The character of Gulliver Gulliver is the protagonist, the figure around whom the action

revolves in the novel. He is not only the main character but also a clever device used by
Swift for various purposes. Gulliver is the polite and well-mannered gentleman who
innocently and impartially narrates all that he sees and experiences. So the reader accepts his
point of Jonathan Swift : Gulliver's Travels / 5 view unquestioningly, and this becomes the
cause of most of the confusion, particularly because Gulliver's shortcomings always involve
him in absurdities. Swift often makes Gulliver give a superficial view of things, like the
political games in the Lilliputian court. He often uses Gulliver to criticize or to make a moral
judgement, while claiming that he writes without passion or prejudice. The fact is that
Gulliver is a good observer incapable of seeing what matters most, and is literalminded,
totally unimaginative and humourless. This is why Gulliver at once sees everything and sees
nothing. He sees only two extremes, and so is prone to easy judgements and false moral
conclusions.

Book I The beginning of the first book presents Gulliver as a fictional character with his
family background, education and marriage. Gulliver's escape to an island where men are
only six inches high suggests a realistic account of a real voyage and the symbolic
significance of the voyage is also obvious. The physical size of the people in Lilliput is the
measure of their intellectual and moral size. Thus, Swift symbolically shows the smallness of
man. Lilliput is England and Blefuscu is France. The dispute between Lilliput and Blefuscu
represents the dispute between England and France. This chapter contains veiled references
to contemporary events and figures of the time as well as the smallness and pettiness of man.
Gulliver's voyage to Lilliput is full of topical allusions to contemporary England. But they
are transmuted into the symbolic and allegorical caricature of the institutions of mankind and
provide a mirror to man all his smallness, pettiness and hypocrisy

Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary

Mr. Lemuel Gulliver, the narrator of Gulliver’s Travels, describes his career, education, and
family. Gulliver is a surgeon in London. He has always wanted to travel, however, and
becomes a surgeon traveling aboard different merchant ships. During this time, he reads
extensively and learns many new languages. Gulliver grows tired of sea travel. He takes a
job on the Antelope, anticipating it will be his final voyage. But a violent storm causes the
Antelope to crash into a rock. As the sole survivor of the wreck, Gulliver swims to safety,
landing on the island of Lilliput and falls asleep. When he wakes, his body has been tethered
to the beach by the island's six-inch-tall residents, the Lilliputians. The Lilliputians climb on
Gulliver and shoot tiny arrows at him. Gulliver could escape, but he is impressed by his
captors' bravery and remains still. The Lilliputians bring Gulliver a meal, including a
drugged drink that puts him to sleep, and transport his body on an "engine" (a giant cart) to
meet the emperor. Gulliver is chained to an abandoned temple, which is the only building
large enough to hold him.

Part 1, Chapter 2 Summary

On his first morning in the temple, Gulliver wakes up in chains, stands up, and admires the
countryside. He relieves himself inside the building but feels guilty for doing so. He resolves
to make his morning duties outside, away from the temple, so servants can carry away his
waste. The emperor arrives at the temple on horseback and speaks, but Gulliver cannot
understand him. The emperor leaves, placing Gulliver under the watch of his guards, some of
whom attack Gulliver. As punishment, they are given to Gulliver. He pretends to eat one
soldier to scare the men, but he does not hurt them and gently releases them. Gulliver's
mercy impresses the emperor's court. He agrees to give Gulliver meals, servants, and a tutor
to teach him the Lilliputian language. Gulliver learns quickly and asks to be free. The
emperor refuses Gulliver's freedom but favors giving Gulliver accommodations. Gulliver
cooperates with the emperor's order to search Gulliver for weapons. The emperor does not
recognize Gulliver's pistol, so Gulliver demonstrates its function by firing into the air. Two
officers make a detailed inventory of Gulliver's pockets. They allow Gulliver to keep most of
his things, but he surrenders a knife, a razor, and the pistol.

