The Nebuly Coat · Chapter
XXIII explained
Lord Blandamer visits Mr.
What happens
Lord Blandamer visits Mr. Martelet's office to finalize a codicil, then walks through Cullerne to find a silent, gathered crowd watching the Minster tower in peril. The tower is collapsing, and Westray is trapped in the belfry. Lord Blandamer rescues him with a crowbar, and moments later the tower falls.
Themes in this chapter
Decay and Preservation
The tower's collapse symbolizes the inevitable decay of ancient structures despite human efforts at preservation, as seen in the grinding mortar and the 'death-sweat' of the masonry.
Obsession and Madness
Westray's decision to remain in the belfry until the last moment and Lord Blandamer's calm, almost reckless rescue reflect a fixation on the tower's fate that borders on the obsessive.
Religion and Hypocrisy
The crowd's murmurs of judgment and the Rector's biblical reference contrast with the Catholic priest's selfless offer to risk his life, highlighting differing religious responses to crisis.
Characters to notice
- Lord Blandamer
Visits Mr. Martelet's office to finalize a codicil, then witnesses the crowd gathered around the collapsing tower and rescues Westray from the belfry.
- Mr. Westray
Trapped in the belfry after inspecting the tower; calls for help and is rescued by Lord Blandamer.
- Canon Parkyn
Standing conspicuously in the crowd watching the tower.
- Mr. Sharnall
Not directly mentioned in this chapter.
- Clerk Janaway
Leaning on his stick among the group of masons and workmen.
- Mr. Noot
Standing by Canon and Mrs. Parkyn in the crowd.
Key passages
“There was a jangle of sound, a deep groan from Taylor John, and a shrill cry from Beata Maria, a roar as of cannon, a shock as of an earthquake, and a cloud of white dust hid from the spectators the ruin of the fallen tower.”
The bells clashed discordantly, the great bell Taylor John groaned, and Beata Maria shrieked; then a cannon-like roar and earthquake shock shook the ground, and a cloud of dust concealed the collapsed tower from the onlookers.
Describes the final moments of the tower's fall, with the bells personified and the destruction obscured by dust.
“It was the very death-sweat of a giant in his agony, the mortar that was being ground out in powder from the courses of collapsing masonry.”
The white dust oozing from the joints was like the sweat of a dying giant, as the mortar was crushed into powder by the collapsing stonework.
Vivid metaphor for the tower's imminent collapse, emphasizing the slow, grinding destruction.