# Farewell explained — Orley Farm

> Chapter companion for Orley Farm by Anthony Trollope.

## What happens

Sir Peregrine Orme and Mrs. Orme discuss a farewell letter from Lady Mason, who is about to leave for Germany with her son Lucius. Sir Peregrine struggles with his desire to offer her a home and his sense of social propriety. Meanwhile, Joseph Mason of Groby, after failed attempts to pursue further legal action against Lady Mason, eventually accepts the return of Orley Farm and engages in a costly lawsuit with Samuel Dockwrath. Sir Peregrine visits Lady Mason one last time, where she expresses her deep remorse and the weight of her guilt.

## Themes in this chapter

### Justice and Injustice

Explores the limits of legal justice: Lady Mason is acquitted but socially condemned, while Joseph Mason's desire for revenge is thwarted by legal technicalities.

### Reputation and Scandal

Sir Peregrine's internal conflict highlights the power of social scandal; Lady Mason's disgrace prevents any possibility of reintegration into respectable society.

### Truth and Deception

Lady Mason's confession and repentance are central, yet the truth of her forgery remains a private burden that cannot be publicly resolved.

## Character check-ins

### Sir Peregrine Orme

Struggles with his desire to forgive and protect Lady Mason, but acknowledges the social impossibility of bringing her to The Cleeve.

### Mrs. Orme

Receives Lady Mason's farewell letter and gently counsels Sir Peregrine against acting on his impulse to offer her a home.

### Lady Mason

Writes a farewell letter full of love and repentance; receives a final visit from Sir Peregrine and expresses her unending remorse for her past actions.

### Joseph Mason of Groby

Fails to pursue further criminal proceedings against Lady Mason, eventually accepts Orley Farm, and later sues Samuel Dockwrath over a disputed lease.

### Samuel Dockwrath

Loses a lawsuit against Joseph Mason over the lease of Orley Farm, leading to his financial ruin and departure from Hamworth.

### Lucius Mason

Preparing to leave for Germany with his mother; praised by Sir Peregrine as an excellent young man who bears his suffering without complaint.

## Key lines

> That letter you got this morning, my dear, was it not from Lady Mason?

Sir Peregrine asks Mrs. Orme if the morning letter was from Lady Mason.

_Opens the chapter with the farewell letter._

> I think that we may forgive her now, even all that she has done.

Mrs. Orme suggests that Lady Mason's repentance and surrender of the property warrant forgiveness.

_Reflects the theme of forgiveness._

> It would be wrong⁠—to you and Perry.

Sir Peregrine acknowledges that bringing Lady Mason to live at The Cleeve would be improper for his family.

_Highlights the social constraints on his desire._

> Take the goods the gods provide you.

An attorney advises Joseph Mason to accept the offer of Orley Farm rather than pursue revenge.

_Illustrates the futility of further legal action._

> I would have poured out for him my blood like water, if it would have served him; but instead of that I have given him cause to curse me till the day of his death.

Lady Mason expresses her profound regret for ruining her son's prospects despite her willingness to sacrifice everything for him.

_Captures her deep remorse._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/orley_farm_se/chapters/lxxix-farewell
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/orley_farm_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/orley_farm_se/chapters