Chapter 3

The Lilliputians begin to like and trust Gulliver. The emperor entertains Gulliver by showing
him the rope-dancers, commoners who seek government jobs. They must dance on a rope 12
inches above the ground. Whoever jumps highest while performing wins the job. From time
to time, current government officials must rope dance to show that they have not become
complacent in their positions. The emperor shows Gulliver another game in which he holds
out a stick and government candidates either leap over or crawl under it. The top three 11
candidates who jump and crawl the longest are given special silks to wear around their
waists. Gulliver creates a new way to entertain the emperor. He builds a platform out of his
handkerchief and sticks. The emperor's troops train and perform mock battles on the
platform until a horse rips a hole through the handkerchief and gets hurt. Gulliver decides the
game might be too dangerous for the Lilliputians. The Lilliputians find a giant black object
on shore. Gulliver realizes the object is his hat, and it is returned to him in good shape. Two
days later, the emperor asks Gulliver to wear the hat and stand like a giant statue so that the
Lilliputian army can march beneath him. Gulliver is granted his freedom, but he has to
follow certain conditions, including the following: he is forbidden to leave the island without
permission; he must be an ally to the Lilliputians in wars; and he must help with construction
projects.

Part 1, Chapter 4 Summary

Gulliver visits the Lilliputian capital city of Mildendo and the emperor's palace. He is later
visited by Reldresal, an official in the Lilliputian government. Reldresal tells Gulliver about
the religious and political division that has plagued Lilliput for years, which stems from a
disagreement over the correct way to break an egg. According to a Lilliputian philosopher,
"all true believers break their eggs at the convenient end." Tradition dictates that eggs are to
be cracked on their bigger ends. But a Lilliputian emperor passed a law stating eggs could be
cracked only on their smaller ends. This outraged "Big-endians" in Lilliput. Some rebelled
and were executed. Others fled to the kingdom of Blefuscu, which led to a series of wars
between Blefuscu and Lilliput. Gulliver learns that rebel Big-endians remain in Lilliput and
another war is brewing. He agrees to help defend Lilliput against its enemies.

Part 1, Chapter 5 Summary Gulliver honors his promise to defend Lilliput from a
Blefuscu attack. He collects the entire Blefuscu naval fleet and brings it back to Lilliput. The
emperor is pleased, and gives Gulliver the title of nardac, the highest honor in the kingdom.
The emperor makes an ambitious plan to destroy Blefuscu, overtake its government, and
execute any Big-endians. Gulliver disagrees with the emperor, however, as he thinks it is
wrong to force people into slavery. This upsets the emperor and other officials in the
government, so Gulliver falls out 14 of favor with the emperor. Three weeks later Lilliput
makes a peace treaty with Blefuscu. Gulliver asks the emperor for permission to visit
Blefuscu in the future. The emperor agrees but remains cold toward Gulliver. A fire breaks
out in the empress's apartment. Gulliver extinguishes the fire by relieving himself on the
building. This disgusts the empress, as public urination is illegal in Lilliput. She vows
revenge on Gulliver.

Part 1, Chapter 6 Summary In Lilliput, everything exists in proportion to the Lilliputians,

including their eyesight. Lilliputians are clearly able to see objects that are close but cannot
see far away. Their writing system consists of words moving on a diagonal from corner to
corner of the page, rather than left to right or up and down. Gulliver notes that this is like
"ladies in England." In the Lilliputian legal system, those found guilty of crimes are punished
severely. Fraud and treason are the worst crimes one can commit. Lilliputians are also
rewarded for law-abiding behavior. Government officials are chosen based on their morals,
not abilities. Individuals who do not believe in Divine Providence—the Lilliputian idea of
god—cannot hold office. Parents in Lilliput do not rear their own children but send them to
what they call public nurseries. These nurseries are schools divided by class and by gender.
Parents are allowed to visit children at school twice a year, but they are not allowed to give
gifts or show affection during these visits. Middle-class children are taught trades, and the
lowest classes do not attend school at all. Girls are educated but are also prepared to become
"reasonable and agreeable" wives. Gulliver is invited to have dinner with the emperor.
Flimnap, the royal treasurer, also attends the dinner. Flimnap dislikes Gulliver and complains
that feeding and housing Gulliver is bankrupting the kingdom. Flimnap also accuses Gulliver
of having a secret affair with his wife. Gulliver denies these accusations.

