# V: Doctor Hesselius Is Summoned to Richmond explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by J. Sheridan Le Fanu.

## 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.

## Character check-ins

### 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 lines

> 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._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/v-doctor-hesselius-is-summoned-to-richmond
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_31_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters