# VI explained — Man and Wife

> Chapter companion for Man and Wife by Wilkie Collins.

## What happens

Five years have passed, and the lives of the three men from the Hampstead villa dinner have changed. Mr. Kendrew, marked by a secret passion for the deserted wife, attends her funeral, collects a token from her grave, and leaves England forever. Mr. Delamayn leaves his law firm, becomes a barrister, wins a famous case, and enters Parliament through the gratitude of a client. Mr. Vanborough, now in Parliament, is wealthy and well-connected but soured and disliked, having failed to make friends or gain favor.

## Themes in this chapter

### Betrayal and Deception

Mr. Vanborough's treachery toward his wife is recalled, and its lasting impact on Mr. Kendrew's life is revealed.

### Social Class and Ambition

Mr. Delamayn's rise from solicitor to barrister to MP exemplifies ambition and class mobility, while Mr. Vanborough's stagnation despite wealth shows the limits of ambition without social grace.

## Character check-ins

### Mr. Kendrew

Attends the funeral of the deserted wife, takes grass from her grave, and leaves England for a colonial appointment, never to return.

### Geoffrey Delamayn

Leaves his law firm, becomes a barrister, wins a famous case, and enters Parliament through the patronage of a grateful client.

### Mr. Vanborough

Now in Parliament, wealthy and well-connected but soured, disliked, and passed over for favors despite his abilities.

## Key lines

> Report, which sees the inmost hearts of men, and delights in turning them outward to the public view, had always declared that Mr. Kendrew’s life had its secret, and that the secret was a hopeless passion for the beautiful woman who had married his friend.

Gossip claimed that Mr. Kendrew secretly loved his friend's wife.

_The narrator introduces the rumor of Mr. Kendrew's unrequited love for Mrs. Vanborough._

> He attended the funeral⁠—though he was no relation. He took a few blades of grass from the turf with which they covered her grave⁠—when he thought that nobody was looking at him.

He went to her funeral and secretly took a souvenir from her grave.

_Mr. Kendrew's actions after the wife's death suggest deep personal attachment._

> Mr. Vanborough was rich; Mr. Vanborough was well-connected (through his wife); Mr. Vanborough was a sound man in every sense of the word; but ⁠—nobody liked him.

Despite his wealth and connections, Mr. Vanborough was universally disliked.

_The narrator summarizes Vanborough's social failure despite his advantages._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/man_and_wife_se/chapters/vi
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/man_and_wife_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/man_and_wife_se/chapters