The Vicar of Bullhampton · Chapter
Miss Marrable explained
Mary Lowther returns to her aunt Miss Marrable in Loring, where her aunt strongly advocates for a marriage to Mr.
What happens
Mary Lowther returns to her aunt Miss Marrable in Loring, where her aunt strongly advocates for a marriage to Mr. Gilmore, a country gentleman she deems suitable. Mary expresses weariness with the topic and insists she will never marry Gilmore. The chapter also provides a detailed portrait of Miss Marrable's character, her strict views on social rank and gentility, and a description of Loring's social geography.
Themes in this chapter
Class and Social Power
Miss Marrable's rigid views on social rank, her disdain for trade and commerce, and her preference for Mary marrying a country gentleman illustrate the class distinctions of the era.
Love and Marriage
The chapter centers on Mary's resistance to marrying Mr. Gilmore despite family pressure, highlighting the tension between personal choice and societal expectations in marriage.
Characters to notice
- Mary Lowther
Returns to her aunt Miss Marrable in Loring; expresses weariness with Mr. Gilmore and insists she will never marry him.
- Miss Marrable
Mary's aunt, a strong advocate for Mr. Gilmore; holds strict views on social rank and gentility; lives modestly in Botolph Lane, Loring.
- Harry Gilmore
Discussed as a suitor; Miss Marrable considers him an ideal match due to his status as a country gentleman.
- Janet Fenwick
Mentioned as having written letters praising Mr. Gilmore and believing Mary will marry him.
- Mr. Fenwick
Referenced as the parson at Bullhampton who joked with Mary about Loring's parliamentary representation.
Key passages
“She would have infinitely preferred to see Mary an old maid, than to hear that she was going to give herself to any suitor contaminated by trade.”
Miss Marrable would rather Mary remain unmarried than marry someone involved in commerce.
Reflects Miss Marrable's strong class prejudices against trade.
“I am so weary of Mr. Gilmore.”
Mary is tired of hearing about Mr. Gilmore.
Shows Mary's frustration with the constant pressure to marry Gilmore.
“Rank to her was a thing quite assured and ascertained, and she had no more doubt as to her own right to pass out of a room before the wife of a millionaire than she had of the right of a millionaire to spend his own guineas.”
Miss Marrable was completely certain of her own social rank and her precedence over wealthy individuals not of gentle birth.
Illustrates Miss Marrable's unwavering belief in inherited social hierarchy.