# X: At the Vicarage explained — The Wonderful Visit

> Chapter companion for The Wonderful Visit by H. G. Wells.

## What happens

The Vicar brings the Angel to the vicarage, where the Curate's wife, her daughters, and Mrs. Jehoram are playing tennis. Upon seeing the Angel's unearthly beauty and revealing costume, they are horrorstruck and flee indoors, leaving the Vicar to grapple with the scandal and the Angel's innocent curiosity about earthly objects like a sunshade.

## Themes in this chapter

### Innocence vs. Experience

The Angel's innocent curiosity about the sunshade and lack of understanding of social shock contrasts sharply with the horror and scandal of the tennis players.

### Social Hypocrisy and Conformity

The tennis players' immediate flight and judgment reflect the rigid social expectations and hypocrisy of the village, while the Vicar worries about explaining the Angel's unconventional appearance.

## Character check-ins

### The Angel

Arrives at the vicarage with the Vicar, wearing a saffron garment that barely reaches the knees; displays innocent curiosity about a sunshade and experiences pain from a briar prick.

### The Vicar

Brings the Angel to the vicarage, is horrorstruck by the reaction of the tennis players, and contemplates the difficulty of explaining the Angel's appearance.

### Mrs. Mendham

Identified as the Curate's wife; leads the group of tennis players in a horrified retreat upon seeing the Angel.

### Mrs. Jehoram

One of the tennis players; leaves her sunshade behind, which the Angel examines with fascination.

### Mr. Hilyer

Mentioned as 'Mr. Hilyer' in the Curate's wife's exclamation of shock.

## Key lines

> The Angel’s face being towards her she saw nothing of the wings. Only a face of unearthly beauty in a halo of chestnut hair, and a graceful figure clothed in a saffron garment that barely reached the knees.

The Curate's wife saw only the Angel's radiant face and short saffron robe, missing the wings entirely.

_Highlights the initial shock caused by the Angel's appearance._

> The Angel was evidently well bred. He was holding up Mrs. Jehoram’s sunshade—she had left it on one of the cane chairs—and examining it with extraordinary interest.

The Angel, showing good manners, picked up the forgotten sunshade and studied it with great curiosity.

_Demonstrates the Angel's innocent and detached fascination with human objects._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_wonderful_visit_se/chapters/x-at-the-vicarage
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_wonderful_visit_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_wonderful_visit_se/chapters