# LVIII explained — Lavengro

> Chapter companion for Lavengro by George Borrow.

## What happens

The narrator decides to leave London to recover his health, sending his trunk home but choosing not to return to his hometown out of fear of being questioned about his unfinished literary projects. He sends a gold piece to the apple-woman, who refuses it. As he departs, he encounters Francis Ardry in a cabriolet with a beautiful Frenchwoman, exchanges brief pleasantries, and then continues on his way.

## Themes in this chapter

### Freedom vs. Convention

The narrator chooses to leave London and its literary career to wander freely, rejecting the expectations of his hometown and the conventional path of authorship.

### Adventure and Roving

The narrator sets out on foot with a bundle and stick, embracing an uncertain journey into the countryside.

## Character check-ins

### Lavengro

Decides to leave London on foot to recover his health, sends a gold piece to the apple-woman, and departs southwest.

### Francis Ardry

Encountered driving a cabriolet with a beautiful female companion; expresses anger that the narrator intended to leave without telling him.

## Key lines

> I had long ago determined to leave London as soon as the means should be in my power, and, now that they were, I determined to leave the Great City; yet I felt some reluctance to go.

The narrator had planned to leave London once he had the resources, and now that he does, he decides to go, though he feels a bit hesitant.

_The narrator's conflicted feelings about departing London._

> I would go forth into the country, travelling on foot, and, by exercise and inhaling pure air, endeavour to recover my health, leaving my subsequent movements to be determined by Providence.

He plans to walk through the countryside to regain his health, trusting fate for what comes next.

_The narrator's plan for recovery and reliance on Providence._

> The old woman would not take it; she did not want it, she said. 'Tell the poor thin lad,' she added, 'to keep it for himself, he wants it more than I.'

The apple-woman refuses the gold, saying the narrator needs it more than she does.

_The apple-woman's selfless refusal of the narrator's gift._

> Lifting my hand, in which I held my stick, I took off my hat. 'How beautiful!' said I, looking the lady full in the face.

The narrator raises his stick, removes his hat, and compliments the lady's beauty directly.

_The narrator's polite admiration of Francis Ardry's companion._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/lviii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/lavengro_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/lavengro_se/chapters