# VII explained — The Last Man

> Chapter companion for The Last Man by Mary Shelley.

## What happens

The chapter depicts the rise of fanaticism and superstition as the plague spreads, with a mad prophet in Windsor terrifying the populace. Lionel returns to find his household stricken; an old nurse dies of the plague, and Idris is grief-stricken. Lionel contemplates the future, resolves to protect his family, and reflects on his past redemption through Adrian and Idris.

## Themes in this chapter

### Grief and Memory

The death of the old nurse and the mad prophet's lament for his wife and child highlight the pervasive grief caused by the plague.

### Isolation and Solitude

Lionel's night vigil and his fear of being the last man underscore the theme of solitude in the face of mass death.

### Fate and Free Will

Lionel's resolve to protect his family and his meditation on the future reflect the tension between inevitable fate and human agency.

## Character check-ins

### Lionel Verney

Narrator; returns from London, witnesses the mad prophet, tends to Idris and the dying nurse, and resolves to safeguard his family.

### Idris

Lionel's wife; grief-stricken over the death of her old nurse, fears for her children, and finds comfort in Lionel's return.

### Adrian

Mentioned as the one who once superintended the poor; his absence is noted in the current crisis.

### The Countess

Idris's mother; described as haughty and unbending, leading Idris to have few tender filial associations with her.

### Clara

One of the children; mentioned as a favourite of the deceased nurse.

### Alfred

One of the children; mentioned as a favourite of the deceased nurse.

### Evelyn

One of the children; mentioned as a favourite of the deceased nurse.

### Florio

One of the children; mentioned as a favourite of the deceased nurse.

## Key lines

> It is too late to be ambitious... one face of Janus holds no proportion to the other.

Ambition is futile because our legacy cannot outlast our brief lives.

_The narrator uses this quote to introduce the rise of fanatics who preach the end of the world._

> Death is among us! The earth is beautiful and flower-bedecked, but she is our grave!

Death is present; the beautiful earth is actually our tomb.

_The mad prophet's sermon emphasizes the omnipresence of death._

> I was awake, alive, while the brother of death possessed my race.

I was the only one awake while sleep, death's sibling, held everyone else.

_Lionel reflects on his solitary vigil during the night._

> Great God! would it one day be thus? One day all extinct, save myself, should I walk the earth alone?

Would the day come when I am the only survivor, walking a dead world?

_Lionel's premonition of becoming the last man._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_last_man_se/chapters/volume-ii-vii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_last_man_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_last_man_se/chapters