The Vicar of Bullhampton · Chapter
The Miller's Wife explained
Mr.
What happens
Mr. Fenwick visits Mrs. Brattle at the mill, concerned about Sam Brattle's recent activities and associations with suspected thieves. He gently probes Mrs. Brattle and Fanny about Sam's whereabouts, revealing the family's anxiety and the Vicar's internal conflict over his past favoritism toward Sam.
Themes in this chapter
Community and Gossip
Fenwick is acutely aware of the gossip and accusations surrounding his friendship with Sam Brattle, which influences his current anxiety.
Family Duty and Forgiveness
Mrs. Brattle's love for her son Sam and her husband's grudging affection highlight family bonds strained by sin and fear.
Hypocrisy and Moral Courage
Fenwick struggles between his duty to report potential crime and his desire to protect Sam, reflecting the tension between public morality and private loyalty.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Fenwick
Visits Mrs. Brattle to discuss Sam's suspicious behavior; anxious about his own past association with Sam and the potential scandal.
- Mrs. Brattle
The miller's wife, a devout woman who spends her afternoons with her Bible and stockings; deeply worried about Sam and grateful for Fenwick's leniency.
- Sam Brattle
Absent from home; last seen two days prior; reportedly went to Lavington; Fenwick fears he is involved with thieves.
- Fanny Brattle
Sam's sister; confirms Sam slept at home the previous night and left at five in the morning for Lavington.
- George Brattle
The miller; described as a 'Pagan' who rarely speaks but shows affection for Sam; Fenwick wishes he were as honest as his father.
Key passages
“and the life-preserver, we’ll be safe. I’ve a big dog coming, a second Bone’m. Sam Brattle is in more danger, I fear, than the silver forks.”
Fenwick tries to sound cheerful about security but admits he is more worried about Sam's safety than about the silver.
Shows Fenwick's underlying anxiety and his priority on Sam's welfare over property.
“There’s a stroke of the master about Sam hisself, at times, Mr. Fenwick, and the old man’s eyes gladden to see it. There’s none so near his heart now as poor Sam.”
Mrs. Brattle says that Sam sometimes reminds his father of himself, and the miller's eyes light up with pride; Sam is still the closest to his heart.
Reveals the deep, though strained, affection between Sam and his father.
“She could hardly understand his leniency—his abstinence from reproof; but entertained a vague, wandering, unformed wish that, as he never opened the vials of his wrath on them, he would pour it out upon her—on her who would bear it for their sake so meekly.”
Mrs. Brattle is puzzled by Fenwick's gentleness and almost wishes he would scold her instead, as she would bear it meekly for her family's sake.
Highlights Mrs. Brattle's self-sacrificing nature and her confusion over Fenwick's unconventional pastoral approach.