Chapter XXI explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Love as Redemption and Destruction

  Julie's past love for Warkworth and her current turmoil with Delafield illustrate love's dual capacity to redeem and to destroy, as she grapples with the consequences of her passion.

• Identity and Secret Origins

  Julie's internal conflict between her pagan stoicism and the Catholic 'must' instilled by her youth reflects a struggle with her own identity and the secret origins of her moral framework.

• The Public and Private Self

  The Duchess's public defiance of her husband's demands contrasts with her private devotion to Julie, while Julie herself hides her inner turmoil behind a composed exterior.

Characters to notice

• Evelyn Crowborough

  The Duchess of Crowborough, devoted to Julie, resists her husband's pleas to return to London, comparing herself to a Newfoundland dog watching over a rescued person.

• Julie Le Breton

  Convalescing at Como, Julie experiences inner turmoil over Jacob Delafield's influence and her past with Warkworth, resolving to recapture herself and remake her life.

• Jacob Delafield

  Expected to arrive at the villa, his presence stirs deep agitation and a sense of pursuing power in Julie, representing a moral force she struggles against.

• Dr. Meredith

  Arrives at the villa, providing stimulating conversation and suspected to understand the mental causes behind Julie's illness.

• Captain Warkworth

  Though absent, his memory lingers in Julie's thoughts, and she defends his actions while acknowledging her own changed feelings.

Key passages

• “I feel like a Newfoundland dog who has pulled someone out of the water. The water was deep; and the life's only just coming back; and the dog's not much good. But he sits there, for company, till the doctor comes, and that's just what I'm doing.”

  The Duchess compares herself to a loyal dog that has rescued a drowning person and stays by their side until help arrives, explaining her continued presence with Julie.

  This metaphor illustrates the Duchess's selfless devotion and her view of her role in Julie's recovery.

• “The obscure tumult within her represented, in fact, a collision between the pagan and Christian conceptions of life.”

  Julie's inner conflict is a clash between her rational, self-reliant worldview and the moral imperatives of Christianity, embodied by Delafield.

  This highlights the central theme of moral and philosophical struggle within Julie.

• “She resolved, in future, to free herself more entirely from a useless Aberglaube.”

  Julie decides to rid herself of what she considers a useless superstition, referring to her lingering Catholic faith.

  This shows Julie's attempt to assert rational control over her life, rejecting religious influence.