# VIII: The Proudest Mother explained — The Old Wives’ Tale

> Chapter companion for The Old Wives’ Tale by Arnold Bennett.

## What happens

In 1893, Constance's son Cyril has grown into a fashionable young man, a new type in Bursley created by the local tailor. Constance dotes on him, but he is indifferent to her efforts. The chapter details Cyril's departure for London, his artistic pursuits, and Constance's lonely devotion. She gives him his father's cigars, which he patronizingly approves, and she reflects on his superiority to his father.

## Themes in this chapter

### Motherhood and Family Dynamics

Constance's intense devotion to Cyril and her loneliness as he grows indifferent highlight the complexities of maternal love and the changing family roles.

### Change and Modernity

Cyril represents a new, modern type in Bursley, with fashionable chains and artistic ambitions, contrasting with the provincial past.

### Passage of Time and Aging

Constance's obesity, her rocking chair, and her memories of Samuel's cigars underscore the passage of time and her own aging.

## Character check-ins

### Constance Baines

Now a proud but lonely mother, she dotes on Cyril, prepares for his departure to London, and struggles with his indifference.

### Cyril Povey

Now a young man of nineteen, fashionable and artistic, he is indifferent to his mother's devotion and treats her with gentle raillery.

### Samuel Povey

Deceased; his cigars are given to Cyril by Constance, and Cyril offers a patronizing verdict on them.

### Amy Bates

The servant who helps with Cyril's luggage and weeps at his departure, earning a sharp rebuke from Constance.

### Mr. Peel-Swynnerton

Cyril's aristocratic friend who knows London and helps arrange his lodgings.

## Key lines

> She could scarcely walk because of the weight of a lump of lead that she carried in her bosom. On the brightest days the lump of lead was always there.

Constance felt a constant, heavy sorrow that made even happy days difficult.

_Describes Constance's emotional burden after Cyril's departure._

> He was a good man, amazingly industrious—when once Constance had got him out of bed in the morning; with no vices; kind, save when Constance mistakenly tried to thwart him; charming, with a curious strain of humour that Constance only half understood.

Cyril was hardworking and kind, but his humor and interests were beyond Constance's comprehension.

_Summarizes Cyril's character from Constance's perspective._

> The worst of it was that she was quite incurable. No experience would suffice to cure her trick of continually expecting him to notice things which he never did notice.

Constance could not stop hoping for Cyril's attention, even though he rarely gave it.

_Highlights Constance's unreciprocated emotional investment._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_old_wives_tale_se/chapters/viii-the-proudest-mother
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_old_wives_tale_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_old_wives_tale_se/chapters