Poetry · Chapter
Enter Esau Penfold explained
The chapter introduces Esau Penfold, a child aesthete celebrated at a literary reception hosted by his authoress mother Patricia Penfold.
What happens
The chapter introduces Esau Penfold, a child aesthete celebrated at a literary reception hosted by his authoress mother Patricia Penfold. Esau is displayed in classical costume at Lady Bliss's ball, charming guests with precocious sophistication. In contrast, Exodus's child is depicted in a humble Kilburn terrace, silenced and dressed in a plush pelisse under a cheap print, highlighting a stark divide between cultured privilege and domestic oppression.
Themes in this chapter
Childhood and Innocence
Esau is presented as a manufactured innocent, performing adult sophistication, while Exodus's child is silenced and constrained, revealing the constructed and oppressive nature of childhood.
Art and Aesthetics
The chapter contrasts high art (fifteenth-century andirons, Florentine angels, Ming porcelain) with kitsch (oleograph of 'The Cat’s Fancy Ball'), questioning the value and authenticity of aesthetic experience.
Alienation and Belonging
Esau belongs to a world of cultural privilege, while Exodus's child is alienated in a humble home, highlighting class and social divides.
Characters to notice
- Esau Penfold
The five-year-old aesthete, dressed in a Tyrian rose toga and holding an orb, is the center of attention at Lady Bliss's costume ball, charming guests with his precocious remarks.
- Exodus
Mentioned as the father of the child in Kilburn terrace, contrasting the opulent world of Esau with the harsh reality of his own offspring.
- Lady Bliss
Hosts the classical costume ball where Esau is presented, setting the scene for the reception.
- Ada
Implied as the mother of Exodus's child, she is the one who props the child on a chair and tells her to 'hush'.
Key passages
“Feeling his need for such a book as this I wrote the “Infant Aesthete” for my little Esau”
Patricia Penfold claims she wrote 'Infant Aesthete' to meet her son Esau's need for a book that reflects his refined sensibility.
Establishes Esau as a child prodigy of taste, with his mother as his literary champion.
“The guests spreading their gleaming faces forward to convey that they remember nothing since the Garden of Eden the garish innocence of adult guilt in the presence of children”
The adults at the party pretend to a prelapsarian innocence, but their guilt is exposed by the child's presence.
Highlights the theme of false innocence and adult hypocrisy.
“In Kilburn terrace if you know where that is? — — Exodus’ child is propped upon a chair of chestnut cretonne printed with maroon acanthus leaves and big buff water-lillies and told to “hush””
In a less fashionable area, Exodus's child is placed on a patterned chair and silenced.
Contrasts the lavish reception with the mundane, repressive environment of Exodus's child.