The Wyvern Mystery · Chapter
VI: The Old Squire Unlike Himself explained
In this chapter, the old Squire Fairfield behaves uncharacteristically, hinting at a proposal to Alice Maybell.
What happens
In this chapter, the old Squire Fairfield behaves uncharacteristically, hinting at a proposal to Alice Maybell. After a tense evening in the drawing-room, he makes his intentions clear, offering her wealth and position in exchange for marriage. Alice, frightened and confused, escapes to her room, while the Squire remains in a strange, jovial mood.
Themes in this chapter
Power and Patriarchy
The Squire's proposal and his control over Alice's movements illustrate the patriarchal power structures of the time.
Isolation and Entrapment
Alice is physically isolated by the locked door and emotionally trapped by the Squire's unwanted advances.
Love and Marriage
The Squire's proposal is transactional, offering wealth and security in exchange for marriage, devoid of genuine affection.
Characters to notice
- Old Squire Fairfield
Acts uncharacteristically, hinting at and then proposing marriage to Alice Maybell, showing a mix of despotism and vulnerability.
- Alice Maybell
Frightened and confused by the Squire's unexpected proposal, she escapes to her room.
- Dulcibella Crane
Alice calls for her old servant Dulcibella for comfort after fleeing the Squire.
- Tom Ward
Brings the Squire his nightcap and observes his unusual behavior with suspicion.
Key passages
“My wife was a tartar, and she was always telling me I'd marry again before she was cold in her grave, and I made answer, 'I've had enough of that market, I thank you; one wife in a life is one too many.'”
The Squire recalls his late wife as a difficult woman who predicted he would remarry, but he insists one marriage was enough.
Reveals the Squire's past marital dissatisfaction and his current contradictory intentions.
“You'd feel strange in another place—ye would, and a younger fellow would not be a tithe so kind as me—and I like ye well, chick-a-biddy, chick-a-biddy—ye'll be my little queen, and I'll keep ye brave satins and ribbons, and laces, and lawn; and I'll gi'e ye the jewellery—d'ye hear?—necklaces, and earrings, and bodkins, and all the rest, for your own, mind; for the Captain nor Jack shall never hang them on wife o' theirs, mind ye—and ye'll be the grandest lady has ever bin in Wyvern this hundred years—and ye'll have nothing to do but sit all day in the window, or ride in the coach, and order your maids about; and I'll leave you every acre and stick and stone, and silver spoon, that's in or round about Wyvern—for you're a good lass, and I'll make a woman of you; and I'd like to break them young rascals' necks—they never deserved a shilling o' mine; so gi'e's your hand, lass, and the bargain's made.”
The Squire offers Alice a life of luxury and inheritance if she agrees to marry him, disinheriting his sons in the process.
Highlights the transactional nature of the proposal and the Squire's desire to control his legacy.