Chapter X explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Love and Obsession

  Mrs. Strickland's desperate desire for her husband's return, despite his betrayal, highlights the theme of obsessive love.

• Gender Roles and Marriage

  Mrs. Strickland's concern with social appearances and her role as a wife and mother reflect the constraints of marriage in this era.

Characters to notice

• The Narrator

  Agrees to go to Paris to speak with Strickland, despite having only met him once.

• Mrs. Strickland

  Devastated by her husband's abandonment, she refuses to divorce him and pleads for his return.

• Charles Strickland

  Has left his family for Paris, sending a brief, cold letter; his whereabouts are known.

• Colonel MacAndrew

  Mrs. Strickland's brother, who is eager to go to Paris but is deemed unsuitable by her.

Key passages

• “I want him to come back. If he'll do that we'll let bygones be bygones. After all, we've been married for seventeen years. I'm a broadminded woman. I wouldn't have minded what he did as long as I knew nothing about it.”

  Mrs. Strickland is willing to forgive Strickland's infidelity if he returns, valuing the appearance of a stable marriage over his actual behavior.

  Reveals her prioritization of social propriety and her deep emotional need for his return.

• “I'll never divorce him. Tell him that from me. He'll never be able to marry that woman. I'm as obstinate as he is, and I'll never divorce him. I have to think of my children.”

  Mrs. Strickland refuses to grant Strickland a divorce, using the children as a justification for her stubbornness.

  Highlights her determination to maintain control and her jealousy, masked as maternal concern.