# XIX explained — The Nebuly Coat

> Chapter companion for The Nebuly Coat by John Meade Falkner.

## What happens

Anastasia Joliffe marries Lord Blandamer in a quiet ceremony. Upon her return to Cullerne, she holds receptions at Bellevue Lodge. The couple travels extensively and has a son. The town decides to ring the bells of Saint Sepulchre's to celebrate their return, despite Westray's warnings about the tower's instability. After the peal, Westray discovers a crack in the tower has worsened, foreshadowing potential disaster.

## Themes in this chapter

### Decay and Preservation

Westray's concern for the tower's structural integrity contrasts with the town's desire to celebrate, highlighting the tension between preservation and tradition.

### Social Class and Ambition

Anastasia's marriage elevates her social status, and the town's celebration underscores class dynamics and aspirations.

### The Past and Memory

The bells evoke memories of historical events, and the 'nebuly coat' legend continues to haunt the present.

## Character check-ins

### Miss Anastasia Joliffe

Marries Lord Blandamer and returns to Cullerne as Lady Blandamer, hosting receptions at Bellevue Lodge.

### Lord Blandamer

Marries Anastasia Joliffe; his return to Cullerne prompts the bell-ringing celebration.

### Mr. Westray

Warns against ringing the bells due to structural concerns; discovers the crack in the tower has worsened after the peal.

### Canon Parkyn

Proposes the bell-ringing to honor Lord Blandamer, dismissing Westray's warnings.

### Mrs. Parkyn

Supports the bell-ringing and criticizes Westray as a 'vain young upstart'.

### Clerk Janaway

Participates in the bell-ringing and later tries to reassure Westray about the crack.

## Key lines

> The wedding was quiet, and there being no newspapers at that time to take such matters for their province, Cullerne curiosity had to be contented with the bare announcement: 'At Saint Agatha’s-at-Bow, Horatio Sebastian Fynes, Lord Blandamer, to Anastasia, only child of the late Martin Joliffe, of Cullerne Wharfe.'

The wedding was a private affair, and without modern media coverage, the townspeople of Cullerne only learned of it through a simple announcement.

_Highlights the secrecy and lack of public fanfare surrounding the marriage._

> Westray had bowed like loyal again, 'They have bound on us a burden too heavy to be borne; but we are shifting it. The arch never sleeps.'

Westray, recalling the arch's constant pressure, felt the burden of the tower's instability as the bells rang.

_Foreshadows the structural danger and Westray's anxiety._

> I wish to Heaven the peal had been interrupted. I wish your bells had never been rung. Look there—and he pointed at the strip of paper.

Westray regrets the bell-ringing, pointing to the torn paper strip as evidence of the damage caused.

_Emphasizes Westray's foreboding and the immediate consequence of the celebration._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_nebuly_coat_se/chapters/xix
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_nebuly_coat_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_nebuly_coat_se/chapters