Lady Audley’s Secret · Chapter
VIII: Before the Storm explained
The dinner at Audley Court is postponed, and Alicia Audley's attempts to attract Robert's interest by expressing eagerness to meet George Talboys fail due to Robert's indolence.
What happens
The dinner at Audley Court is postponed, and Alicia Audley's attempts to attract Robert's interest by expressing eagerness to meet George Talboys fail due to Robert's indolence. The two men decide to return to London, and George reveals a dark presentiment of doom. Alicia shows them a secret passage leading to Lady Audley's dressing-room, which they explore, finding her luxurious belongings left in disarray.
Themes in this chapter
Appearance vs. Reality
Alicia's pretended indifference masks her true feelings; George's calm exterior hides a deep melancholy; Lady Audley's pretty note conceals her secretive nature.
Secrecy and Deception
The secret passage to Lady Audley's dressing-room symbolizes hidden access to her private life, and her locked rooms suggest concealed truths.
Madness and Insanity
George's dark presentiment of a 'black, pitiless tide' closing in on him hints at psychological distress bordering on obsession.
Characters to notice
- Robert Audley
Indolent and indifferent, he fails to notice Alicia's feelings and decides to return to London, dismissing George's melancholy as due to bad cigars or indigestion.
- Alicia Audley
Disappointed by Robert's departure, she pretends indifference but is hurt; she shows Robert and George the secret passage to Lady Audley's dressing-room.
- George Talboys
Gloomy and preoccupied, he speaks of his son mournfully and expresses a foreboding sense of doom; he passively follows Robert into the secret passage.
- Lady Audley
Absent from the Court, having gone to London; her note to Alicia reveals her coquettish handwriting, and her dressing-room is left in elegant disorder.
- Sir Michael Audley
Mentioned as the owner of Audley Court, but not directly present in the chapter.
Key passages
“Indolent, handsome, and indifferent, the young barrister took life as altogether too absurd a mistake for any one event in its foolish course to be for a moment considered seriously by a sensible man.”
Robert Audley, lazy and unconcerned, regarded life as a ridiculous error not worth taking seriously.
Describes Robert's apathetic worldview.
“I am like a man standing upon a long, low shore, with hideous cliffs frowning down upon him from behind, and the rising tide crawling slowly but surely about his feet.”
George feels trapped, with danger approaching gradually and inexorably.
George's metaphor for his sense of impending doom.
“It is the prettiest, most coquettish little hand I ever saw. Do you know, Alicia, I have no great belief in those fellows who ask you for thirteen postage stamps, and offer to tell you what you have never been able to find out yourself; but upon my word I think that if I had never seen your aunt, I should know what she was like by this slip of paper.”
Robert claims Lady Audley's handwriting reveals her appearance and personality.
Robert reads character from handwriting, hinting at Lady Audley's deceptive charm.