# X: The Safe explained — Riceyman Steps

> Chapter companion for Riceyman Steps by Arnold Bennett.

## What happens

In the silent house after Violet's death, Henry Earlforward struggles with grief and resolves to work as a means of survival. He dresses, goes downstairs to the shop, and attempts to resume his trade. While opening his safe, he discovers that Elsie has secretly taken his keys, opened the safe, and taken sixpence, shattering his trust and fortitude.

## Themes in this chapter

### Miserliness and Obsession

Henry's fixation on work, his meticulous handling of the safe and cheque, and his distress over a missing sixpence underscore his obsessive miserliness even amid grief.

### Illness and Mortality

Violet's sudden death from a fibroid growth and Henry's own lingering pain and indigestion dominate the chapter, emphasizing mortality and physical decline.

## Character check-ins

### Henry Earlforward

Grieving Violet, he forces himself to work, dresses in new clothes, and goes to the shop. He discovers Elsie's betrayal in the safe.

### Violet Earlforward

Recently deceased; Henry recalls her vivacity, optimism, and domestic influence, and is devastated by her loss.

### Elsie

Henry suspects she has been burning candles and is negligent; he later discovers she secretly took his keys and stole sixpence from the safe.

## Key lines

> “Work!” he murmured to himself in the vast airless desert and void created by the death of Violet. “That’s the one thing⁠—the one thing.”

Henry tells himself that work is the only remedy for the emptiness left by Violet's death.

_Shows his coping mechanism of obsessive labor._

> He would give her such a funeral as had not been seen in Clerkenwell for many a year.

Henry resolves to arrange an unusually grand funeral for Violet.

_Reflects his desire to honor her despite his miserly nature._

> The sublime spectacle of the safe, sole symbol of security in a world of perils, enheartened him.

The sight of his safe comforts Henry as the only reliable thing in a dangerous world.

_Highlights the theme of miserliness and the safe as a symbol._

> What would Violet have thought? What would my poor Violet have thought of this?

Henry wonders how Violet would have reacted to Elsie's betrayal.

_Shows his reliance on Violet's moral judgment even after her death._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/riceyman_steps_se/chapters/part-v-x-the-safe
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/riceyman_steps_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/riceyman_steps_se/chapters