# XXXIX: The Trouble of the Barbed Wire (Continued) explained — The Wonderful Visit

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

## What happens

The Vicar struggles to reconcile the Angel's existence with worldly realities, fearing Sir John Gotch's reaction. The Angel, increasingly depressed by rejection and pain, plays a sorrowful violin melody that introduces a new note of human suffering, heard by an unknown listener.

## Themes in this chapter

### Innocence vs. Experience

The Angel's unworldliness clashes with the Vicar's worldly concerns, and the Angel begins to experience pain, rejection, and revolt.

### The Universality of Suffering

The Angel feels 'the iron of the world' entering his soul, and his violin melody now carries a note of human sorrow and effort.

## Character check-ins

### The Angel

Feels depressed and puzzled by the world's hostility; plays a violin melody expressing human sorrow and defiance.

### The Vicar

Torn between the Angelic and earthly worlds; worries about Sir John Gotch's reaction and the social collapse.

### Sir John Gotch

Mentioned as a disagreeable moral influence whom the Vicar must consult about the barbed wire trouble.

## Key lines

> It’s the two worlds. If your Angelic world were only a dream, or if this world were only a dream⁠—or if I could believe either or both dreams, it would be all right with me.

The Vicar is torn between the angelic and earthly realms, unable to fully commit to either.

_Highlights the Vicar's internal conflict and the theme of innocence vs. experience._

> The iron of the world was entering into his soul.

The Angel is beginning to feel the harshness and pain of human existence.

_Illustrates the Angel's loss of innocence and encounter with suffering._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_wonderful_visit_se/chapters/xxxix-the-trouble-of-the-barbed-wire-continued
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_wonderful_visit_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_wonderful_visit_se/chapters