# Chapter XVII explained — The Secret City

> Chapter companion for The Secret City by Hugh Walpole.

## What happens

Durward, recovering from illness, receives visits from Vera and Nina. Nina expresses disillusionment with the war and Russian society, revealing a cynical and apathetic attitude. After a week, Durward ventures out into Petrograd, experiencing the city's intense, melodramatic atmosphere. He encounters Jerry Lawrence on Nevski Prospect, who apologizes for not visiting and invites him to dinner.

## Themes in this chapter

### Youth and Idealism

Nina's cynical and frivolous attitude contrasts with her underlying disappointment, illustrating the collapse of youthful idealism in the face of war and societal decay.

### Revolution and Disillusionment

Nina's dialogue and Durward's reflections capture the pervasive disillusionment with the war and the old order, foreshadowing revolutionary change.

### The Role of the Observer

Durward explicitly positions himself as a recorder of individual stories against the backdrop of public events, emphasizing the observer's perspective.

## Character check-ins

### Vera Michailovna

Visits Durward twice, kind and good but no longer confiding.

### Nina Michailovna

Visits Durward with flowers and fruit, chattering about cinemas and the upcoming Masquerade; expresses deep disillusionment with the war and Russia.

### M. Durward

The narrator, recovering from illness and venturing out into Petrograd; reflects on the intertwining of public and private history.

### Jerry Lawrence

Meets Durward on Nevski Prospect; apologizes for not visiting and invites him to dinner.

### Boris Nicolaievitch Grogoff

Mentioned by Nina as someone like whom men might save Russia, but she scoffs at the idea.

### Nicholas Markovitch

Mentioned by Nina in her list of those who would fight if the country belonged to many.

### Uncle Alexei

Mentioned by Nina in her list of those who would fight if the country belonged to many.

### Baron Wilderling

Mentioned by Lawrence as the old man he lives with; described as having a point of view of his own.

## Key lines

> I cannot quite frankly dissever the two. At the Front, a year and a half before, I had discovered how intermingled the souls of individuals and the souls of countries were, and how permanent private history seemed to me and how transient public events; but whether that was true or no before, it was now most certain that it was the story of certain individuals that I was to record⁠—the history that was being made behind them could at its best be only a background.

Durward reflects that private lives and national events are deeply intertwined, and he sees his role as documenting personal stories rather than the fleeting public history.

_Durward's narrative philosophy: the personal is more enduring than the political._

> I seemed to step into a city ablaze with a sinister glory. If that appears melodramatic I can only say that the dazzling winter weather of those weeks was melodramatic.

Durward describes Petrograd as having a dangerous, theatrical beauty, matching the dramatic winter weather.

_The city's atmosphere mirrors the impending upheaval._

## Links

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