July in Vallombrosa explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• The Body and Mortality

  The chapter dwells on invalidism, the body's decay, and the process of dying, treating death as a hobby and Rigor Mortis as a moment of purification.

• Alienation and Belonging

  The old lady and her daughter are alienated from the vibrant Italian life around them, their sterile existence contrasting with the 'wanton Italian matrons' and the natural world.

Characters to notice

• Ada

  The old lady, a British invalid in Italy, whose prolonged illness and death-collecting hobby are the focus of the chapter.

• Ova

  The daughter of the old lady, who spends her life chasing moments and tending to her mother's illness, losing her own desires in the process.

Key passages

• “Of all permissible pastimes Attendant upon chastity The one with which you can most efficiently insult Life Is your hobby of collecting death-beds”

  Among the acceptable activities that accompany a chaste life, the most insulting to life itself is the habit of surrounding yourself with dying people.

  This passage critiques the Victorian/Edwardian cult of invalidism and the way it masks a rejection of life under the guise of respectability.

• “But all this moribund stuff Is not wasted For there is always Nature So its expensive upkeep Goes to support The loves Of head-waiters”

  All this death-obsessed activity is not without purpose, because nature always finds a use for it; the money spent on this lifestyle ultimately sustains the romantic affairs of head-waiters.

  The poem ends with a darkly comic twist, suggesting that even the most sterile and morbid existence feeds the vitality of the natural world and the passions of ordinary people.