The Blue Castle · Chapter
XXIII explained
Cissy Gay confides her tragic story to Valancy during a wakeful night, revealing her past love, pregnancy, and the death of her baby.
What happens
Cissy Gay confides her tragic story to Valancy during a wakeful night, revealing her past love, pregnancy, and the death of her baby. Soon after, Cissy dies peacefully at sunrise, holding Valancy's hand. Valancy reflects on the beauty of the moment and feels a cold emptiness now that no one needs her.
Themes in this chapter
Mortality and Carpe Diem
Cissy's peaceful death and Valancy's reflection on the 'hope of death' highlight the theme of mortality and the urgency to live fully.
Love and Marriage
Cissy's story of a love that ended in abandonment and her refusal to marry without love explores the complexities of love and marriage.
Imagination and Escape
Valancy's quotation from John Foster and her perception of the sunrise and moon suggest an imaginative escape from the harshness of reality.
Characters to notice
- Cecily Gay
Cissy tells Valancy her story of love, shame, and loss, then dies peacefully at sunrise.
- Valancy Stirling
Valancy stays by Cissy's side, hears her confession, and witnesses her death with calm and compassion.
- Roaring Abel Gay
Abel returns home drunk, is sobered by the news of Cissy's death, and recalls her as a good little girl.
- Barney Snaith
Cissy mentions Barney fondly in her final moments, though she is interrupted before finishing her thought.
Key passages
“He was a young college student—his father was a rich man in Toronto. Oh, Valancy, I didn't mean to be bad—I didn't, indeed. But I loved him so—I love him yet—I'll always love him.”
Cissy explains that the father of her child was a wealthy college student she loved deeply and still loves.
Cissy's confession reveals the central tragedy of her life.
“I couldn't—not when he didn't love me any more. Somehow—I can't explain—it seemed a worse thing to do than—the other.”
Cissy refused to marry him because he no longer loved her, feeling that would be worse than her original sin.
Cissy's moral choice underscores her integrity despite societal judgment.
“At sunrise Cissy died. She opened her eyes and looked past Valancy at something—something that made her smile suddenly and happily. And, smiling, she died.”
At dawn, Cissy opened her eyes, smiled at something unseen, and died peacefully.
Cissy's death is portrayed as serene and even joyful, contrasting with her suffering life.
“Valancy had never seen an old, old moon before. She watched it pale and fade until it paled and faded out of sight in the living rose of day.”
Valancy observed the waning moon disappear into the bright sunrise, a sight she had never witnessed before.
The imagery of the old moon symbolizes the end of Cissy's life and a new beginning for Valancy.