The Wyvern Mystery · Chapter
Tom Is Ordered Up explained
Mrs.
What happens
Mrs. Tarnley wakes Tom from his sleep and instructs him to go out and meet the master (Charles Fairfield) on Cressley Common. She warns him that the big woman from Hoxton, who has been causing trouble for Master Harry, has arrived at the Grange and is in the bedroom over the hall door. Tom is to relay this message to Charles and guide him to enter through the kitchen door if he decides to come. Meanwhile, Mrs. Tarnley visits the mysterious woman, who is eating greedily and displays jealousy and bitterness, hinting at a past connection with Charles and a long-standing grievance.
Themes in this chapter
Secrecy and Deception
Mrs. Tarnley orchestrates a secret plan to intercept Charles and hide the presence of the mysterious woman, emphasizing covert actions and hidden motives.
Isolation and Entrapment
The mysterious woman is confined to a bedroom, feeling persecuted and trapped by her circumstances, while the Grange itself feels like a place of hidden tensions.
Power and Patriarchy
Mrs. Tarnley asserts her authority over Tom and the household, while the mysterious woman's jealousy and sense of property reflect struggles over control and dominance.
Characters to notice
- Mildred Tarnley
Mrs. Tarnley wakes Tom and gives him urgent instructions to meet Charles Fairfield; she then visits the mysterious woman, engaging in tense conversation.
- Tom Tarnley
Tom is roused from sleep and receives Mrs. Tarnley's message about the mysterious woman; he repeats it back and prepares to go out.
- Mysterious Woman
The woman from Hoxton is in the bedroom over the hall door; she eats greedily, displays jealousy, and speaks of past grievances and her lost sight.
- Charles Fairfield
Referred to as 'the master' who is expected to arrive across Cressley Common; Tom is sent to meet him with a message.
Key passages
“Ye must get on your things, Tom, and if ever you stirred yourself, be alive now. The master’s a-comin’, and may be here, across Cressley Common in half an hour, or might be in five minutes, and ye must go out a bit and meet him”
Mrs. Tarnley urgently tells Tom to dress quickly and go out to meet the master, who is expected to arrive across Cressley Common within minutes.
Highlights the urgency and secrecy of the mission to intercept Charles.
“That Master Harry has all the trouble wi’, has come here, angry, in search of Master Harry, mind, and is in the bedroom over the hall-door.”
Mrs. Tarnley informs Tom that the woman causing trouble for Master Harry has arrived and is now in the bedroom above the hall door.
Reveals the identity and location of the mysterious woman.
“But she was stung with a furious pang of jealousy, for that needs no love, being in its essence the sense of property invaded, supremacy insulted, and self despised.”
The mysterious woman feels intense jealousy, which stems not from love but from a sense of ownership, insulted pride, and self-loathing.
Explains the nature of the woman's jealousy as rooted in egotism rather than affection.