The Eleventh Virgin · Chapter
II explained
June experiences her first intense romantic obsession with Mr.
What happens
June experiences her first intense romantic obsession with Mr. Armand, a married neighbor, while her mother is ill and family life becomes strained. She also reflects on earlier childhood crushes and the nature of love, culminating in a new, powerful feeling of falling in love at first sight.
Themes in this chapter
Sexual Awakening and Double Standards
June's intense, body-conscious feelings for Mr. Armand mark her sexual awakening, while societal gossip and her mother's condemnation reflect double standards.
Love and Romantic Idealism
June's fantasies of heroic sacrifice and her literary, Tennysonian view of love illustrate her romantic idealism.
Family Dynamics and Maternal Influence
Mother Grace's illness and irritability shape the household's emotional climate, and her judgments influence June's perceptions.
Characters to notice
- June Henreddy
Experiences a deep, romantic obsession with Mr. Armand, and later reflects on past crushes before falling in love at first sight.
- Mother Grace
Is ill and irritable, adding to the household's darkness; later hospitalized for childbirth.
- Mr. Armand
The married neighbor whom June adores from afar; she watches him daily and fantasizes about heroic scenarios involving him.
- Adele
June's sister; shares the burden of household duties and cries with June at night.
- Glubb
The baby June and Adele care for; June takes him for walks in the park.
- Jim Pickering
An older boy (18) who writes poetry and pays attention to June when she is twelve, sparking her vanity.
Key passages
“June’s only relief during that long hard summer were the moments when her blood ran fire at Mr. Armand’s glance.”
The only escape from the difficult summer was the intense excitement June felt when Mr. Armand looked at her.
Highlights the emotional intensity of June's infatuation.
“She never imagined herself speaking to him, holding a casual, conventional conversation before the house about the babies, the weather or the last concert. But adventures crowded into her mind; his baby toddling out into the street, an automobile swiftly upon it, and June rushing out to save it just in time, but at the cost of her own life.”
June didn't picture ordinary chats with Mr. Armand; instead, she fantasized about dramatic rescues where she would die saving his child.
Illustrates June's romantic and melodramatic fantasies.
“The day June fell in love, Mother Grace was in the hospital. June had just received word from Mr. Henreddy that she had a little brother and that he hoped she was glad. She was glad, but not in the way he thought.”
On the day June fell in love, her mother was in the hospital giving birth to a brother; June was happy, but her mind was elsewhere.
Shows the contrast between family events and June's personal emotional experience.