The Nebuly Coat · Chapter
Chapter XVII explained
The chapter explores the scandalous rumors spreading through Cullerne about Lord Blandamer's frequent visits to Bellevue Lodge and his relationship with Anastasia Joliffe.
What happens
The chapter explores the scandalous rumors spreading through Cullerne about Lord Blandamer's frequent visits to Bellevue Lodge and his relationship with Anastasia Joliffe. Westray defends Anastasia's honor against the gossip, while Clerk Janaway takes a pragmatic view. The narrative delves into Anastasia's inner life, her sense of isolation in Cullerne, and her growing fascination with Lord Blandamer, whom she sees as a romantic figure. Miss Joliffe sacrifices her Dorcas meetings to guard the house, but Lord Blandamer does not appear for three weeks.
Themes in this chapter
Social Class and Ambition
The gossip about Lord Blandamer and Anastasia highlights class tensions; Clerk Janaway defends the peerage's privileges.
Secrecy and Identity
Rumors and hidden motives pervade the chapter; Anastasia's inner life is contrasted with public perception.
Love and Marriage
Anastasia's romantic longing for Lord Blandamer is explored, constrained by social expectations of marriage.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Westray
Defends Anastasia against scandalous rumors, still smarting from his repulse.
- Miss Anastasia Joliffe
Isolated in Cullerne, she longs for a wider life and romance; becomes deeply interested in Lord Blandamer.
- Lord Blandamer
Subject of gossip for his visits to Bellevue Lodge; seen as a romantic prince by Anastasia.
- Miss Euphemia Joliffe
Sacrifices her Dorcas meetings to guard the house, but feels the loss keenly; struggles to understand her niece.
- Clerk Janaway
Takes a pragmatic view of the scandal, emphasizing the divine right of peers and the benefits of Lord Blandamer's wealth.
Key passages
“She longed for a life something wider, she longed for sympathy. She longed for what a tall and well-favoured maiden of her years most naturally desires, however much she may be ignorant of her desire; she longed for someone to admire her and to love her; she longed for someone about whom she could weave a romance.”
Anastasia yearned for a broader existence and emotional connection, desiring admiration and love, even if she didn't fully recognize it.
Reveals Anastasia's deep romantic and emotional needs, setting the stage for her attraction to Lord Blandamer.
“The gambits of the great game of love are strangely limited, and there is little variation in the after-play. If it were not for the personal share we take, such doings would lack interest by reason of their monotony, by their too close resemblance to the primeval type.”
The patterns of love are repetitive and predictable, only made interesting by personal involvement.
Narrator's commentary on the universal and monotonous nature of romantic attraction.
“She certainly was not in the least in love, but it was true Lord Blandamer interested her. He interested her so much, in fact, as to be in her thoughts at all hours of the day; it was strange that no matter with what things her mind was occupied, his image should continually present itself.”
Anastasia denied being in love, yet Lord Blandamer occupied her thoughts constantly, suggesting a deep fascination.
Highlights Anastasia's self-deception and the intensity of her interest in Lord Blandamer.