The Sword of Damocles · Chapter
The Hour of Six Is Sacred explained
Paula, preparing for her marriage at Grotewell, receives a package from Mrs.
What happens
Paula, preparing for her marriage at Grotewell, receives a package from Mrs. Hamlin indicating she is very ill and requesting Paula to keep a vigil at the Japha mansion. Paula goes to the house, where she finds Jacqueline, who has escaped from the hospital and is dying. Paula helps Jacqueline to her room, where Jacqueline experiences a moment of repentance. Paula then fetches Mrs. Hamlin, who comes to the bedside. The two women, revealed as mother and daughter (Margery and Jacqueline), are reunited. Jacqueline declares that love slew her and love has saved her, and she dies peacefully.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Sacrifice
Paula's selfless act of keeping vigil and caring for Jacqueline, and Mrs. Hamlin's unwavering love for her daughter, highlight the theme of sacrificial love.
Guilt and Redemption
Jacqueline's final moments are marked by repentance and a sense of divine forgiveness, illustrating the possibility of redemption even after grave sins.
Secrets and Past Sins
The revelation that Mrs. Hamlin is Jacqueline's mother and the hidden history of Jacqueline's crime and suffering are central to the chapter's emotional impact.
Characters to notice
- Paula
Keeps her promise to Mrs. Hamlin by holding vigil at the Japha mansion, finds Jacqueline, and facilitates her final reconciliation.
- Jacqueline Japha
Returns to her father's house to die, experiences repentance, and is reunited with her mother before passing.
- Mrs. Hamlin
Ill and feeble, she is brought to Jacqueline's bedside and is revealed to be her mother, Margery.
Key passages
“Mightier far Than strength of nerve or sinew, or the sway Of magic potent over sun and star, Is love, though oft to agony distrest, And though its favorite seat be feeble woman’s breast.”
Love is more powerful than physical strength or magical influence, even though it often brings pain and is most strongly felt by women.
The epigraph sets the theme of love's power, which is central to the chapter.
“She lies in the bed that you spread for her, with the Bible held close to her breast.”
Jacqueline is resting in the bed you prepared, clutching the Bible.
Paula informs Mrs. Hamlin that Jacqueline has returned and is in the room prepared for her.
“Love slew me, and now love has saved me!”
Love caused my downfall, but love has also brought me redemption.
Jacqueline's final words encapsulate the dual nature of love as both destructive and redemptive.