Lavengro · Chapter
LXXXI explained
Lavengro travels with Mr.
What happens
Lavengro travels with Mr. Petulengro, who recounts the death and funeral of Mrs. Hearne, who hanged herself. He also tells the story of a Bow Street runner who apprehended a Romany chal after a struggle, revealing himself as the second man present.
Themes in this chapter
The Gypsy and the Outsider
Jasper's detailed account of Mrs. Hearne's death and the Romani way of handling the funeral highlights the distinct customs and outsider status of the Romani people.
Honor and Morality
The story of the Romany chal's fight with the Bow Street runner and Mrs. Hearne's vengeful advice raise questions about honor, justice, and moral codes within and outside the law.
Characters to notice
- Lavengro
Travels with Mr. Petulengro and listens to his tales.
- Jasper Petulengro
Narrates the death and funeral of Mrs. Hearne, and the story of the Bow Street runner and the Romany chal.
- Mrs. Hearne
Reported dead by hanging, having been her own hinjiri; buried in Romani fashion by Leonora's bidding.
- Leonora
The child who mourned Mrs. Hearne deeply and arranged her burial according to Romani tradition.
Key passages
“Two days ago, I happened to be at a fair not very far from here; I was all alone by myself, for our party were upwards of forty miles off, when who should come up but a chap that I knew, a relation, or rather, a connection of mine—one of those Hearnes.”
Two days ago, I was at a fair alone, far from my group, when a relative of the Hearnes approached me.
Jasper explains how he learned of Mrs. Hearne's death.
“The Rommany chal fought the engro, brother, in the old Roman fashion. He bit, he kicked, and screamed like a wild cat of Benygant; casting foam from his mouth, and fire from his eyes.”
The Romany man fought the officer with savage, desperate tactics, biting, kicking, and screaming fiercely.
Jasper vividly describes the struggle between the Romany chal and the Bow Street runner.