II: The Mote in the Eye explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Wealth and Materialism

  Fanny's life as an 'objet de luxe' and Annandale's obsession with stock market gains highlight the materialistic values of the society.

• Love and Deception

  Fanny's marriage to Annandale is a deception, as she still loves Loftus and contemplates divorce to be with him.

• Appearance vs. Reality

  Annandale appears to be a successful financier, but his wealth is based on speculation. Fanny appears to be a happy wife, but she is unhappy and planning to leave her husband.

Characters to notice

• Fanny

  Now married to Annandale, she lives a life of luxury but is unhappy because she still loves Loftus. She becomes elusive with her husband and hints to Mrs. Price that she may still end up with Loftus.

• Arthur Annandale

  Married to Fanny, he is making money in the stock market and is oblivious to his wife's unhappiness. He jokes with Loftus about his wife's public appearances with him.

• Royal Loftus

  Still involved with Fanny, he visits her and discusses the possibility of her divorcing Annandale. He has been selling short in the stock market.

• Mrs. Price

  Fanny's mother, she warns Fanny about her public appearances with Loftus, but Fanny's response is cryptic.

• Sylvia Waldron

  She is now on friendly terms with Fanny and Annandale, and is present at a dinner party at Fanny's home.

• Mr. Skitt

  Annandale's broker, he is with Annandale when they see Fanny and Loftus in the park.

Key passages

• “Annandale was very nice. He had but one defect. But that defect was fatal. He did not happen to be somebody else.”

  Annandale was a good husband, but his only flaw was that he wasn't Loftus, which made him unacceptable to Fanny.

  This highlights Fanny's unhappiness in her marriage and her lingering love for Loftus.

• ““Do you fancy,” she asked fiercely, “that this is London? Do you?” she repeated and menacingly pulled off a glove. “Don’t you know that you cannot have men hanging about you, and of all men that man? Great heavens, if you wanted him you should have taken him at the start.””

  Mrs. Price scolds Fanny for being seen publicly with Loftus, warning her that such behavior is scandalous and that she should have married him if she wanted him.

  This shows the social pressures and expectations placed on women, and the scandal that can arise from appearances.

• ““At the finish perhaps I may yet.””

  Fanny hints that she may still end up with Loftus in the end.

  This reveals Fanny's intentions to eventually leave Annandale for Loftus.