Toilers of the Sea · Chapter
IV explained
Four years have passed, and Déruchette remains unmarried.
What happens
Four years have passed, and Déruchette remains unmarried. Gilliatt, deeply in love with her, has never spoken to her but continues to serenade her with his bagpipe. Mess Lethierry, irritated by this, suspects Gilliatt's intentions and disapproves of any romantic interference. Meanwhile, it is announced that the Reverend Jaquemin Hérode will be replaced as rector by the young and poor but learned Monsieur Ebenezer Caudray, who is heir to a wealthy dean and holds progressive views on marriage and parental authority.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Sacrifice
Gilliatt's silent, enduring love for Déruchette, expressed through nightly serenades, exemplifies unrequited devotion and personal sacrifice.
Social Class and Reputation
Mess Lethierry's disapproval of Gilliatt's romantic gestures and his desire to control Déruchette's marriage reflect concerns over social standing and propriety.
Characters to notice
- Gilliatt
Has been secretly in love with Déruchette for four years, serenading her with his bagpipe, but has never spoken to her.
- Déruchette
Approaching her twenty-first year, still unmarried, and may have smiled at Gilliatt once.
- Mess Lethierry
Irritated by the nocturnal serenader, suspects Gilliatt, and plans to arrange Déruchette's marriage himself without romance.
- Reverend Jaquemin Hérode
Appointed surrogate of the Bishop of Winchester and dean of the island, about to leave St. Sampson.
- Rev. Mr. Caudray
The new rector, young and poor but learned, nephew and heir of the dean of St. Asaph, with progressive views on marriage.
Key passages
“A serenade by night may please a lady fair, the troubadour beware.”
A nighttime serenade might delight a beautiful woman, but the musician should be cautious.
Opening epigraph warning of the risks of romantic serenades.
“Some writer has said that a fixed idea is a sort of gimlet; every year gives it another turn.”
A persistent thought is like a drill; each year it bores deeper.
Metaphor for Gilliatt's growing obsession over four years.
“He passed his fingers through his beard—a sign of anger—and grumbled out, 'What has that fellow got to pipe about? He is in love with Déruchette, that is clear. You waste your time, young man. Anyone who wants Déruchette must come to me, and not loiter about playing the flute.'”
Mess Lethierry angrily stroked his beard and muttered that the piper was clearly in love with Déruchette, but that any suitor must approach him directly rather than serenading.
Lethierry's irritation and possessive attitude toward Déruchette's marriage.
“In the dialect specially invented for the subject of riches and inheritances, death goes by the name of 'expectations.'”
In the language of wealth and inheritance, death is euphemistically called 'expectations.'
Irony about how inheritances depend on someone's death.