Ghost-Haunted explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Secrecy and Deception

  Robert is torn between revealing the truth of George Talboys' murder and keeping it secret to protect Sir Michael and Clara from the horror of the crime.

• Justice and Morality

  Robert questions whether it is just to leave George's body in an unhallowed grave and struggles with his moral duty to the murdered man versus his desire to spare others pain.

• Appearance vs. Reality

  The chapter contrasts the calm exterior of Sir Michael with his inner agony, and Robert's earlier suspicions are now confirmed as horrible reality.

• Identity and Self

  Robert reflects on how the dark story has changed his life, feeling that a 'great leaf had been torn out of his life' now that the mystery is resolved.

Characters to notice

• Robert Audley

  Robert is tormented by the certainty of George Talboys' murder and the moral dilemma of whether to reveal the truth. He receives letters from Sir Michael, Alicia, and Clara Talboys, and decides to travel to Essex to see the dying Luke Marks.

• Lady Audley

  Though absent, Lady Audley's crime dominates Robert's thoughts; he now knows she murdered George Talboys and struggles with the implications.

• George Talboys

  George's ghostly presence haunts Robert throughout the chapter; Robert now knows his friend was murdered and lies in the old well at Audley Court.

• Sir Michael Audley

  Sir Michael has left Audley Court with Alicia for the Continent, showing a calm that alarms Alicia. He sends Robert blank checks and asks never to hear Lady Audley's name again.

• Alicia Audley

  Alicia writes to Robert about her father's condition and her efforts to take him abroad to recover from the shock of Lady Audley's departure.

• Clara Talboys

  Clara writes to Robert urging him to return to Essex because Luke Marks is dying and wishes to see him. Robert dreads meeting her now that he knows the truth about her brother.

• Luke Marks

  Luke is dying from injuries sustained in the fire at the Castle Inn and has expressed a strong desire to see Robert before he dies.

• Phoebe Marks

  Phoebe is attending her husband Luke in his illness at his mother's cottage near Audley Court.

Key passages

• “Could it be that he was returning to his uncle’s house without the woman who had reigned in it for nearly two years as queen and mistress?”

  Robert wondered if he was really going back to Audley Court without Lady Audley, who had been the dominant figure there for almost two years.

  Robert reflects on the dramatic change in the household after Lady Audley's departure.

• “What shall I tell him? he thought. Shall I tell the truth⁠—the horrible, ghastly truth? No; that would be too cruel.”

  Robert asked himself what he should say to Sir Michael, deciding that revealing the full horror of Lady Audley's crime would be too harsh.

  Robert's internal conflict about whether to disclose the murder to Sir Michael.

• “George Talboys had been cruelly and treacherously murdered by the wife he had loved and mourned.”

  Robert now knew for certain that Lady Audley had murdered George Talboys, the very wife George had loved and grieved for.

  Robert's certainty about Lady Audley's guilt is now absolute.

• “Better that she should hope vainly to the last, than that I should give that clue into her hands, and say, ‘Our worst fears are realized.’”

  Robert thought it was kinder for Clara to keep hoping indefinitely than for him to confirm that her brother had been murdered.

  Robert's reasoning for not telling Clara the truth about George's fate.

• “He felt that there was no way out of this difficulty.”

  Robert believed he was trapped in an impossible situation with no good solution.

  Robert's sense of helplessness regarding the moral dilemma of George's burial.