling matches and seeking cook work. ### Annie Turner Mentioned as someone who could provide a false reference, but the narrator refuses to use her. ## Key lines > I could have forgiven the woman if she had taken half or nearly all the money; she might have left me the price of a cup of tea⁠—and she should not have taken my bag. The narrator would have accepted losing most of her money, but the theft of her bag and all her funds felt like a betrayal. _Expresses the narrator's anger and sense of violation after the plush coat woman's theft._ > Think of the whole universe resolving itself into an anguished frenzy for a mutton chop, friend bacon and a poached egg! The narrator's hunger becomes so intense that all her thoughts and desires narrow to a desperate craving for a simple hot meal. _Illustrates the overwhelming physical need that can override all other concerns._ > I ask you to leave your comfortable beds, your well-spread tables, and live among the destitute, and you also will feel an overwhelming impulse to break windows or beat your hands against the stones. The narrator challenges readers to experience destitution themselves, arguing that extreme hunger naturally leads to violent frustration. _Direct appeal to the reader to understand the psychology behind acts of desperation._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/in_darkest_london_se/chapters/vi-the-black-plush-coat - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/in_darkest_london_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/in_darkest_london_se/chapters