The Green Hat · Chapter
IX: Talking of Hats explained
The narrator reflects on Iris March's past and her relationship with Guy de Travest, recalling a night when she drove recklessly to Maidenhead.
What happens
The narrator reflects on Iris March's past and her relationship with Guy de Travest, recalling a night when she drove recklessly to Maidenhead. He describes buying her a green hat for her upcoming voyage to Rio de Janeiro, and later converses with Guy about London, swimming, and a children's party organized by Venice Pollen. The chapter explores Iris's enigmatic nature and the tension between her and the narrator.
Themes in this chapter
Appearance vs. Reality
Iris's mask-like face and enigmatic smile contrast with her inner turmoil; the narrator questions whether she cares about societal judgment.
Shame and Redemption
The narrator wonders if Iris feels shame when faced by Guy, the 'warrior of conduct,' and reflects on her as a 'shameless, shameful lady.'
Conduct and Morality
Guy is portrayed as a judge of conduct; Iris is accused of stealing a man from his wife, and the narrator contemplates her defiance of moral laws.
Characters to notice
- Iris March
Iris is depicted in a silver turban and later a green hat; she drives furiously to Maidenhead, smiles enigmatically, and is preparing to sail to Rio de Janeiro.
- Guy de Travest
Guy converses with the narrator about London, swimming, and the children's party; he is described as a 'slender giant with cold eyes' and a 'warrior of conduct.'
- Napier Harpenden
Napier is mentioned as Guy's friend, as dear as a younger brother, and as the name Iris once whispered.
- Venice Pollen
Venice is the host of the children's party; Guy mentions she was feeling depressed and he thought a party would cheer her.
- Hugo Cypress
Hugo is a passenger in Iris's car, complaining about her driving and joking about being found dead on the Maidenhead road.
- Shirley
Shirley is with Hugo in the back seat of Iris's car, murmuring against her driving.
Key passages
“to hear her whisper a name like a kiss, a name that was already pledged to another, and how, when he had long since forgotten her whispering of that name, he had chanced on a night to see her no further than the span of that name apart from him who bore it”
The narrator recalls Iris whispering the name of a man who was already married, and later seeing them together.
This reveals Iris's past indiscretion and the narrator's lingering memory of it.
“I could imagine Iris in her tight silver turban, like a star it would be in that lonely place where she faced Guy, and her tiger-tawny curls dancing formally on each small check, and all about her that dazzling brilliance which will suddenly enwrap a very fair woman in a black dress”
The narrator visualizes Iris confronting Guy, dressed in a silver turban and black dress, radiating brilliance.
Highlights the dramatic tension between Iris and Guy.
“She was driving, and when I dropped a word into the silence of our drive, for Iris and I were at enmity now—for Venice!—a curious smile seemed to devour the white profile, to devour it quite: a very witch of a smile that was, I thought, and more than adequate to meet my word, for the word I had dropped was what the raven quoth: 'Nevermore!'”
During a tense car ride, the narrator says 'Nevermore' to Iris, who responds with a devouring smile.
Shows the narrator's enmity with Iris and her enigmatic reaction.
“Nothing easier than a green hat, it appears, can well be bought. Like a flash of summer lightning, that is how a green hat is bought.”
Buying a green hat is described as quick and effortless, like a flash of lightning.
Emphasizes the casualness of the purchase and Iris's dismissive attitude.
“I don't,” she said at last from a remote distance, the amethysts absorbed in the air between us. “I don't.” And then she smiled faintly, but even so much was enough to change the amethysts into eyes.”
Iris denies something, her eyes like amethysts, and her faint smile transforms them.
Captures Iris's mysterious and powerful presence.
