The Golden Bowl · Chapter
Chapter XX explained
At Matcham, Prince Amerigo reflects on Fanny Assingham's first lie to him and the ease with which he and Charlotte Stant mingle in high society, while Maggie and Adam Verver remain in Eaton Square.
What happens
At Matcham, Prince Amerigo reflects on Fanny Assingham's first lie to him and the ease with which he and Charlotte Stant mingle in high society, while Maggie and Adam Verver remain in Eaton Square. The Prince feels irritation at his wife's innocent trust and the grotesque theory that he and Charlotte are merely innocent companions, leading to a growing sense of complicity between them.
Themes in this chapter
Deception and Secrecy
Fanny Assingham's first lie to the Prince and the growing complicity between Amerigo and Charlotte underscore the theme of deception.
Appearance vs. Reality
The Prince reflects on the grotesque theory of his innocent companionship with Charlotte, contrasting the public appearance with the private reality of their complicity.
Innocence and Experience
Maggie's innocent trust is contrasted with the Prince's worldly irritation and the experienced maneuvering of Fanny and Charlotte.
Characters to notice
- Prince Amerigo
Reflects on Fanny Assingham's lie and his irritation with Maggie's innocence; feels complicit with Charlotte.
- Charlotte Stant
Present at Matcham, exchanging ideas with the Prince; their complicity deepens.
- Fanny Assingham
Told her first lie to the Prince; managed to inscribe herself and the Colonel on the Matcham guest list.
- Maggie Verver
Absent from Matcham, moping in Eaton Square with her father; her innocent trust irritates the Prince.
- Adam Verver
Absent from Matcham, moping in Eaton Square; considered by the Prince as a 'good child' lacking knowledge.
- Colonel Assingham
Mentioned as part of the Matcham party, though his presence is noted as a false note in the concert.
Key passages
“She had plumped out for him her first little lie. That took on—and he could scarce have said why—a sharpness of importance: she had never lied to him before—if only because it had never come up for her, properly, intelligibly, morally, that she must.”
Fanny Assingham told the Prince her first lie, which struck him as significant because she had never needed to lie to him before.
Highlights the theme of deception and the shift in Fanny's behavior.
“What was supremely grotesque, in fact, was the essential opposition of theories—as if a galantuomo, as he at least constitutionally conceived galantuomini, could do anything but blush to 'go about' at such a rate with such a person as Mrs. Verver in a state of childlike innocence, the state of our primitive parents before the Fall.”
The Prince finds it grotesque that he is expected to appear with Charlotte in innocent companionship, like Adam and Eve before the Fall, which contradicts his sense of honor.
Reflects the theme of appearance vs. reality and the Prince's internal conflict.