Man and Wife · Chapter
LII: The Apparition explained
Anne Silvester, terrified by Geoffrey Delamayn's erratic behavior, is comforted by Hester Dethridge, who reveals her own grim past.
What happens
Anne Silvester, terrified by Geoffrey Delamayn's erratic behavior, is comforted by Hester Dethridge, who reveals her own grim past. Geoffrey, delirious from exhaustion and believing he is still in a footrace, is frightened by Hester's appearance. Julius Delamayn fetches a doctor while Geoffrey runs wildly in the garden. Hester records her resolve to make Geoffrey leave the cottage, fortified by prayer and religious texts.
Themes in this chapter
Suffering and Resilience
Anne's terror and Hester's grim endurance highlight the theme of suffering and the resilience required to survive.
Gender and Power
Anne's physical fear is contrasted with the 'firmness of a man,' and Hester's eerie power over Geoffrey subverts gender norms.
Characters to notice
- Anne Silvester
Terrified by Geoffrey's behavior and her own physical danger; reflects on her changed courage.
- Geoffrey Delamayn
Delirious, feverish, and running in the garden as if in a footrace; frightened by Hester Dethridge.
- Hester Dethridge
Wakes from bad dreams, comforts Anne, and frightens Geoffrey; resolves to make him leave the cottage.
- Julius Delamayn
Concerned about Geoffrey's health, fetches the doctor, and coordinates with Anne.
Key passages
“Her position at the cottage tried her physical courage: it called on her to rise superior to the sense of actual bodily danger—while that danger was lurking in the dark.”
At the cottage, Anne's bravery was tested by real physical threats in the darkness.
Highlights Anne's shift from moral to physical fear.
“I have been through it all. I know. You're only at the beginning now. He'll put the wrinkles in your face, and the gray in your hair. There will come a time when you'll wish yourself dead and buried. You will live through it, for all that. Look at me.”
Hester tells Anne that she has endured similar suffering and that Anne will survive it too, though it will age her.
Hester's grim prophecy and shared experience.
“He shall leave my cottage tomorrow. I would fain have drawn back from the bargain, when the stranger took the lodgings for his friend, and the friend proved to be Mr. Delamayn.”
Hester decides that Geoffrey must leave the cottage immediately, regretting the rental arrangement.
Hester's firm resolve to expel Geoffrey.