Vile Bodies · Chapter
VI explained
At Lady Metroland's party, the Angels (Mrs.
What happens
At Lady Metroland's party, the Angels (Mrs. Ape's choir) wait nervously in the schoolroom, bickering among themselves and pinching Chastity for riding with Mrs. Panrast. Guests arrive, including Lady Circumference and the Bright Young People. Mrs. Ape delivers a stirring oration on Hope, causing self-doubt in the audience until Lady Circumference snorts 'What a damned impudent woman,' breaking the spell. Meanwhile, Father Rothschild, Mr. Outrage, and Lord Metroland conspire in the study, suspicious of a bearded man who bows to empty spaces. Adam and Nina sit together, bored, while gossip circulates about Nina's changed appearance and Edward Throbbing's return.
Themes in this chapter
Hypocrisy and Moral Vacuity
The Angels' petty squabbling and pinching contrast with their religious roles, while Mrs. Ape's oration manipulates guilt for spectacle.
Class and Snobbery
Lady Circumference's disdain for Mrs. Ape ('What a damned impudent woman') and the servants' debate over the Angels' status highlight class divisions.
Media and Celebrity Culture
Lord Vanburgh slips out to telephone 'racy paragraphs about fashionable piety,' and Lord Monomark's papers are mentioned as sources of gossip.
Characters to notice
- Chastity
Pinched and third-degreed by the other Angels for riding with Mrs. Panrast; she loses her air of superiority.
- Mrs. Melrose Ape
Delivers a powerful oration about Hope, captivating the audience until Lady Circumference interrupts.
- Lady Circumference
Arrives in goloshes and diamonds; snorts 'What a damned impudent woman,' breaking Mrs. Ape's spell.
- Adam Fenwick-Symes
Sits next to Nina at the party, feeling bored.
- Nina Blount
Sits with Adam, expresses boredom; Lady Throbbing notes she looks 'a little changed.'
- Father Rothschild S.J.
Conspires with Mr. Outrage and Lord Metroland in the study, suspicious of a bearded man bowing to empty places.
Key passages
“What a damned impudent woman”
Lady Circumference loudly condemns Mrs. Ape as an insolent woman.
This exclamation breaks the hypnotic effect of Mrs. Ape's oration and signals the failure of the performance among the aristocratic guests.
“She's got 'em again”
Creative Endeavour observes that Mrs. Ape has once again captivated the audience.
Reflects the Angels' awareness of Mrs. Ape's manipulative power over the crowd.