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Lavengro · Chapter

XCV explained

Belle returns late from selling, and Lavengro has made new shoes for her donkey.

What happens

Belle returns late from selling, and Lavengro has made new shoes for her donkey. They share tea in the dingle, and Lavengro attempts to teach Belle Armenian, but she resists. A thunderstorm approaches, and they take shelter together in his tent, discussing the storm and the sound of thunder.

Themes in this chapter

  • Philology and Learning

    Lavengro attempts to teach Belle Armenian, highlighting his passion for language and her resistance to formal instruction.

  • Freedom vs. Convention

    Belle rejects the idea of having a 'master' and declines to learn Armenian, asserting her independence against Lavengro's pedagogical authority.

Characters to notice

  • Lavengro

    Works at his forge, makes donkey shoes, and tries to teach Belle Armenian. He observes the approaching storm and takes shelter with Belle.

  • Belle

    Returns late from selling, tired from the heat. She resists Lavengro's Armenian lessons and takes shelter with him during the thunderstorm.

Key passages

  • “Ash, when green, Is fire for a queen.”

    Green ash wood burns well enough for a queen's fire.

    Belle quotes an old rhyme about the quality of green ash as firewood.

  • “The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the thick bushes.”

    The sound of thunder causes deer to give birth and reveals hidden thickets.

    Lavengro quotes a biblical verse to describe the power of thunder.

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