# Chapter XXVII explained — Mary Olivier: A Life > Chapter companion for Mary Olivier: A Life by May Sinclair. ## What happens Mary reflects on her life of reading, translating Euripides, and caring for her mother. Dan returns home after Roddy's death, struggling with alcoholism. Mary finds him at the Aldersons' farm, where he finds comfort with Dumpling. She later waits for him as he returns drunk, and takes away his razor and matches. Mary immerses herself in Hegel, contrasting him with Spinoza, and contemplates heredity and madness, fearing she may follow Aunt Charlotte's fate. She considers confiding in Mr. Sutcliffe but hesitates. ## Themes in this chapter ### Madness and Mental Illness Mary's fear of hereditary madness, particularly the fate of Aunt Charlotte, permeates the chapter. She contemplates the possibility of going mad herself and considers discussing heredity with Mr. Sutcliffe. ### Family Dynamics and Sibling Rivalry The chapter explores the complex relationships within the Olivier family, especially Mary's connection with Dan and the impact of Roddy's death. The family's struggles with alcoholism and mental instability are central. ### Female Intellectual Ambition Mary's dedication to reading and translating Euripides, and her engagement with Hegel and Spinoza, highlight her intellectual pursuits despite the domestic expectations placed on her. ## Character check-ins ### Mary Olivier Mary spends her time reading and translating, cares for her mother, and worries about Dan's drinking. She contemplates heredity and madness, fearing she might go like Aunt Charlotte. ### Mamma Mamma is distressed by Dan's return and his drinking, crying when the letter arrives. She keeps checking on Dan and is piteous when he comes home drunk. ### Daniel Olivier Dan returns home after being sent back by Uncle Victor due to drinking. He finds comfort at the Aldersons' farm, but later comes home drunk and muddy, and Mary takes away his razor and matches. ### Roddy Olivier Roddy is mentioned as having died, and his room is now used by Dan. Mary reflects on Roddy's unhappiness and his death. ### Mr. Sutcliffe Mary considers confiding in Mr. Sutcliffe about heredity and madness, but when she visits him, he looks older and tired, and she hesitates. ## Key lines > Time stretched out behind and before you, time to read, to make music, to make poems in, to translate Euripides, while Mamma looked after her flowers in the garden; Mamma, sowing and planting and weeding with a fixed, vehement passion. Mary has ample time for intellectual pursuits like reading and translating, while her mother is absorbed in gardening. _Highlights Mary's intellectual life and her mother's domestic focus._ > Uncle Victor’s letter came on the day when the gentians flowered. One minute Mamma had been happy, the next she was crying. When you saw her with the letter you knew. Uncle Victor was sending Dan home. Dan was no good at the office; he had been drinking since Roddy died. A letter from Uncle Victor announces that Dan is being sent home because he has been drinking since Roddy's death, causing Mamma to cry. _Reveals Dan's alcoholism and the family's distress._ > She took away the matches and the razor. Mary removes the matches and razor from Dan's room to prevent him from harming himself. _Shows Mary's protective concern for Dan's safety._ > You couldn’t keep on saying, “This is That,” and “Thou art It,” or that the Self is the dark blue bee and the green parrot with red eyes and the thundercloud, the seasons and the seas. It was too easy, too sleepy, like lying on a sofa and dropping laudanum, slowly, into a rotten, aching tooth. Mary finds the Upanishads' philosophy too easy and soporific, comparing it to taking laudanum for a toothache. _Reflects Mary's desire for more challenging intellectual engagement._ > They were one immense organism and you were part of it; you were nothing that they had not been before you. It was no good struggling. You were caught in the net; you couldn’t get out. Mary realizes that she is inextricably part of her family's destiny, unable to escape the patterns of heredity and environment. _Central to her fear of madness and her sense of fatalism._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/mary_olivier_a_life_se/chapters/chapter-xxvii - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/mary_olivier_a_life_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/mary_olivier_a_life_se/chapters