The Lady of the Barge · Chapter
A Golden Venture explained
Ann Pullen inherits two thousand pounds, attracting the attention of two older suitors, Mr.
What happens
Ann Pullen inherits two thousand pounds, attracting the attention of two older suitors, Mr. Wiggett and Mr. Miller. After the inheritance is revealed to be a mistake due to a later will, Mr. Miller proposes to Ann, believing she is now poor, and she accepts. The carpenter reveals the inheritance was indeed lost, but the news had spread prematurely.
Themes in this chapter
Greed and Its Consequences
Both Wiggett and Miller court Ann solely for her inheritance, and Miller's scheme backfires when the inheritance is revealed as a mistake.
Deception and Betrayal
Miller spreads false news of Ann's lost fortune to gain her hand, but the Tidgers also deceive him about the inheritance's status.
Marriage and Romantic Relationships
Marriage is portrayed as a transactional arrangement driven by financial gain rather than genuine affection.
Characters to notice
- Ann Pullen
The heiress who inherits two thousand pounds, then loses it due to a later will; accepts Mr. Miller's proposal after he thinks she is poor.
- Old Miller
A slow, oxlike dealer who courts Ann for her money, then proposes after believing she lost it, only to discover the inheritance was indeed a mistake.
- Old Wiggett
A sharp-featured rival suitor who also courts Ann for her money.
- Mr. Tidger
The carpenter and Ann's relative, who is initially pleased by the attention but later reveals the inheritance was a mistake.
- Mrs. Tidger
The carpenter's wife, who suspects the suitors' motives and later misjudges Mr. Miller.
Key passages
“I never ’ad no luck. Nobody ever left me no money. Nobody ever left me so much as a fi-pun note.”
The carpenter complains that he has never been lucky enough to inherit any money, not even a five-pound note.
Expresses the carpenter's envy and sense of personal misfortune.
“You get younger than ever, Mrs. Pullen. Young ain’t the word for it. No; it’s age as you’re thinking of, Mr. Wiggett.”
Wiggett flatters Mrs. Pullen by saying she looks young, but Miller counters that Wiggett is actually thinking about age.
Shows the competitive flattery between the two suitors.
“I was very sorry to hear this afternoon, for your sake, that you had lost all your money. What I wanted to say to you now, now that you are poor, was to ask you to be Mrs. Miller.”
Miller expresses sympathy for Ann's supposed loss of fortune and proposes marriage, claiming he wants her despite her poverty.
Miller's proposal is based on the false belief that Ann is now poor, revealing his earlier interest was in her money.