XXXII: Uncle Silas explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Gothic Atmosphere and Fear

  Silas is depicted as a spectral, necromantic figure with a 'fearful monumental look,' creating a pervasive sense of dread and mystery.

• Deception and Appearance

  Silas's polished, gentle manners contrast with his cold treatment of Milly and his unsettling interrogation about Maud's father's death, suggesting hidden motives.

• Family and Heredity

  Maud reflects on the contrast between Silas's refinement and Milly's coarseness, questioning heredity versus upbringing; Silas inquires about family predisposition to disease.

Characters to notice

• Maud Ruthyn

  Narrator; meets Uncle Silas for the first time, feels awe and fear, observes his appearance and behavior closely.

• Uncle Silas

  Described as marble-faced, silver-haired, with fiery eyes; speaks with elegant precision, shows coldness toward Milly, questions Maud about her father's death.

• Milly Ruthyn

  Silas's daughter; portrayed as rustic, uneducated, and afraid of her father; falls asleep during the visit and fears his reprimands.

• Mary Quince

  Maud's maid; found dozing by the fire when Maud and Milly return from meeting Silas.

• L'Amour

  Old crone who lights the way and knocks at Silas's door; described with rheumatic knuckles.

Key passages

• “A face like marble, with a fearful monumental look, and, for an old man, singularly vivid strange eyes, the singularity of which rather grew upon me as I looked; for his eyebrows were still black, though his hair descended from his temples in long locks of the purest silver and fine as silk, nearly to his shoulders.”

  His face was pale and statue-like, with an eerie, striking expression; his eyes were unusually bright for his age, and his black eyebrows contrasted with long, silvery hair that fell to his shoulders.

  Maud's first vivid impression of Uncle Silas's appearance.

• “He extended his thin, white hand with a chilly smile towards Milly, who bounced up, and took it with a frightened look; and he repeated, holding her hand rather slightly I thought, 'Yes, I hope, very cordially,' and then turning again to me, he put it over the arm of his chair, and let it go, as a man might drop something he did not want from a carriage window.”

  He offered his hand to Milly with a cold smile; she took it nervously. He held it briefly, then let it fall carelessly, as if discarding something unwanted.

  Illustrates Silas's dismissive and cold attitude toward his daughter.

• “When I lay down in my bed and reviewed the day, it seemed like a month of wonders. Uncle Silas was always before me; the voice so silvery for an old man—so preternaturally soft; the manners so sweet, so gentle; the aspect, smiling, suffering, spectral. It was no longer a shadow; I had now seen him in the flesh. But, after all, was he more than a shadow to me?”

  Reflecting in bed, Maud feels the day was packed with strange events. She cannot stop thinking about Uncle Silas—his soft voice, gentle manners, and ghostly appearance. Though she has met him in person, he still seems like an enigma, more shadow than reality.

  Maud's contemplative closing thoughts on the mystery of Uncle Silas.