Lavengro · Chapter
Chapter XXVII explained
The narrator's father confronts him about his lack of progress in his profession and his secret study of Armenian, revealing a strained relationship.
What happens
The narrator's father confronts him about his lack of progress in his profession and his secret study of Armenian, revealing a strained relationship. The father, feeling his end near, questions his son's future plans and expresses concern over his mysterious behavior. The narrator recalls his father's anecdotes about historical figures and his brother's absence, as the family awaits news from the elder son.
Themes in this chapter
Philology and Learning
The narrator's secret study of Armenian and his exploration of the widow's library highlight his philological pursuits.
Honor and Morality
The father's concern with duty, obedience, and moral character contrasts with the narrator's secretive and independent nature.
Characters to notice
- Lavengro
Reveals his secret study of Armenian and his acquaintance with a widow who gave him Armenian books; questioned by his father about his future.
- Captain Thomas Borrow
The narrator's father, gravely ill, reproaches his son for lack of candor and discusses his own past, including his acquaintance with historical figures and Big Ben.
- Brother
Absent for three years; last letter from Paris mentioned copying a painting for a Hungarian nobleman; his absence preys on the father's mind.
Key passages
“I have ever observed about you a want of frankness, which has distressed me; you never speak of what you are about, your hopes, or your projects, but cover yourself with mystery.”
The father accuses his son of being secretive and not sharing his thoughts or plans.
Reveals the father's frustration with the narrator's lack of openness.
“I have also like him a son to whom I can look with hope, who may yet preserve my name when I am gone, so let me be thankful; perhaps, after all, I have not lived in vain.”
The father finds some comfort in his elder son, hoping he will carry on the family name.
Highlights the father's reliance on the absent brother and his mixed feelings about the narrator.