The American Senator · Chapter
Lady Ushant at Bragton explained
Mary Masters walks to Bragton to visit Lady Ushant, who reveals that John Morton is gravely ill and has sent for Arabella Trefoil, that he has made a will leaving the property to Reginald Morton, and that old Mrs.
What happens
Mary Masters walks to Bragton to visit Lady Ushant, who reveals that John Morton is gravely ill and has sent for Arabella Trefoil, that he has made a will leaving the property to Reginald Morton, and that old Mrs. Morton has left in anger. Mary also sees Reginald, whose manner feels protective and distant, reinforcing her sense that any hope of a future with him is impossible.
Themes in this chapter
Social Class and Aristocracy
Mary's internal conflict about her feelings for Reginald Morton is sharpened by his impending inheritance of Bragton, which places him even further beyond her social reach.
Love vs. Practicality
Mary reflects on her love for Lawrence Twentyman as a practical match approved by her family, but her heart is drawn to Reginald Morton, a love she sees as impossible.
Characters to notice
- Mary Masters
Walks to Bragton to see Lady Ushant; reflects on her feelings for Reginald Morton and Lawrence Twentyman; learns of John Morton's illness and Arabella Trefoil's impending visit.
- Lady Ushant
Hosts Mary at Bragton; confides the family secrets about John Morton's will, Arabella's arrival, and Mrs. Morton's departure.
- Reginald Morton
Present at Bragton; greets Mary kindly but with a protective, distant manner; likely to inherit Bragton.
- John Morton
Gravely ill; has sent for Arabella Trefoil and made a will leaving Bragton to Reginald.
- Arabella Trefoil
Expected to arrive at Bragton the next day at John Morton's insistence.
Key passages
“In the shallow streamlet of her lowly life the waters might have glided on, slow but smoothly, had he not taught them to be ambitious of a rapider, grander course. Now they were disturbed by mud, and there could be no pleasure in them.”
Mary feels that her life would have been peaceful and content if Reginald Morton had not stirred up her ambitions for something greater, leaving her unsettled and unhappy.
Mary's metaphor for the disruption Reginald has caused in her emotional life.
“He was now more beyond her reach than ever—more utterly removed from her. He would probably become Squire of Bragton, and she, in her earliest days, had heard the late Squire spoken of as though he were one of the potentates of the earth.”
Mary realizes that Reginald's likely inheritance of Bragton makes any romantic connection with him even more impossible, as she has always viewed the Squire as a figure of immense social power.
Mary's recognition of the social gulf between herself and Reginald.