Riceyman Steps · Chapter
VII: The Night-Call explained
Violet Earlforward, consumed by anxiety over Henry's illness, treats Elsie with cold disdain and withholds information as punishment.
What happens
Violet Earlforward, consumed by anxiety over Henry's illness, treats Elsie with cold disdain and withholds information as punishment. Elsie, burdened by guilt over her theft and Henry's condition, fasts as penance and struggles through her duties. A customer learns of Henry's grave state, and Violet rebukes Elsie for sharing the news. That night, Elsie succumbs to hunger and eats raw bacon, only to be discovered by Violet, who then orders her to fetch the doctor.
Themes in this chapter
Illness and Mortality
Henry's unseen but critical illness pervades the chapter, with Elsie perceiving the house as 'the pale court of kingly death' and a customer's fear of mortality highlighting the theme.
Domesticity and Routine
Elsie's forced adherence to household chores and shop duties amidst crisis, and the disruption of normal routines (early shop closing, neglected stove), underscore the theme.
Service and Sacrifice
Elsie's self-imposed fasting as penance, her loyalty despite harsh treatment, and her desire to share Violet's ordeal reflect the theme of service and sacrifice.
Characters to notice
- Violet Earlforward
Frigid and withholding, she punishes Elsie by silence and harsh commands, while her own anxiety over Henry's illness manifests as a mask of implacable severity.
- Elsie
Overwhelmed by guilt and grief, she fasts as penance, struggles with her duties, and ultimately succumbs to hunger, eating raw bacon in secret before being discovered.
- Henry Earlforward
Lies gravely ill in the sealed bedroom, his condition the central source of tension; he is not seen but his impending death dominates the chapter.
Key passages
“Here," said Mrs. Earlforward frigidly to Elsie, handing her two coins. "Slip out now and buy half a pound of bacon and the same quantity as before of that cheese.”
Violet coldly gives Elsie money to buy bacon and cheese, ordering her to hurry back.
Demonstrates Violet's harsh demeanor and the mundane errand amidst crisis.
“She had never read the Sermon on the Mount, but without knowing what she was doing she practised its precepts.”
Elsie unknowingly follows the moral teachings of the Sermon on the Mount through her instinctive goodness.
Highlights Elsie's innate virtue and the narrator's ironic commentary on her ignorance.
“For her the house and shop had become "the pale court of kingly death"; though she was as ignorant of the mighty phrase as of the Sermon on the Mount, and even less capable of understanding it.”
Elsie senses the house is filled with the presence of death, though she doesn't know the literary phrase that describes it.
Emphasizes the theme of mortality and Elsie's intuitive perception.
“In an instant he had seen the folly, the futility, of collecting books. You could not take first editions with you when you—went.”
The old customer suddenly realizes the pointlessness of book collecting in the face of death.
Reflects the theme of mortality and the vanity of material pursuits.
“She thought obscurely, perhaps not in actual words: "Eating is my only joy now. All else is vain, but eating is real."”
Elsie feels that food is her sole comfort in a world of sorrow and uncertainty.
Captures her inner conflict between guilt and physical need.