The Turmoil · Chapter
XVII explained
Mr.
What happens
Mr. and Mrs. Vertrees discuss their financial ruin and Mary's sacrifices, including selling her piano and considering selling her furs. Mrs. Vertrees seeks information from Sibyl Sheridan about Bibbs's mental stability, fearing Mary intends to sacrifice herself. Sibyl later mocks the Vertrees family to Roscoe, revealing her contempt for their social climbing and her belief that Mary is pursuing Bibbs out of desperation.
Themes in this chapter
Class and Social Mobility
The Vertrees family's financial decline and Mary's perceived pursuit of Bibbs Sheridan illustrate the desperate strategies of a once-respectable family trying to cling to status through marriage.
Love and Sacrifice
Mary's willingness to sell her piano and furs to support her family, and her parents' fear that she will sacrifice herself by marrying Bibbs, underscore the theme of self-sacrifice for love or duty.
Gender Roles and Marriage
Sibyl's mockery of Mary's actions and the Vertreeses' concern about Mary's marriage prospects reflect societal expectations that women secure their futures through advantageous matches.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Vertrees
Discusses financial dissolution with his wife, opposes Mary selling her furs, and expresses bitterness toward the city and Sheridan.
- Mrs. Vertrees
Plans to pump Sibyl about Bibbs's sanity, worries about Mary's sacrifices, and speaks with Sibyl about the piano removal.
- Sibyl Sheridan
Frightened by the piano movers, she speaks with Mrs. Vertrees about Bibbs's health, then later mocks Mary's pursuit of Bibbs to Roscoe.
- Roscoe Sheridan
Listens to Sibyl's mockery of the Vertrees family, expresses grim sympathy, and attempts to discuss Robert Lamhorn with Sibyl.
- Bibbs Sheridan
Mentioned as the subject of Mrs. Vertrees's inquiries about his mental stability and as the target of Mary's supposed pursuit.
- Mary Vertrees
Sold her piano without consulting her father, plans to sell her furs, and is seen driving with Bibbs; her actions are interpreted by Sibyl as desperate social climbing.
- James Sheridan
Mentioned as having returned to work after Jim's funeral, and as having bragged about his family and the city's greatness.
Key passages
“She needn't to have done that about her piano," vapored Mr. Vertrees. "We could have managed somehow without it.”
Mr. Vertrees complains that Mary should not have sold her piano, insisting they could have managed without such a drastic step.
Reveals Mr. Vertrees's pride and denial about the family's financial state.
“Bibbs! She waited in the graveyard, and drove home with him from Jim's funeral! Never spoke to him before! Jim wasn't cold!”
Sibyl accuses Mary of opportunistically approaching Bibbs at Jim's funeral, implying she was scheming to secure a Sheridan husband.
Highlights Sibyl's contempt and the social tensions between the families.