Short Fiction · Chapter
IV explained
The Count of Grandnostrel, after a night of heavy drinking, demands his daughter Euphemia's presence, only to learn from Dame Ulrica that she has fled with Alasco the Wise.
What happens
The Count of Grandnostrel, after a night of heavy drinking, demands his daughter Euphemia's presence, only to learn from Dame Ulrica that she has fled with Alasco the Wise. Enraged, he offers a reward for Alasco's head and leads a pursuit, while Dame Ulrica prudently suggests that if Lord Mountfidget is involved, marriage would be the proper resolution. The count agrees, intent on extracting wealth from Mountfidget.
Themes in this chapter
Family Duty and Sacrifice
The count expects his daughter to serve him; her flight disrupts familial duty.
Morality and Hypocrisy
The count's drunken wrath and pursuit contrast with Dame Ulrica's pragmatic call for marriage.
Characters to notice
- Lord Mountfidget
Referenced as the 'lord of Mountfidget' whose discomfiture the count laughed at; implicated in Euphemia's flight.
Key passages
“Come back! come back! he cried in grief, My daughter, oh, my daughter!”
He sorrowfully called for his daughter to return.
Opening lament echoes the count's loss.
“By cock and pie, an that old greybeard detain her, he shall hence from the mullioned chamber—and that with a flea in each ear.”
He swore that if the old man was keeping her, he would be thrown out with a stinging rebuke.
The count's threat reveals his temper and suspicion.
“Thou sayest well, dame, ... And the lord of Mountfidget has beeves and swine numerous as the stars, and ready money in many banks.”
The count agreed, noting Mountfidget's vast wealth in livestock and cash.
Dame Ulrica's prudence shifts the count's focus to financial gain.