Part 1, Chapter 7 Summary A government official tells Gulliver that members of the
council, including Flimnap, have charged Gulliver with treason. The charges include public
urination, refusing to destroy Blefuscu, and aiding the emperor of Blefuscu. The official says
that Flimnap and other leaders want Gulliver to be executed for his crimes, but Reldresal,
Gulliver's friend, has convinced the officials to impose a more lenient sentence: Gulliver is to
be blinded and slowly starved to death, after which his skeleton will remain as a monument.
Gulliver learns his sentence will be carried out in three days. He leaves Lilliput for Blefuscu,
where its people welcome him.

Part 1, Chapter 8 Summary After three days on Blefuscu, Gulliver spies an overturned
boat at sea. With the help of Blefuscu's navy, he retrieves the ship and brings it to shore for
repairs. Meanwhile, Gulliver receives orders to return to Lilliput for his punishment. The
emperor of Blefuscu wants him to stay and help defend against a Lilliputian attack, but
Gulliver decides to leave for home. Both Lilliput and Blefuscu find Gulliver's leaving an
agreeable solution to their problems. He takes with him food, drink, and some tiny animals
from Blefuscu. After two days at sea, he is picked up by a British vessel and returns to his
family in England

Themes

Abuse of Power Gulliver encounters a number of monarchs and leaders, from tiny to giant,
from practical to esoteric, and they all take advantage of their superior position in some way.
They either demand absolute obedience from their subjects through humiliating rituals, as is
the case with the king of Luggnagg who makes his subjects lick the floor, or they exhibit
extreme incompetence, as is the case with the Lilliputian king who engages in an ill-
conceived war with his neighbors. Even Houyhnhnms, whom Gulliver idealizes, exploit the
lesser species of their island, the Yahoos, through extreme prejudice.

Cerebral versus Real World The cultures Gulliver encounters in his travels either take
practicality to an extreme, rendering their practicality impractical, or focus on abstract ideas
and pure reason in ways that make life difficult, for their own people or for others. For
example, the Laputans are the most scientifically and mathematically advanced culture
Gulliver encounters, yet they are unable to craft a decent suit of clothes, and their knowledge
of the universe causes them tremendous anxiety. Likewise, the Houyhnhnms' focus on pure
reason as the governing principle of their society causes them to miss out on some of the
emotional experiences, love in particular, that give life meaning.

Society versus Individual All of the cultures in the countries Gulliver visits demand a
certain level of conformity from their citizens, whether that means following the rules set up
in the royal courts or adhering to broader social conventions. These rules often create
problems for people who break them, or for those who want to break the conventions but feel
pressure that prevents them from doing so. For example, Gulliver faces censure and an
eventual death sentence in Lilliput because he breaks the rules of court by behaving
sympathetically toward the enemy country's ambassadors. Although the Houyhnhnms do not
have a royal hierarchy, the master's family faces pressure from friends and neighbors to exile
Gulliver for being a Yahoo. Perspective Nothing in the world of Gulliver's Travels is purely
objective, not even the size and shape of human beings. These differences in perspective are
made literal in the appearance of the Lilliputians and the Brobdingnagians, but each land
Gulliver visits reveals a society firmly enmeshed in its own point of view with little interest
in exploring alternatives. The Laputans see the universe only through the perspective of
mathematical probability; the Houyhnhnms limit their perspectives to cold reason, never
emotion. All reality is filtered through the lens of each specific society, rendering all
understanding of the world—even Gulliver's—totally subjective.

Motifs: Bodies Variations in physical form are used to illustrate larger differences in
cultural philosophy between the different nations Gulliver visits. Bodily functions and
sickness, and how different cultures deal with these issues, also provide a telling glimpse at
their ways of thinking.

