Uncle Silas · Chapter
X: Lady Knollys Removes a Coverlet explained
Lady Knollys visits Knowl and criticizes Maud's dress, then insists on meeting Madame de la Rougierre, who feigns illness to avoid her.
What happens
Lady Knollys visits Knowl and criticizes Maud's dress, then insists on meeting Madame de la Rougierre, who feigns illness to avoid her. Lady Knollys, suspicious, goes to Madame's room with Maud and attempts to uncover her, but Madame hides under the coverlet.
Themes in this chapter
Deception and Appearance
Madame feigns illness to avoid Lady Knollys, while Lady Knollys sees through her act, highlighting the theme of deception versus reality.
Gender and Power
Lady Knollys asserts authority over the household, challenging Madame's control, while Maud feels powerless about her appearance and future.
Characters to notice
- Lady Knollys
Visits Knowl, criticizes Maud's appearance, and insists on seeing Madame de la Rougierre despite her feigned illness.
- Maud Ruthyn
Feels embarrassed by her dress and tries to mediate between Lady Knollys and Madame.
- Madame de la Rougierre
Pretends to be ill to avoid meeting Lady Knollys, but is eventually confronted.
- Austin Ruthyn
Appears briefly, tolerating Lady Knollys' teasing about remarriage.
- Mrs. Rusk
Mentioned as the housekeeper who reports Madame's good appetite and warns Maud about stepmothers.
- Mary Quince
Mentioned as one who, along with Mrs. Rusk, warns Maud about the dangers of a stepmother.
Key passages
“Finishing fiddle! Hoity-toity! and my lady's too grand to cut out your dresses and help to sew them? And what does she do? I venture to say she's fit to teach nothing but devilment—not that she has taught you much, my dear— yet at least.”
Lady Knollys dismisses Madame's role as a finishing governess, suggesting she is useless and possibly harmful.
Reflects Lady Knollys' skepticism and the theme of deception.
“Simple as I was, I felt instinctively that Madame was shamming. She was overacting; her transitions were too violent, and beside she forgot that I knew how well she could speak English, and must perceive that she was heightening the interest of her helplessness by that pretty tessellation of foreign idiom.”
Maud realizes Madame is pretending to be ill, noting her exaggerated behavior and use of French to seem more helpless.
Highlights Maud's growing awareness and the theme of appearance versus reality.