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Short Fiction · Chapter

VII explained

Mathilda reads a long, agonizing letter from her father in which he confesses his unnatural love for her, explains his past struggles, and announces their permanent separation.

What happens

Mathilda reads a long, agonizing letter from her father in which he confesses his unnatural love for her, explains his past struggles, and announces their permanent separation. He begs her forgiveness and commands her to be happy, but she resolves to follow him despite his warnings.

Themes in this chapter

  • Passion and Self-Destruction

    The father's confession reveals a consuming, guilty passion that destroys his peace and forces him into exile.

  • Family and Duty

    The father's command that Mathilda be happy and his own sense of duty to endure life reflect the tension between familial bonds and moral obligations.

  • Solitude and Melancholy

    The father's decision to wander alone in solitude and his despairing tone underscore themes of isolation and sorrow.

Characters to notice

  • My Father

    Writes a confessional letter to Mathilda, revealing his guilty passion and his decision to banish himself forever.

  • Mathilda

    Receives and reads her father's letter, then immediately orders a carriage to follow him.

Key passages

  • “I have betrayed your confidence; I have endeavoured to pollute your mind, and have made your innocent heart acquainted with the looks and language of unlawful and monstrous passion.”

    I have broken your trust and exposed your pure mind to the reality of my forbidden and monstrous feelings.

    The father confesses his guilt and the corruption of Mathilda's innocence.

  • “I must wander away from you, away from all life—in the solitude I shall seek I alone shall breathe of human kind.”

    I must leave you and all society, to live in complete isolation.

    The father announces his plan to exile himself from all human contact.

  • “Resolutely shake off the wretchedness that this first misfortune in early life must occasion you. Bear boldly up against the storm: continue wise and mild, but believe it, and indeed it is, your duty to be happy.”

    Force yourself to overcome the misery this early blow has caused. Face the hardship bravely, remain wise and gentle, and know that it is your obligation to find happiness.

    The father commands Mathilda to rise above her grief and pursue joy.

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