Pimpernel and Rosemary · Chapter
IX explained
Rosemary arrives in Cluj with Jasper and finds the town changed and desolate.
What happens
Rosemary arrives in Cluj with Jasper and finds the town changed and desolate. She meets Anna Heves, who is working in a grocery shop under harsh conditions. Anna reveals her secret patriotic work for Hungary, risking her life like Edith Cavell. Rosemary, moved by Anna's plight, tries to help her and introduces her to Jasper, who quickly wins Anna's confidence. The chapter explores themes of patriotism, sacrifice, and the contrast between the old aristocratic world and the new post-war reality.
Themes in this chapter
Political Oppression and Nationalism
Anna's secret patriotic work for Hungary under Romanian rule, and the risks she faces, highlight the theme of nationalism and political oppression in post-war Transylvania.
Love and Sacrifice
Anna's willingness to sacrifice her comfort and safety for her country, and Rosemary's compassionate desire to help her, reflect the theme of love and sacrifice.
Class and Aristocracy
The contrast between Anna's former aristocratic life and her current menial job, and Rosemary's shock at seeing her in a grocery shop, underscores the theme of class and aristocracy.
Characters to notice
- Rosemary Fowkes
Arrives in Cluj with Jasper, meets Anna Heves, and is deeply moved by Anna's patriotic sacrifice. She tries to offer Anna a job as her secretary.
- Anna Heves
Works in Balog's grocery shop in Cluj. Reveals her secret patriotic activities for Hungary, risking her life. She is proud and refuses Rosemary's offer of a secretarial position.
- Jasper Tarkington
Accompanies Rosemary to Cluj. He observes Rosemary's interaction with Anna and later wins Anna's confidence with his kind and tactful manner.
- Peter Blakeney
Mentioned as the object of Rosemary's thoughts; she sees a resemblance between Anna and Peter, and thinks of how Peter would feel about Anna's situation.
- General Naniescu
Mentioned as the military governor of Transylvania who invited Rosemary to study conditions. Rosemary feels a slight mistrust of him.
Key passages
“I help in the shop of Balog, the grocer”
Anna works as a shop assistant in a grocery store.
Anna reveals her humble job to Rosemary, shocking her.
“You don't imagine that if your articles revealed even a particle of the truth they would ever be allowed to pass the censor”
Anna doubts that Rosemary's truthful articles would get past the censor.
Anna expresses her skepticism about the possibility of honest journalism under the current regime.
“Like Edith Cavell, she faced and risked death for an ideal”
Anna's patriotic risk is compared to that of the executed nurse Edith Cavell.
The narrator draws a parallel between Anna's sacrifice and Edith Cavell's.