Language Gulliver has a great facility with languages, which serves him well as he visits
new lands. The language barrier allows Gulliver and his hosts to discover one another more
slowly and drives conflict, but the learning of languages also bridges the divides between
cultures. Reversal Reversals of the normal order of things drive the changes in perspective
that allow Gulliver to learn from his travel experiences and experience growth. Reversals are
driven by differences in physical size, as in the lands of Lilliput and Brobdingnag, and by
intellectual differences, as seen in Laputa and Balnibarbi. Gulliver's time with the
Houyhnhnm reverses the established order between man (Yahoo) and horse (Houyhnhnm).

A Brief Summary of the Pride and Prejudice: The story of the Pride and Prejudice
revolves round a middle class family of The Bennets – Mr. Bennet the husband, Mrs. Bennet
the wife and their marriageable daughters – Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Catherine an Lydia. The
Bennets live in a village of Longburn in Hertfordshire. As Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Bennet have
no son his estate is entailed [on his death] to his cousin Mr. 2 Collins a foolish pompous
rector of Hunsford who is under the patronage of Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Thus with little
fortune to push her daughters in the world, Mrs. Bennet is always looking forward eagerly
for prospective sons-in-law with a large fortune and who are ready to marry her daughters
with little means.

One day Charles Bingley a rich bachelor with a fortune of 4 thousand a year comes to settle
in Netherfield Park near Longbourn along with his two sisters and his rich friend Fitzwilliam
Darcy of Pemberly, nephew of Lady Catherine. Mrs Bennet is all eagerness to meet him an
hopes that he would fall in love with Jane. Soon, she and her daughters meet Bingley at a
ball. While Bingley is at once attracted to Jane, Mr. Darcy who is somewhat vain and
highbrow curtly refuses to dance with Elizabeth saying that she is not beautiful enough to
tempt him. Soon, Bingley and Jane are in love. But sisters of Bingley and even Darch feel
that the possible marriage between Bingley and Jane is not suitable due to her Cheapside
relatives as well as due to improprieties shown by Mrs Bennet and her younger daughters.
Caroline Bingley, Bingley’s sister, hopes by this and if Bingley marries Darcy’s sister, it
would brighten her prospects of marrying Darcy.

Darcy’s proud behavior and also Wickham’s [ a handsome young officer and son of Darcy’s
father’s steward] account of Darcy’s ungentlemanly behavoiur towards him make Elizabeth
not like Darcy as Darcy himself is gradually attracted towards her. Meanwhile the foolish
Mr. Collins proposes to Elizabeth and is rejected. He promptly turns his attention to
Charlotte Lucas, the eldest daughter of the Lucases, who live near Longbourn. Charlotte
marries Collins. Being invited by Charlotte, Elizabeth goes to live with her for a few weeks.
There she meets Mr. Darcy once again who is visiting his aunt Lady Catherine. Now
strongly attracted to her, in spite of himself, Darcy proposes to her. But Elizabeth who has
already learnt from Colonel Fitzwilliam, Darcy’s cousin about his role in separating Jane and
Bingley and also from the 3 accounts of Wickham rejects him outrightly and gives him
reasons for it. Extremely hurt by the rejection Darcy writes a letter to her answering to the
charges she has leveled against him. He accepts his role in separating Bingley and Jane and
says he has been forced to do so due to the improprieties shown by her family.

As for Wickham he tells her of his diabolic nature and how he tried to elope with Darcy’s
sister Georgiana for her money. Elizabeth returns to Longbourn to go on a trip with Mr. and
Mrs.Gardiner, her uncle and aunt. She visits Pemberly, Darcy’s place in Derbyshire. There
they are all cordially welcomed by Darcy and his sister. Elizabeth is much surprised by the
change that has come over in Darcy’s manners. Meanwhile Elizabeth gets the news that her
youngest sister Lydia is eloped with Wickham and they could not be traced and also that
with no money there is little chance of Wickham marrying Lydia. Darcy takes upon himself
the task of tracing Lydia and Wickham an sees to it that their marriage is brought about.
Bingley comes back to Nether field Park and his attachment to Jane is renewed and he gets
engaged to her. Darcy too proposes to Elizabeth which she accepts even though Lady
Catherine tries her best to stop it. The novel ends with the double marriage – Bingley
marrying Jane and Darcy marrying Elizabeth.

