# XII explained — The Secret City

> Chapter companion for The Secret City by Hugh Walpole.

## What happens

At a Christmas party hosted by the Markovitch family, the narrator observes the guests, including Nina's joyful excitement, Boris Grogoff's boisterous ignorance, and Henry Bohun's discomfort. Jerry Lawrence emerges as a calm, tolerant figure. The evening culminates in the unveiling of a Christmas tree and gift-giving, but the mood shifts when Alexei Petrovitch Semyonov appears in the doorway.

## Themes in this chapter

### Class and Social Contrast

Contrast between the comfortable lives of the partygoers and the revolutionary ideals of Grogoff, who lives well despite preaching socialism.

### The Role of the Observer

The narrator closely watches and interprets the behavior of the Russian guests, Bohun's discomfort, and Lawrence's ease.

### Youth and Idealism

Nina's childish joy and Grogoff's simplistic socialist creed reflect youthful idealism amid a crumbling society.

## Character check-ins

### Nina Michailovna

Immensely happy as hostess, excited and joyous, like a young kitten or puppy in a white frock.

### Boris Nicolaievitch Grogoff

A striking but ill-educated figure, self-confident and loudly socialist, yet kindly; suspected of caring for Nina.

### Henry Bohun

Shy and uncomfortable, distressed by the noise and boisterousness, seated between a giggling girl and a deaf old lady.

### Vera Michailovna

Quietly happy and subdued, her soul seemingly asleep; she fulfills Bohun's standards but is not truly known by him.

### Jerry Lawrence

The success of the dinner; cheerful, dependable, tolerant, and understanding of the Russian character.

### Alexei Petrovitch Semyonov

Appears suddenly in the doorway at the end of the party, causing Markovitch's face to stiffen.

## Key lines

> She was like a young kitten or puppy in a white frock, with her hair tumbling over her eyes. She was greatly excited, and as joyous as though there were no war, and no afflicted Russia, and nothing serious in all the world.

Nina was as carefree and playful as a young animal, oblivious to the war and Russia's suffering.

_Highlights Nina's youthful innocence and the contrast with the surrounding turmoil._

> He had none of the self-assertion of the average Englishman and, at the same time, he had his opinions and his preferences. He took every kind of chaff with good-humoured indifference, but I think it was above everything else his tolerance that pleased the Russians.

Lawrence was unassuming yet firm, and his easygoing tolerance endeared him to the Russians.

_Explains why Lawrence was so well-liked at the party._

> I turned and found, standing in the doorway, quietly watching us, Alexei Petrovitch Semyonov.

The narrator noticed Semyonov silently observing the celebration from the doorway.

_A sudden shift in atmosphere, signaling tension or an unwelcome presence._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_city_se/chapters/xii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_city_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_city_se/chapters