# III explained — The Faraway Bride > Chapter companion for The Faraway Bride by Stella Benson. ## What happens Old Sergei attempts to deliver a deathbed speech to his son Seryozha, offering advice on loyalty, purity, and reputation, but his words are met with indifference and contradiction. Anna, preoccupied with a perceived slight from Mrs. Butters over a kid goat, grows increasingly frustrated with her husband's rambling and her son's defiance. The chapter culminates in a physical altercation between Anna and Seryozha over the kid, followed by the revelation that Seryozha plans to journey to Seoul to retrieve forgotten money, a plan Anna vehemently opposes. ## Themes in this chapter ### Family Dynamics and Patriarchy Old Sergei's attempt to assert patriarchal authority through a deathbed speech is undermined by his family's indifference and active resistance, highlighting the erosion of traditional family roles. ### Exile and Displacement The family's precarious existence in a foreign land, marked by poverty, reliance on missionary charity, and the son's dangerous journey to Seoul, underscores their displacement and loss of homeland. ### Moral Ambiguity and Self-Deception Anna's internal doubt about whether she accepted the kid goat too hastily, and Old Sergei's self-righteous advice that ignores his own failings, illustrate the characters' self-deception and moral uncertainty. ## Character check-ins ### Seryozha Seryozha dismisses his father's advice, whistles through the conversation, and reveals his plan to travel to Seoul to fetch forgotten money, showing his youthful defiance and independence. ### Old Sergei Old Sergei attempts to impart dying advice to his son, emphasizing loyalty, purity, and reputation, but feels impotent as his words are ignored or contradicted by his family. ### Anna Semionovna Anna is distracted and irritated by her husband's talk, recalls a possible social misstep with Mrs. Butters over the kid goat, and physically confronts Seryozha when he refuses to feed the animal. ## Key lines > I have a feeling that this is the last talk we shall have together, Seryozha. … If, when you return, I should be already no more, I entreat you, my boy, to be good to your mother. Old Sergei tells Seryozha he may die soon and asks him to take care of Anna. _Old Sergei's attempt at a dramatic deathbed plea is undercut by Seryozha's dismissive response and Anna's practical interruptions._ > Oh, don't worry, papa. You'll both of you live till ninety, I'm sure. Seryozha casually reassures his father that he and Anna will live long lives. _Seryozha's whistling and flippant tone show his lack of engagement with his father's emotional appeal._ > Supper is ready, I tell you. As Old Sergei's blind face turned to her, Anna remembered what it was that had offended her: he had suggested, by accident, what was probably true, that the offer of the kid had been accepted more precipitately than Mrs. Butters had intended. Anna insists supper is ready and recalls her irritation that Old Sergei hinted she accepted the kid goat too quickly from Mrs. Butters. _Anna's anger is fueled by her own guilt over possibly misinterpreting Mrs. Butters' generosity._ > What journey do you mean? … I'm going to Seoul, said Seryozha, happily, to fetch some money that papa forgot— Anna asks what journey Seryozha is taking, and he cheerfully explains he plans to go to Seoul to retrieve forgotten money. _The revelation of Seryozha's planned journey introduces a new conflict and highlights the family's financial desperation._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/chapters/iii - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_faraway_bride_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/chapters