# Waverley explained — Waverley

> Chapter companion for Waverley by Walter Scott.

## What happens

The opening chapter of 'Waverley' introduces the eponymous hero, Edward Waverley, a young man of romantic temperament and desultory education, caught between the influences of his Jacobite uncle Sir Everard and his Hanoverian father Richard. The narrative establishes the historical backdrop of 1745 and sets the stage for Waverley's journey into the Scottish Highlands, where he will encounter conflicting loyalties and the allure of a vanishing world.

## Themes in this chapter

### Education and Self-Development

Edward's desultory education and romantic reading habits leave him ill-equipped for practical life, highlighting the theme of self-development through experience.

### Identity and Belonging

Edward is torn between the Jacobite loyalties of his uncle and the Hanoverian allegiance of his father, foreshadowing his struggle to define his own identity.

## Character check-ins

### Edward Waverley

Introduced as the protagonist, a romantic and impressionable young man whose education and upbringing have left him ill-prepared for the realities of the world.

### Sir Everard Waverley

Edward's uncle, a Jacobite sympathizer whose influence and stories of chivalry shape Edward's romantic ideals.

### Richard Waverley

Edward's father, a pragmatic Hanoverian politician whose ambitions contrast with his brother's Jacobite leanings.

### Aunt Rachel

Sir Everard's sister, a gentle and affectionate presence in Edward's early life.

### Mr. Pembroke

Edward's tutor, a learned but impractical clergyman who contributes to Edward's desultory education.

## Key lines

> Waverley Or, ’Tis Sixty Years Since Part I

The novel is set sixty years before its publication, looking back at the Jacobite rising of 1745.

_The subtitle establishes the historical distance and the novel's retrospective perspective._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/waverley_se/chapters/waverley
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/waverley_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/waverley_se/chapters