Sinister Street · Chapter
IV: Leppard Street explained
Michael moves to Leppard Street, driven by a missionary desire to reform Barnes and the other inhabitants of the slum.
What happens
Michael moves to Leppard Street, driven by a missionary desire to reform Barnes and the other inhabitants of the slum. He offers Barnes five pounds a week to assist him, hoping to find Lily Haden through him. Michael reflects on his past, his search for Lily, and his spiritual quest. He encounters a peculiar neighbor, the Solutionist, and later reunites with his old school friend Chator, now a curate in the area, who invites him to church.
Themes in this chapter
The Underworld and Urban Decay
Leppard Street is depicted as a dingy, sordid slum, with Michael viewing it as a 'social twilight' and a place of moral and physical decay.
Religion and Spiritual Quest
Michael's missionary zeal to reform Barnes and the slum dwellers, his impulse to pray, and his reunion with Chator highlight his ongoing spiritual search.
Friendship and Betrayal
Michael's complex relationship with Barnes, mixing affection and manipulation, and his warm reunion with Chator explore themes of loyalty and moral influence.
Characters to notice
- Michael Fane
Michael moves to Leppard Street, driven by a missionary zeal to reform Barnes and the slum dwellers, while continuing his search for Lily Haden.
- Henry Barnes
Barnes cynically accepts Michael's offer of five pounds a week, revealing his sordid past and his belief that money can solve moral difficulties.
- Lily Haden
Lily is the object of Michael's search; he hopes to find her through Barnes and believes her salvation will lead to his own.
- Mark Chator
Chator, now a curate, unexpectedly meets Michael in Leppard Street and invites him to church, reminiscing about their schooldays.
- Nigel Stewart
Mentioned by Chator as a deacon at Greenarbor Court, formerly at Trinity, Oxford.
Key passages
“Michael suddenly experienced a sense of affection for Barnes, the affection of the missionary for the prospective convert.”
Michael felt a warm, almost religious fondness for Barnes, seeing him as someone he could guide and reform.
Highlights Michael's missionary attitude toward Barnes.
“It was romantic to come like this into a small secluded world which did not know him; to bring like this a fresh atmosphere into a melancholy street of human beings who lived perpetually in a social twilight.”
Michael found it exciting to enter a hidden, unknown community and bring a new, hopeful influence to its gloomy inhabitants.
Reflects Michael's romanticized view of his mission in Leppard Street.
“Give me ten pounds a week, and I could be a bloody angel.”
Barnes claims that with enough money, he could live a morally perfect life.
Illustrates Barnes's cynical materialism and his belief that poverty is the root of immorality.