Character of Elizabeth Bennet: One of the most well known female characters in English
Literature, Elizabeth Bennet is the protagonist of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The
novel revolves round Elizabeth and her initial hatred of Darcy and how it changes into
respect and love for him. The second daughter of Mr and Mrs Bennet, she is her father’s
most favourite and mother’s least favourite. She is lovely and beautiful. But her
attractiveness does not depend merely on her physical charms but on extraordinary liveliness
of her mind. She is intelligent, sensible and quick witted. In a novel full of excellent
dialogue, she converses very well. She has a pair of beautiful and very expressive eyes
symbolically referring to her critical mind and perception. She has the self assurance that
comes with the critical mind. Her intelligence, her lively wit, her perception allow her to rise
18 above the nonsensical and petty minded behaviour of most of her family and the society
around.

In her wit and repartee, Elizabeth is like her father but she is not happy just by making fun of
the follies of others like her father. She likes to act and when found herself lacking she
changes herself. She is always lively and does not brood over a problem for long and returns
to her lively spirits once again. Her love and affection for her sister Jane is exemplary and
admirable. Her prejudice against Darcy gets fixed into hatred as she suspects him to
instrumental in separating Jane and Bingley. Who does Elizabeth resemble in her attitude?
Elizabeth is usually right about people. Her opinion that Ms Bingley is a snob and a false
person proves right. She quickly identifies (from the letter of Mr Collins) that he is a
pompous fool. She is also quick to recognize that Lady Catherine is a tyrant and the only
virtue that she has is her wealth and so nothing to be afraid of. But at times she falls prey to
pride in her own perceptiveness and brilliance and commits blunders. So, when a proud Mr
Darcy snubs her in the Meryton ball her vanity is hurt, so she becomes prejudiced against
Mr. Darcy which increases with time.

The result is she fails to recongnise the hypocrisy and lies of sweet tongued villain Wickham
who tells him how Darcy has cheated him out of his only source of income. It adds to
already existing prejudice against Darcy. The prejudice turns into hatred when she suspects
Darcy has separated her beloved sister Jane and Mr Bingley. 19 In judging who does
Elizabeth go wrong? In her hurt pride and strong prejudice Elizabeth doesn’t hesitate to
curtly reject Darcy’s proposal to marry. But Darcy’s letter explaining his behaviour to
Wickham and his justification in separating Jane and Bingley forces her to acknowledge to
herself her own failings – her own vanity, her prejudice. She also reassess her family as well
as Darcy and Wickham and leaves behind her self deception. This shows that she is capable
of making amends. Her visit to Pemberley marks a change in her relationship with Darcy.
She learns to see the brighter aspects of Darcy’s character as a good master and good
brother. When she perceives that Darcy has changed and trying his best to be better behaved,
she has a change of heart too. Lydia’s elopement makes her realize how much she likes him
when she has lost him for ever. But ironically it brings them together as Darcy forces
Wickham to marry Lydia. She in all perceptiveness realizes their marriage would be a happy
and complementary one both of them benefiting from it. She thinks his knowledge of the
world and experience can enlarge hers while her own liveliness can teach him politeness and
more lively manners. So she has no hesitation to agree to marry Darcy when he proposes to
her the second time.

Character of Darcy: Fitzwilliam Darcy in the novel Pride and Prejudice is the male counter
part of Elizabeth. He comes from a wealthy, well established family of landed gentry. He
owns a great estate of Pemberley. He enters the novel as a friend of Bingley but gradually
sidelines him to take the centre position in the novel. He exhibits both good and bad qualities
of his class. He is snobbish, arrogant and authoritative. At the same time he is very sure of
himself and 20 honest. In fact he has a very strict notion of gentlemanly behaviour which
rules his life. Intelligent and forthright, he too like Elizabeth tends to judge people hastily
and harshly. His high birth and wealth make him very proud and conscious of his social
status. In his vanity he states that Elizabeth is not handsome enough to tempt him to dance,
beginning their relationship on a wrong note.

