On a Pincushion · Chapter
The Story of Vain Lamorna explained
Lamorna, a vain young woman, spends her time admiring her reflection in a brook, ignoring the love of the fisherman Erick.
What happens
Lamorna, a vain young woman, spends her time admiring her reflection in a brook, ignoring the love of the fisherman Erick. The water elves, wishing to cure her vanity, steal her reflection. Lamorna becomes distressed when she can no longer see herself in mirrors or water. Erick goes to war and returns disfigured, and Lamorna, now scarred herself, realizes the shallowness of her vanity. She accepts Erick's love, and the water elves return her reflection, celebrating her transformation.
Themes in this chapter
Vanity and Self-Obsession
Lamorna's obsession with her own reflection drives the plot, leading to her punishment and eventual redemption.
Love and Sacrifice
Erick's unwavering love and Lamorna's eventual acceptance of him despite physical changes highlight the theme of love overcoming superficiality.
Magic and Moral Lessons
The water elves' magical theft of Lamorna's reflection serves as a moral lesson against vanity, with a happy resolution when she learns to value love.
Characters to notice
- Vain Lamorna
Protagonist who is cured of her vanity after losing her reflection and gaining a scar, ultimately choosing love over self-obsession.
- Erick
A devoted fisherman who loves Lamorna, goes to war, returns with one arm, and marries her after she overcomes her vanity.
- The Brooch
One of the listeners in the frame story, commenting on the tale's moral about vanity.
Key passages
““You are so pretty!” she said. “There is not such a pretty face as yours in all the village.””
Lamorna admires her own reflection, declaring it the prettiest in the village.
Establishes Lamorna's vanity early in the story.
““Ah, Lamorna!” he sighed to himself, “when we were children you said you loved me, and promised me to be my wife, and now you will not speak to me, though you know how I love you.””
Erick laments that Lamorna, who once promised to marry him, now ignores him despite his love.
Highlights Erick's unrequited love and Lamorna's rejection.
““We must wait till she is leaning over the water looking at herself, and then we must steal her reflection.””
A wise water elf proposes stealing Lamorna's reflection while she admires herself.
Key plot point where the water elves decide to punish Lamorna's vanity.
““I think I must have been ill for the last year, and now I am quite well again,” said Lamorna, as she looked at her own face in the water. “How much my cheek is marked! But I don’t mind it if you don’t, dear Erick;””
Lamorna sees her scarred reflection but accepts it, valuing Erick's love over her appearance.
Climactic moment showing Lamorna's transformation and cure from vanity.