Short Fiction · Chapter
II: The Blessed Candle explained
Captain Walshawe, in a drunken and volatile state, disrupts the wake of his wife Peg O'Neill, who has died and been laid out in a Carmelite habit with a blessed candle in her hand.
What happens
Captain Walshawe, in a drunken and volatile state, disrupts the wake of his wife Peg O'Neill, who has died and been laid out in a Carmelite habit with a blessed candle in her hand. He angrily confiscates the candle, locks it away with other oddments, and later tolerates the presence of a Roman Catholic clergyman. The chapter explores his guilt, superstition, and the folkloric belief that the candle traps the soul.
Themes in this chapter
Supernatural and the Uncanny
The blessed candle is treated as a supernatural object that can trap the soul, and the Captain's uneasy reverence reflects the uncanny power attributed to it.
Folklore and Local Tradition
The wake customs, the use of the holy candle, and the belief in soul-trapping reflect deep-rooted Irish folk traditions.
Characters to notice
- Wicked Captain Walshawe
Drunkenly disrupts his wife's wake, confiscates the blessed candle, and shows a mix of rage and superstitious reverence.
- Aunt Margaret
The deceased wife, Peg O'Neill, who is laid out in a Carmelite habit with a blessed candle.
- Mrs. Molloy
Moll Doyle, the old serving-woman who defies the Captain and defends the blessed candle.
Key passages
“An’ now her poor sowl’s in prison, you wretch, be the mains o’ ye; an’ may yer own be shut into the wick o’ that same candle, till it’s burned out, ye savage.”
Moll Doyle curses the Captain, saying that because he removed the blessed candle, Peg's soul is trapped, and she wishes his own soul be imprisoned in the candle's wick until it burns out.
This curse encapsulates the folk belief that the blessed candle holds the soul, and sets up the supernatural consequence for the Captain's actions.
“He did not trouble the dead lady’s room any more. Being a volatile man it is probable that more cheerful plans and occupations began to entertain his fancy.”
The Captain quickly moves on from his wife's death, his volatile nature turning to more pleasant distractions.
Highlights the Captain's shallow grief and foreshadows his eventual supernatural reckoning.