Zuleika Dobson · Chapter
VI explained
The Duke, after hearing from two undergraduates that Zuleika seemed consumed by an inward rapture, coldly dismisses them.
What happens
The Duke, after hearing from two undergraduates that Zuleika seemed consumed by an inward rapture, coldly dismisses them. He reflects on his hopeless love and considers suicide as a noble escape, but when Zuleika appears at her window, he is overcome with a passionate desire to die for her. He rushes toward her, mistaking her for his 'awful bride,' but she rebuffs him. They proceed to the races, but even a bulldog named Corker growls at Zuleika. The chapter then digresses into the history of Judas College, its founder's choice of name, and its royalist past.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Obsession
The Duke's all-consuming love for Zuleika drives him to contemplate suicide and to rush toward her in a frenzy, illustrating the destructive power of obsessive love.
Death and Sacrifice
The Duke romanticizes death as a 'fiery rapture' and a 'true bridal,' viewing it as a noble escape from unrequited love.
Fate and Irony
The Duke's attempt to flee his love is futile; he is 'stranded forever' on the isle of the enchantress. The bulldog's instinctive rejection of Zuleika also carries ironic weight.
Characters to notice
- Duke of Dorset
The Duke is tormented by his love for Zuleika, contemplates suicide, and rushes toward her in a passionate frenzy, only to be rebuffed.
- Zuleika Dobson
Zuleika appears at her window, later descends in white, and is angered by the Duke's impulsive advance, though she agrees to accompany him to the races.
- The Warden
Mentioned in the historical account of James II's visit to Judas College, where the Warden's house is the setting for the King's address.
- Christopher Whitrid
The founder of Judas College, whose choice of name and statutes are described in the chapter's historical digression.
- Sir Harry Esson
Mentioned as the leader of a Jacobite recruiting mission who brought recruits to Judas College under cover of night.
Key passages
“To love and be scorned—does Fate hold for us a greater inconvenience?”
The Duke asks if there is any greater misfortune than loving someone who scorns you.
The Duke expresses his despair over Zuleika's rejection.
“Death was incomparably the greater, the finer soul. Death was the one true bridal.”
The Duke elevates death above marriage, seeing it as a more noble and passionate union.
The Duke's romanticization of suicide as a consummation of his love.
“The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.”
People remember the bad deeds of others long after their good deeds are forgotten.
The narrator introduces the theme of historical memory, contrasting sinners and saints.