Indiscretions of Archie · Chapter
XII: Bright Eyes—and a Fly explained
Archie and Lucille are staying at the Hotel Hermitage, a mountain resort owned by Mr.
What happens
Archie and Lucille are staying at the Hotel Hermitage, a mountain resort owned by Mr. Brewster. Lucille must return to New York for a fitting and to see her father, leaving Archie behind. At breakfast, Archie admires the actress Vera Silverton, prompting Lucille's jealousy. Later, Archie helps remove a fly from Miss Silverton's eye, which Lucille witnesses and interprets as flirtation. After Lucille departs, Archie feels despondent. He meets playwright George Benham, who reveals that Miss Silverton has abandoned his play's rehearsals, leaving him in despair.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Marriage
Archie's devotion to Lucille is tested by a trivial misunderstanding over Vera Silverton, highlighting the fragility and depth of marital bonds.
Comedy of Errors and Misunderstandings
The fly-in-the-eye incident leads to Lucille's jealousy and a quarrel, exemplifying the comedic misunderstandings that drive the plot.
Work vs. Idleness
George Benham's lament about the trials of playwriting contrasts with Archie's leisurely holiday, underscoring the tension between creative labor and leisure.
Characters to notice
- Archie Moffam
Enjoys breakfast at the Hermitage, admires Vera Silverton, helps remove a fly from her eye, and feels saddened by a misunderstanding with Lucille.
- Lucille Brewster Moffam
Jealous of Archie's attention to Vera Silverton, she leaves for New York for a fitting and to see her father, feeling annoyed by the fly incident.
- Vera Silverton
The spectacular actress staying at the Hermitage; she asks Archie to remove a fly from her eye, causing tension with Lucille, and has abandoned George Benham's play.
- George Benham
A playwright who joins Archie for lunch, distressed because Vera Silverton has walked out on his play's rehearsals.
- Mr. Daniel Brewster
Proprietor of the Hermitage, mentioned as absent and not missed by Archie.
Key passages
“The longer he was married to her the more did the sacred institution seem to him a good egg.”
Archie finds his marriage increasingly wonderful the longer he is with Lucille.
Reflects Archie's contentment and the theme of love and marriage.
“Lucille, therefore, coming out of the hotel just as the operation was concluded, ought not to have felt the annoyance she did.”
Lucille should not have been upset when she saw Archie helping Vera, but she was.
Highlights the comedic misunderstanding central to the chapter.
“Job was the only man that ever lived who was really qualified to write a play, and he would have found it pretty tough going if his leading woman had been anyone like Vera Silverton!”
Even the biblical Job would struggle to write a play with a difficult actress like Vera Silverton.
George Benham's humorous complaint about the challenges of working with temperamental actors.