Lost Man’s Lane · Chapter
III: I Succumb explained
Amelia Butterworth decides to visit the Knollys family after feeling compelled by her conscience to check on the children of her deceased friend Althea Burroughs.
What happens
Amelia Butterworth decides to visit the Knollys family after feeling compelled by her conscience to check on the children of her deceased friend Althea Burroughs. She sends a telegram and prepares for departure, but receives a last-minute letter from Mr. Gryce. Upon arrival, she is met by a shy old man who drives her in an old-fashioned coach. Despite warnings from the stationmaster about recent disappearances in the village, she proceeds to the dilapidated Knollys mansion, where she is unnerved by a barking dog and a furtive movement at an upper window.
Themes in this chapter
Isolation and Community
The Knollys mansion is depicted as neglected and isolated, and the village's wariness of outsiders is evident in the stationmaster's warning and the locals' reactions.
Secrecy and Deception
The furtive movement of a curtain at an upper window and the stationmaster's veiled warnings suggest hidden knowledge and deceptive appearances.
Poverty and Decline
The dilapidated state of the Knollys mansion, with its broken chimneys, decayed window-frames, and overgrown yard, underscores the family's decline.
Characters to notice
- Amelia Butterworth
The narrator and protagonist, who decides to visit the Knollys family after feeling guilty about neglecting her dead friend's children.
- Mr. Gryce
Sends a hurried letter to Miss Butterworth just as she is leaving, attempting to influence her decision.
- Mother Jane
Glimpsed by Miss Butterworth as she passes a hut; the old crone is eating bread and is pointed out by the driver.
- Simsbury
The shy old man who drives Miss Butterworth to the Knollys mansion; he points out Mother Jane and the house.
- Althea Burroughs
Miss Butterworth's deceased friend, whose children she feels compelled to visit.
- Lena
A servant who helps Miss Butterworth retrieve her glasses to read Mr. Gryce's letter.
Key passages
“That night the tempter had his own way with me. Without much difficulty he persuaded me that my neglect of Althea Burroughs’ children was without any excuse;”
That evening, I gave in to temptation and convinced myself that I had no good reason for neglecting Althea Burroughs' children.
Miss Butterworth rationalizes her decision to visit the Knollys family.
“I did not mean to take them by surprise—that is, not entirely. The invitation which they had sent me years ago was still in force, making it simply necessary for me to telegraph them that I had decided to make them a visit, and that they might expect me by the noon train.”
I didn't intend to completely surprise them; they had invited me years ago, so I just needed to send a telegram announcing my arrival.
Miss Butterworth justifies her sudden visit by citing a standing invitation.
“As I proceeded on my way, something in the silence of the spot struck me. Was I becoming oversensitive to impressions or was there something really uncanny in the absolute lack of sound or movement in a dwelling of such dimensions?”
As I walked, the eerie silence of the place made me wonder if I was being overly sensitive or if the house truly was unnaturally still.
Miss Butterworth senses something unsettling about the Knollys mansion.