The Maid of Sker · Chapter
XXVIII: Something About Him explained
Davy Llewellyn, seeking to learn more about Parson Chowne, finds the locals reluctant to speak openly.
What happens
Davy Llewellyn, seeking to learn more about Parson Chowne, finds the locals reluctant to speak openly. Through storytelling and charm, he loosens their tongues and hears tales of Chowne's ruthless dominance, including the story of Captain Vellacott, who suffered a near-fatal accident after buying a horse Chowne had wanted. The chapter paints Chowne as a man of immense will, feared and obeyed by all, who bends even the law and bishops to his purposes.
Themes in this chapter
Morality and Hypocrisy
Parson Chowne, a clergyman, is depicted as a violent, law-breaking tyrant who uses his knowledge of the law to dominate others, exposing the hypocrisy of religious authority.
Social Class and Identity
The chapter explores power dynamics between the gentry, clergy, and common folk, with Chowne exerting control over all classes, including justices and bishops.
Truth and Narrative Reliability
Davy's account is filtered through local gossip and his own efforts to extract stories, highlighting the difficulty of discerning truth from rumor.
Characters to notice
- Davy Llewellyn
Narrator and seeker of knowledge about Parson Chowne; uses storytelling to gain the trust of locals.
- Parson Chowne
Central figure of the chapter; a domineering and feared parson who controls his parish through intimidation and violence.
- Captain Vellacott
A justice of the peace who offends Chowne and later suffers a severe riding accident after buying a horse Chowne wanted.
- Parson Jack Rambone
Mentioned as a contrast to Chowne; Davy notes that Rambone is clearly the lesser figure when compared to Chowne.
- Captain Bethel Jose
Surly captain of the Rose of Devon, who is present at the fair but leaves Bang in charge of the ship.
- Bang
Boy left as captain and crew of the Rose of Devon; found shooting for coconut slices at the fair.
Key passages
“Captain Vellacott was so pleased by the kindness of his memory, and the nobility shown in dropping whatever had been between them, that what did he do but invite Master Chowne to dine with him up at the Fortescue Arms Hotel, and see a young horse he had bought in the fair, giving his own for it and five guineas; for he was not a rich man at all, and was come to make a moderate bargain.”
Captain Vellacott, impressed by Parson Chowne's apparent goodwill and forgetfulness of past grievances, invited him to dine at the Fortescue Arms Hotel and to inspect a new horse he had purchased at the fair, despite being a man of modest means.
This act of trust leads to Vellacott's downfall, as Chowne later covets the horse.
“This reasoning of mine made no impression, because everybody's opinion was set. 'Passon Chowne had adooed it;' they scratched their heads and went into side questions, but on the main point all agreed—' 'twor ayther the Passon or the devil himzell.'”
Davy's logical argument that Chowne could not have caused Vellacott's accident was dismissed; the locals were convinced that either Chowne or the devil was responsible.
Illustrates the superstitious and unshakeable belief in Chowne's malevolent power.
“He was the devil himself to ride, so everybody said of him; and Parson Chowne's horse was now become a byword for anyone thoroughly thrashed.”
Everyone said Chowne rode like the devil, and his horse became a symbol of a severe beating.
Highlights Chowne's brutal reputation and his association with violence.
