Short Fiction · Chapter
The Defeat of the City explained
Robert Walmsley, a successful Manhattan lawyer who married the aristocratic Alicia Van Der Pool, returns to his rural family farm after years of city life.
What happens
Robert Walmsley, a successful Manhattan lawyer who married the aristocratic Alicia Van Der Pool, returns to his rural family farm after years of city life. During the visit, he sheds his urban polish and revels in rustic, boisterous behavior, shocking his wife, who expected a gentleman. The chapter explores the tension between his rural roots and his acquired city identity, culminating in Alicia's quiet condemnation.
Themes in this chapter
Nostalgia and the Passage of Time
Robert's return to the farm triggers a powerful atavistic pull, reconnecting him with his rural past and causing a clash with his urban identity.
Social Class and Wealth
The contrast between Alicia's aristocratic Van Der Pool background and Robert's humble farm origins highlights class divisions and the tension between inherited status and self-made success.
Deception and Appearance vs. Reality
Robert's polished city persona falls away at the farm, revealing his true rustic nature, which shocks Alicia and challenges her perception of him as a gentleman.
Characters to notice
- Robert Walmsley
A successful Manhattan lawyer who returns to his family farm and regresses to rustic behavior, causing tension with his wife.
- Alicia Van Der Pool
Robert's aristocratic wife, who is shocked by his boisterous behavior at the farm and judges him for abandoning his gentlemanly demeanor.
- Tom Walmsley
Robert's brother, who greets him sarcastically at the station and later wrestles with him on the farm.
- Old Uncle Jake
A battered colored retainer of the family who plays the banjo during Robert's rustic revelry.
Key passages
“Robert Walmsley’s descent upon the city resulted in a Kilkenny struggle. He came out of the fight victor by a fortune and a reputation. On the other hand, he was swallowed up by the city.”
Robert Walmsley's move to the city was a fierce battle; he gained wealth and fame but was ultimately consumed and reshaped by urban life.
Establishes the central conflict between city and country identities.
“The city gave him what he demanded and then branded him with its brand. It remodelled, cut, trimmed and stamped him to the pattern it approves.”
The city granted Robert his desires but also marked him permanently, molding him to fit its own standards.
Highlights the transformative and conforming power of the city.
“But the Matterhorn of Robert Walmsley’s success was not scaled until he married Alicia Van Der Pool. I cite the Matterhorn, for just so high and cool and white and inaccessible was this daughter of the old burghers.”
Robert's ultimate achievement was marrying Alicia Van Der Pool, who is compared to the Matterhorn for her lofty, cold, and unattainable nature.
Uses the Matterhorn metaphor to emphasize Alicia's aristocratic aloofness.
“The old voices of the soil spoke to him. Leaf and bud and blossom conversed with him in the old vocabulary of his careless youth.”
The natural elements of the countryside communicated with Robert in the familiar language of his childhood.
Illustrates the powerful nostalgic pull of the rural environment.
“A rural madness entered his soul. The city was far away.”
A wild, rustic frenzy overtook Robert, making the city seem distant and irrelevant.
Describes Robert's complete surrender to his rural instincts.