Lady Audley’s Secret · Chapter
At Peace explained
Two years after the events of the novel, Robert Audley and Clara Talboys live happily in a fairy cottage near Teddington with their baby and George Talboys, who visits often.
What happens
Two years after the events of the novel, Robert Audley and Clara Talboys live happily in a fairy cottage near Teddington with their baby and George Talboys, who visits often. Georgey, now eight, plays by the river. Sir Michael Audley, Alicia, and Sir Harry Towers also visit. Lady Audley (Madame Taylor) has died abroad. Audley Court is shut up, and the dark past fades away as the good characters find peace and happiness.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Marriage
The chapter depicts happy marriages and engagements: Robert and Clara, Alicia and Sir Harry Towers, and the peaceful domestic life at the cottage.
Identity and Self
George Talboys is recovering his sense of self after the trauma of his wife's deception, finding happiness with his sister and son.
Justice and Morality
The wickedness of Lady Audley has faded, and the good characters are rewarded with peace, reflecting a moral resolution.
Characters to notice
- Robert Audley
Now a rising barrister, living happily with Clara in a cottage near Teddington, father to a toddler.
- Clara Talboys
Robert's wife and George's sister, living at the cottage and caring for the baby.
- George Talboys
Living with his sister and Robert, happy and recovering from the past; his son Georgey visits often.
- Georgey
Now eight years old, a handsome dark-eyed boy who plays by the river and visits his father at the cottage.
- Sir Michael Audley
Survived his troubles, visits the cottage; has bought a house in Hertfordshire near his son-in-law's estate.
- Alicia Audley
Bright and merry-hearted, engaged to Sir Harry Towers, often visits the cottage.
Key passages
“Two years have passed since the May twilight in which Robert found his old friend; and Mr. Audley’s dream of a fairy cottage has been realized between Teddington Locks and Hampton Bridge”
Two years after Robert rediscovered George, Robert's fantasy of a charming cottage has come true, located along the Thames near Teddington.
The chapter opens with a peaceful time jump, showing the fulfillment of Robert's earlier wishes.
“Sir Michael has no fancy to return to the familiar dwelling-place in which he once dreamed a brief dream of impossible happiness.”
Sir Michael does not wish to go back to Audley Court, where he had a short-lived illusion of perfect happiness with Lady Audley.
Sir Michael's avoidance of Audley Court underscores the lingering pain of his marriage to Lady Audley.
“That dark story of the past fades little by little every day, and there may come a time in which the shadow my lady’s wickedness has cast upon the young man’s life will utterly vanish away.”
The painful memories of Lady Audley's evil deeds gradually diminish, and eventually George may be completely free from their influence.
The narrator expresses hope that George will fully recover from the trauma caused by Lady Audley.