# XXXIII explained — The Tunnel

> Chapter companion for The Tunnel by Dorothy M. Richardson.

## What happens

Miriam enters Mrs. Bailey's dining-room for the first time, observing its faded grandeur and feeling uneasy. Mrs. Bailey reveals her plan to turn the house into a boardinghouse, having written to all current lodgers to vacate by the 14th prox. She intends to take in Norwegian gentlemen and hopes to improve her children's chances. Miriam admires her pluck but doubts she can manage the change, fearing the quiet house will be transformed by strangers.

## Themes in this chapter

### Social Class and Belonging

Mrs. Bailey's decision to start a boardinghouse is driven by a desire to improve her children's social standing, while Miriam doubts her ability to fit into the more genteel boardinghouse milieu.

### Urban Experience and Modernity

The transformation of the house reflects the changing urban landscape and the pressures of modern life, as Mrs. Bailey declares 'We've got to march with the times.'

## Character check-ins

### Miriam

Enters the dining-room reluctantly, observes its details, and listens to Mrs. Bailey's plans with a mix of admiration and doubt.

### Mrs. Bailey

Reveals her decision to convert the house into a boardinghouse, having written to all lodgers and arranged for Norwegian gentlemen to arrive next week.

## Key lines

> Nothing venture, nothing have . It’s no good to be backward in coming forward nowadays. We’ve got to march with the times.

Mrs. Bailey asserts that taking risks is necessary to succeed in the modern world.

_Reflects her pragmatic and forward-looking attitude toward the boardinghouse venture._

> The quiet house would be utterly changed. There would be people going about, in possession, all over the front steps and at the dining-room windows and along the drawing-room balcony.

Miriam imagines the house transformed by the presence of boarders, losing its familiar quietude.

_Highlights Miriam's anxiety about change and loss of domestic privacy._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters/xxxiii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_tunnel_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_tunnel_se/chapters