The Leavenworth Case · Chapter
XII: Eleanore explained
The narrator visits Eleanore Leavenworth, who is distraught after a newspaper article accuses her of her uncle's murder.
What happens
The narrator visits Eleanore Leavenworth, who is distraught after a newspaper article accuses her of her uncle's murder. She protests her innocence and, in a dramatic act, leads the narrator to her uncle's bedroom where she kisses the dead man's lips and invokes divine judgment, convincing the narrator of her innocence.
Themes in this chapter
Appearance vs. Reality
Eleanore's dramatic display of innocence contrasts with the strong circumstantial evidence against her, highlighting the tension between how things appear and what is true.
Guilt and Innocence
The chapter centers on Eleanore's vehement denial of guilt and the narrator's struggle to reconcile her actions with the accusations.
Secrecy and Truth
Eleanore's refusal to explain certain facts (like the key) fuels suspicion, and the chapter explores the conflict between hiding information and revealing the truth.
Characters to notice
- The Narrator
Visits Eleanore, confronts her about the accusations, and is ultimately convinced of her innocence after her dramatic display.
- Eleanore Leavenworth
Found in despair over newspaper accusations; protests her innocence and performs a ritualistic act at her uncle's bedside to prove it.
- Mary Leavenworth
Opens the door for the narrator at the beginning of the chapter.
- Horatio Leavenworth
The murdered man; Eleanore kneels at his bedside and kisses his lips.
Key passages
“Sometimes I think the walls have ears, and that the very shadows listen.”
Eleanore feels that her every word and action is being watched and judged.
Expresses her paranoia and sense of being under surveillance.
“Could I do that if I were guilty? Would not the breath freeze on my lips, the blood congeal in my veins, and my heart faint at this contact?”
Eleanore argues that her ability to kiss her dead uncle proves her innocence, as guilt would make such an act impossible.
Key moment where she uses physical contact with the corpse to assert her innocence.