The Vicar of Bullhampton · Chapter
XXVIII: Mrs. Brattle’s Journey explained
Mr.
What happens
Mr. Fenwick drives Mrs. Brattle to visit her daughter Carry, but they find the cottage empty. A neighbor reveals that Carry left for London with a young man. Fenwick is devastated by the news and drives Mrs. Brattle home in silence. Later, Fenwick receives a letter from Carry explaining she fled because of a quarrel with Mrs. Burrows and her hopelessness.
Themes in this chapter
Redemption and the Fallen Woman
Fenwick's hope for Carry's redemption is shattered when she flees to London, highlighting the difficulty of reclaiming lost innocence.
Family Duty and Forgiveness
Mrs. Brattle's unconditional love contrasts with her husband's hardness; Carry's letter expresses fear of her father's rejection.
Hypocrisy and Moral Courage
Fenwick questions his own enthusiasm and moral stance after Carry's disappearance, reflecting on the limits of clerical intervention.
Characters to notice
- Mrs. Brattle
Accompanies Mr. Fenwick to visit Carry, carrying a bundle of supplies; she is anxious, hopeful, and heartbroken when they find Carry gone.
- Mr. Fenwick
Drives Mrs. Brattle to the cottage, comforts her, and is deeply disillusioned when he learns Carry has left for London; later receives Carry's letter.
- Carry Brattle
Absent from the cottage; has gone to London with a young man; writes a remorseful letter to Fenwick explaining her departure.
- George Brattle
Seen standing at the mill door when Mrs. Brattle returns; speaks briefly and sternly, showing his hard and unforgiving nature.
- Fanny Brattle
Mentioned as the recipient of Carry's love in the letter; Mrs. Brattle hands her the bundle upon returning home.
Key passages
“I’d give my left hand she should be happy and gay once more. I suppose none but a mother feels it, but the sound of her voice through the house was ever the sweetest music I know’d on.”
Mrs. Brattle says she would sacrifice anything to see her daughter happy again, and that only a mother can truly understand the pain of losing that joy.
Expresses maternal love and the irreplaceable loss of Carry's former innocence.
“There is a bloom on the flower which may rest there till the flower has utterly perished, if the handling of it be sufficiently delicate;—but no care, nothing that can be done by friends on earth, or even by better friendship from above, can replace that when once displaced.”
The narrator reflects that innocence, once lost, can never be fully restored, no matter how much care or divine help is offered.
A poignant metaphor for Carry's lost purity and the impossibility of regaining her former self.
“I did try to pray when you was gone, but it only made me more ashamed. If there was only anywhere to go to, I’d go.”
Carry writes that she attempted to pray but felt only deeper shame, and that she would escape her situation if she had any other option.
Reveals Carry's despair and sense of entrapment, despite her apparent flight to London.