# Conclusion explained — Lud-in-the-Mist > Chapter companion for Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees. ## What happens The final chapter recounts the fates of the principal characters after the fairy invasion. Hazel marries Sebastian Thug, who becomes a devoted husband and farmer; Mistress Ivy lives with them, and Nathaniel and Ranulph visit each summer. Bawdy Bess leaves Lud out of pique. Luke Hempen rises to Captain of the Lud Yeomanry. Hempie lives to old age, telling stories to Ranulph's children, and is buried in the Chanticleer chapel. Mother Tibbs vanishes after the revels, and Portunus is never seen again, though a wild red-haired youth occasionally appears. The Crabapple Blossoms recover but do not become the ladies their mothers expected. Fairy fruit is now candied and exported, thanks to Master Ambrose, and art returns to Dorimare. Ranulph becomes a celebrated poet whose songs travel the world. Dame Marigold continues her placid life, sometimes wondering if Nathaniel truly returned. Nathaniel himself eventually dies and is buried with an epitaph in the family chapel, a reminder that the Written Word is a deceptive fairy. ## Themes in this chapter ### Transformation and Growth The chapter shows the lasting transformation of Dorimare: a new industry, the return of art, and the personal growth of characters like Ranulph and the Crabapple Blossoms. ### The Poetry of Everyday Life Ranulph's songs, the candied fairy fruit, and the simple domestic happiness of Hazel and Sebastian illustrate the beauty found in ordinary life after the fairy incursion. ### Reality vs. Delusion Dame Marigold's uncertainty about whether Nathaniel truly returned, and the narrator's warning about the deceptive nature of the Written Word, highlight the blurred line between reality and illusion. ## Character check-ins ### Hazel Marries Sebastian Thug and lives with him on her farm, visited annually by Nathaniel and Ranulph. ### Sebastian Thug Gives up the sea, marries Hazel, and becomes an excellent husband and farmer. ### Mistress Ivy Peppercorn Comes to live with Hazel and Sebastian Thug on the farm. ### Master Nathaniel Chanticleer Visits Hazel's farm each summer with Ranulph; later dies and is buried in the family chapel with an epitaph. ### Ranulph Chanticleer Grows up to become a celebrated poet, writing songs that travel across the sea; visits Hazel's farm with Nathaniel. ### Hempie Lives to a ripe old age, tells stories to Ranulph's children, and is buried in the Chanticleer family chapel. ### Mother Tibbs Takes part in the revels after the fairy army arrives, then vanishes from Dorimare forever. ### Dame Marigold Chanticleer Continues to smile and nibble marzipan, sometimes wondering if Nathaniel truly returned from beyond the Debatable Hills. ## Key lines > Hazel Gibberty married Sebastian Thug⁠—and an excellent husband he made her. Hazel Gibberty wed Sebastian Thug, who proved to be a very good spouse. _Describes Hazel's marriage and Sebastian's character._ > And when she died, as a tribute to her long and loving service, she was buried in the family chapel of the Chanticleers. Upon her death, Hempie was interred in the Chanticleer family chapel as a mark of respect for her years of devoted service. _Honors Hempie's loyalty to the Chanticleer family._ > But, from time to time, a wild red-haired youth would arrive uninvited, and having turned everything topsy-turvy with his pranks, would rush from the house, shouting 'Ho! Ho! Hoh! ' Occasionally, a unruly red-haired young man would appear without invitation, cause chaos with his tricks, and then dash away shouting. _Suggests the lingering, mischievous presence of fairy influence, possibly Portunus._ > As for Ranulph, when he grew up he wrote the loveliest songs that had been heard since the days of Duke Aubrey⁠—songs that crossed the sea and were sung by lonely fishermen in the far North, and by indigo mothers crooning to their babies by the doors of their huts in the Cinnamon Isles. Ranulph grew up to compose beautiful songs, the finest since Duke Aubrey's time, which spread across the ocean and were sung by isolated fishermen in the North and by mothers in the Cinnamon Isles. _Highlights Ranulph's poetic legacy and the wide reach of his art._ > And this is but another proof that the Written Word is a Fairy, as mocking and elusive as Willy Wisp, speaking lying words to us in a feigned voice. This demonstrates that the written word is like a fairy—deceptive and slippery, like Willy Wisp, telling us falsehoods in a disguised tone. _The narrator's final warning about the unreliability of written narratives._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/lud_in_the_mist_se/chapters/xxxii-conclusion - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/lud_in_the_mist_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/lud_in_the_mist_se/chapters