The Inheritors · Chapter
XVI explained
The narrator returns to London and has a final, poignant interaction with Churchill, who touches his shoulder and gives him a task.
What happens
The narrator returns to London and has a final, poignant interaction with Churchill, who touches his shoulder and gives him a task. He dines with a boring, distant uncle who mentions his sister's upcoming marriage to a cabinet minister and reveals family history. The narrator becomes obsessed with winning his 'sister' and searches for companionship in a lonely London, eventually finding Fox suffering from sciatica at the office.
Themes in this chapter
Alienation and Identity
The narrator feels isolated in the crowded London streets, despising the contented faces around him and struggling with his own identity and desires.
Love and Betrayal
The narrator's obsessive love for his 'sister' and his internal conflict over how to win her, hinting at potential betrayal of social norms.
Characters to notice
- Unknown Narrator
Returns to London, reflects on Churchill's touch, dines with a relative, and becomes consumed by desire for his sister.
- Mr. Churchill
Gives the narrator a task and touches his shoulder in a final, meaningful gesture before departing.
- Mr. Fox
Found at the office, suffering from sciatica, lying on a scarlet couch, and asks the narrator to help put the Hour to bed.
Key passages
“I remember so well that last sight of him—of his long, slim figure bending down for the entrance, woefully solitary, woefully weighted; remember so well the gleam of the carriage panels reflecting the murky light of the bare London terminus, the attitude of the coachman stiffly reining back the horse; the thin hand that reached out, a gleam of white, to turn the gleaming handle.”
The narrator vividly recalls Churchill's final appearance: his tall, slender form stooping into the carriage, looking sadly alone and burdened, the carriage's shine in the dim station light, the coachman's rigid posture, and Churchill's pale hand reaching out to close the door.
Describes the narrator's last visual memory of Churchill, emphasizing his solitude and the narrator's affection.
“London was a desert more solitary than was believable. On those brilliant summer evenings the streets were crowded, were alive, bustled with the chitter-chatter of footsteps, with the chitter-chatter of voices, of laughter. It was impossible to walk, impossible to do more than tread on one's own toes; one was almost blinded by the constant passing of faces. It was like being in a wheat-field with one's eyes on a level with the indistinguishable ears. One was alone in one's intense contempt for all these faces, all these contented faces; one towered intellectually above them; one towered into regions of rarefaction.”
The narrator finds London paradoxically empty and lonely despite the crowded, lively streets. He feels contempt for the happy faces around him, believing himself intellectually superior but isolated.
Highlights the narrator's alienation and sense of superiority amidst the bustling city.