Orley Farm · Chapter
Monkton Grange explained
Peregrine Orme, deeply in love with Madeline Staveley, attends a hunting meet at Monkton Grange while resolving to propose to her before returning home.
What happens
Peregrine Orme, deeply in love with Madeline Staveley, attends a hunting meet at Monkton Grange while resolving to propose to her before returning home. The chapter describes the meet, the arrival of Lord Alston and the Miss Tristrams, and the party from Noningsby including Felix Graham, Augustus Staveley, and Miss Furnival. Peregrine observes the easy conversation between Madeline and Felix Graham, fueling his determination to create an opportunity to declare his love.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Marriage
Peregrine Orme's determination to propose to Madeline Staveley and his jealousy of her rapport with Felix Graham highlight the romantic tensions and courtship rituals of the era.
Social Class and Ambition
The hunting meet serves as a social stage where class distinctions are observed, and Peregrine's awareness that Felix Graham is 'no fit match' for Madeline reflects class-conscious attitudes.
Characters to notice
- Young Peregrine
Deeply in love with Madeline Staveley, he attends the hunt at Monkton Grange and resolves to propose to her before leaving Noningsby.
- Madeline Staveley
Rides with Peregrine Orme and Felix Graham to the meet, engaging in lighthearted conversation with Graham.
- Felix Graham
Rides Staveley's second horse and flirts playfully with Madeline, drawing Peregrine's notice.
- Augustus Staveley
Part of the Noningsby party, lends his second horse to Felix Graham.
- Sophia Furnival
Among the riders from Noningsby at the meet.
- Lord Alston
An elderly sportsman who arrives in his chariot and inquires about Sir Peregrine's absence.
Key passages
“A proper attendance upon the proceedings of the H.H. was the only duty which he had hitherto undertaken in return for all that his grandfather had done for him”
Peregrine felt that his only obligation to his grandfather was to show up at the hunt meetings.
Highlights Peregrine's sense of duty and his preoccupation with hunting as a repayment for his grandfather's generosity.
“That question should be asked of Madeline Staveley before he returned to his grandfather’s house.”
He resolved to propose to Madeline Staveley before going back home.
Sets up the central romantic conflict of the chapter.
“It is here, in front of the bridge, that the old hounds sit upon their haunches, resting quietly round the horses of the huntsmen, while the young dogs move about, and would wander if the whips allowed them—one of the fairest sights to my eyes that this fair country of ours can show.”
The scene of the hounds resting by the bridge is described as one of the most beautiful sights in England.
Evokes the pastoral and picturesque quality of the hunting landscape.