# III: Vesper explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by George MacDonald.

## What happens

Watho lodges the blind lady Vesper in a series of tomb-like chambers behind the castle, accessible only through the northeastern tower. Vesper, with black eyes and a sad demeanor, is kept in an atmosphere of sweet sorrow, fed on rich foods and entertained with mournful music and sad tales, unaware that she is living in a tomb.

## Themes in this chapter

### Suffering and Divine Chastening

Vesper's imprisonment in a tomb-like environment, fed on sorrow and kept from sunlight, embodies a state of passive suffering.

### Reality vs. Illusion

Vesper is unaware she lives in a tomb, illustrating the deceptive nature of her surroundings and the illusion of comfort.

## Character check-ins

### Watho

The witch who secretly lodges Vesper in hidden tomb chambers, attended only by her trusted servant Falca.

### Vesper

The blind lady with black eyes and a sad countenance, kept in a perpetual atmosphere of sweet sorrow by Watho.

### Falca

The one servant Watho trusts, who helps maintain the secret chambers.

## Key lines

> Here the witch lodged the blind lady, whose name was Vesper.

Watho housed the blind woman named Vesper in these hidden chambers.

_Introduces Vesper and her situation._

> She did not know she was lodged in a tomb, though now and then she wondered she never touched a window.

Vesper was unaware that her dwelling was a tomb, occasionally puzzled by the absence of windows.

_Highlights Vesper's ignorance of her true environment._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_21_se/chapters/iii-vesper
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_21_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_21_se/chapters