Short Fiction · Chapter
V: Doctor Hesselius Is Summoned to Richmond explained
Doctor Hesselius receives a series of notes from Mr.
What happens
Doctor Hesselius receives a series of notes from Mr. Jennings, who initially appears to improve and attempts to resume his clerical duties in Warwickshire, but soon relapses into deep depression. After nearly five weeks, Mr. Jennings summons Hesselius to his secluded house in Richmond, where he finally prepares to reveal his case.
Themes in this chapter
Faith and Skepticism
Mr. Jennings' fervent religious gratitude for his temporary recovery contrasts with his subsequent despair, highlighting the tension between faith and mental anguish.
Memory and Nostalgia
The melancholic twilight setting and Mr. Jennings' retreat to his own house evoke a sense of haunting memory and inescapable past.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Jennings
The Rev. Mr. Jennings writes to Doctor Hesselius, first expressing hope and then descending into despair; he ultimately summons Hesselius to his Richmond house to confess his troubles.
- Doctor Hesselius
The narrator and physician who receives Mr. Jennings' notes, visits Lady Mary, and finally goes to Richmond to hear Mr. Jennings' story.
- Lady Mary
A friend who relays news of Mr. Jennings' initial improvement and later his relapse; she is about to leave for Brighton.
Key passages
“There are certain expressions of that powerful organ of spirit—the human face—which, although I have seen them often, and possess a doctor’s nerve, yet disturb me profoundly.”
Doctor Hesselius is deeply unsettled by a particular look on Mr. Jennings' face, despite his professional experience.
Highlights Hesselius's intuitive sense of something wrong.
“I have been in the country, and have had change of air, change of scene, change of faces, change of everything and in everything—but myself.”
Mr. Jennings has tried every external change but remains internally unchanged and tormented.
Emphasizes the persistence of his inner suffering.