XXII: Gone explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Friendship and Loyalty

  Blanche's deep concern for Anne and her efforts to help her despite Anne's evasiveness.

• Suffering and Resilience

  Anne's fainting fit and her struggle to recover, reflecting her hidden anguish.

• Hypocrisy of Society

  Lady Lundie's superficial concern for propriety at luncheon contrasts with the real crisis unfolding in the library.

Characters to notice

• Anne Silvester

  Faints in the library, is revived by Blanche, agrees to see Sir Patrick but flees before he arrives.

• Blanche Lundie

  Finds Anne fainted, revives her, and arranges a meeting with Sir Patrick.

• Sir Patrick Lundie

  Excuses himself from luncheon to meet Anne, but finds she has already gone.

• Hester Dethridge

  Enters the library, observes Anne's condition, writes cryptic messages on her slate, and leaves the house shortly after.

• Lady Lundie

  Presides at luncheon, offers Sir Patrick her cake, and is unaware of the events in the library.

Key passages

• “So do we shape our own destinies, blindfold. So do we hold our poor little tenure of happiness at the capricious mercy of chance.”

  The narrator reflects on how humans unknowingly determine their own fates, clinging to happiness that is subject to random chance.

  Philosophical commentary on the role of chance in the characters' lives.

• “Shivered when I touched her. That means I have been walking over her grave.”

  Hester Dethridge interprets Anne's shudder as a sign of impending death, a superstitious belief.

  Hester's grim superstition underscores the ominous mood.

• “He flies temptation, dear lady—as I do now.”

  Sir Patrick politely excuses himself from eating Lady Lundie's cake by claiming he must flee temptation.

  Sir Patrick's clever escape from the luncheon table to meet Anne.