# IV: The Old Squire and Alice Maybell explained — The Wyvern Mystery

> Chapter companion for The Wyvern Mystery by J. Sheridan Le Fanu.

## What happens

This chapter introduces Wyvern, the ancestral home of the Fairfield family, and its aging, grim master, Old Squire Henry Fairfield. It describes his two disappointing sons, Charles and Henry, and his bitter, isolated old age. The narrative then recounts the story of Alice Maybell, an orphaned child of the late vicar, whom the Squire reluctantly took into his home after a moment of unexpected tenderness, and who has lived at Wyvern for twenty years.

## Themes in this chapter

### Power and Patriarchy

The Old Squire's absolute authority over his family, tenants, and the vicarage, and his harsh, unyielding rule.

### Mortality and Aging

The Squire's bitter awareness of his own decline and approaching death, and his resentment of the natural order.

### Love and Marriage

The tender, idealized love story of the late Vicar and his wife, contrasted with the Squire's loveless existence.

### Family and Dysfunction

The strained, fearful relationship between the Squire and his two disappointing sons, and the lack of genuine affection.

## Character check-ins

### Old Squire Harry

The aging, grim, and austere master of Wyvern, who resents his mortality and rules with a harsh hand.

### Alice Maybell

The orphaned daughter of the late vicar, taken in by the Squire as a child and now a young woman living at Wyvern.

### Charles Fairfield

The elder son, aged forty-three, who has led a wandering life and has a history of gambling and expensive follies.

### Harry Fairfield

The younger son, a shrewd horse dealer who enjoys low company and strong ale.

### Dulcibella Crane

The old nurse who cared for Alice as a baby and accompanied her to Wyvern.

### Thomas Rooke

The Squire's servant, who is sent to evict the vicar's family and later accompanies the Squire to the vicarage.

## Key lines

> The old squire, Henry Fairfield, has seen his summer and his autumn days out. It is winter with him now.

The Squire is in the final, bleak stage of his life, having passed his prime.

_Metaphor for the Squire's old age and approaching death._

> The child'll be better at home wi' me, up at Wyvern, and I'll send down for it and you in the afternoon, till—something's settled.

The Squire decides to take the orphaned Alice and her nurse into his own home at Wyvern.

_The Squire's unexpected decision to care for the vicar's child._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_wyvern_mystery_se/chapters/iv-the-old-squire-and-alice-maybell
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_wyvern_mystery_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_wyvern_mystery_se/chapters