The Blue Castle · Chapter
XXXIX explained
Valancy, having learned the truth about her heart condition, writes a farewell note to Barney, revealing she discovered he is John Foster, and leaves the Blue Castle, hiding the key and crossing to the mainland.
What happens
Valancy, having learned the truth about her heart condition, writes a farewell note to Barney, revealing she discovered he is John Foster, and leaves the Blue Castle, hiding the key and crossing to the mainland.
Themes in this chapter
Identity and Self-Worth
Valancy's discovery of Barney's true identity as John Foster and her own decision to leave despite her love reflect her struggle with self-worth and honesty.
Imagination and Escape
The Blue Castle, once a refuge, becomes a 'casket rifled of its jewels' as Valancy leaves, symbolizing the end of her imaginative escape.
Characters to notice
- Valancy Stirling
Writes a note to Barney, discovers he is John Foster, and leaves the Blue Castle.
- Barney Snaith
Revealed as John Foster; Valancy addresses her farewell letter to him.
- Dr. Trent
Mentioned as the doctor who sent the wrong letter.
- Dr. Redfern
Visited Valancy and told her everything; she urges Barney to return to him.
Key passages
“She must write a note. The imp in the back of her mind laughed. In every story she had ever read when a runaway wife decamped from home she left a note, generally on the pincushion. It was not a very original idea. But one had to leave something intelligible.”
Valancy feels compelled to write a farewell note, aware of the cliché but seeing no alternative.
Highlights her sense of duty and the painful conventionality of her situation.
“So Barney was John Foster! Valancy was not excited. She had absorbed all the shocks and sensations that she could compass for one day. This affected her neither one way nor the other.”
Valancy learns Barney's secret identity as John Foster but is too emotionally drained to react.
Shows her emotional exhaustion and the cumulative impact of the day's revelations.
“It was very cold and stiff, she knew. But to try to say anything else would be dangerous—like tearing away a dam. She didn’t know what torrent of wild incoherences and passionate anguish might pour out.”
Valancy deliberately writes a restrained letter, fearing that expressing her true feelings would unleash overwhelming emotion.
Illustrates her self-control and the depth of her suppressed pain.
“I shall never again hear the wind crying over Mistawis at night.”
Valancy mourns the loss of the sensory experiences she cherished at the Blue Castle.
Emphasizes her attachment to the place and the poignancy of leaving.