Yet he becomes aware of her charms, her liveliness and her intelligence. Yet in his self
deception he thinks it proper to separate Jane and Bingley citing her low connections and
stupid mother and sisters. But he himself is unable to resist Elizabeth’s charms. He proposes
to her in a very proud manner telling more about the lowness of her connections and how big
a sacrifice it is for him to marry her than his love for her. He is full of self assurance and
confidence that Elizabeth would certainly agree to marry him. So, he receives a rude jolt
when she rejects him calling his behaviour to Jane, to Wickham and to herself as
“ungentlemanly” Why does Darcy suffer a rude jolt when Elizabeth refuses to marry him?
This unexpected rejection stirs him his ‘nobility’. He gradually realizes how arrogant and
assuming he has been. He later reflects later on, “I was given good principles, but left to
follow them in pride and conceit…. I was spoilt by my parents who though good themselves
….allowed, encouraged almost taught me to be selfish and overbearing….to think meanly of
all the rest of the world…” (282). It builds a sense of humility which brings additional shine
to other noble qualities like generosity. He continues his love and devotion to Elizabeth.
When Lydia elopes with Wickham he takes the responsibility for it because his pride has
stopped him from speaking openly about Wickham’s true nature. He also wishes to relieve
some pain for 21 Elizabeth. He goes and meets the very people he hates to even mention
earlier – Wickham and Mrs Younge and brings about Lydia’s marriage and thus saving the
Bennet family from absolute disgrace. He does it secretly too. In his awareness of his
limitations he becomes sympathetic to the follies of others. He willingly marries into a
family of silly daughters, an embarrassing mother, low connections and Wickham for a
brother in law. Thus Darcy proves himself worthy of Elizabeth just as by shedding her pride
and prejudice Elizabeth proves worthy of Darcy. The novel though told in third person
omniscient narration, narrates most of the incidents from the point of view of Elizabeth. So,
Darcy appears not so sympathetic figure in the beginning but as Elizabeth’s perception of
him changes, the novel too presents him in sympathetic and noble light.

Character of Mr. Bennet Mr. Bennet is the head of the Bennet household. He is the
husband of Mrs. Bennet and father of Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty and Lydia. Though
intelligent, captivated by beauty and youth he has married Mrs. Bennet a woman of weak
understanding and illiberal mind. He is driven to exasperation by the ridiculous wife and
silly and difficult younger daughters. Soon after his marriage he finds that respect, esteem
and trust have disappeared from his marriage so is his sense of domestic happiness. He is
also disappointed not to have a son who would prevent the entailing of the property after his
death to a distant cousin. He reacts to this by withdrawing from his family and assuming a
detached attitude. In a novel in which people are seen actively visiting neighbours and going
on trips Mr Bennet is rarely seen outside his library. His physical retreat from the world
signifies his emotional retreat from his family. Though intelligent and morally upright he is
satisfied with laughing at the silliness of his wife and younger daughters. Instead of
correcting the foolishness of his wife and wild nature of his younger daughters, he wishes to
be left alone in his library as if whatever they do outside of it is not his concern. He shuts his
eyes to the problems rather than solving them.

Which is Mr. Bennet’s emotional retreat? Initially his intelligence, dry wit, and sarcastic
humour in the face of his wife’s foolish hysteria and wildness of his younger daughters make
him a sympathetic figure. But as the novel progresses the reader some of the lose respect for
him. Elizabeth warns him about the wildness of Lydia and warns him of possible disgrace to
the family because of her. But he fails to judge it properly and laughs off the fears of
Elizabeth of possible family disgrace. He looks for his peace rather than the reputation of the
family. At the moment of deepest crisis in the family too he appears ineffectual. When Lydia
elopes with Wickham it is Mr. Gardiner and Darcy who take the active lead in the matter.
Mr. Bennet after his initial anger at Lydia’s shameless behaviour is content to be lazy again.
Even Elizabeth his favourite daughter cannot but think about his ineffectiveness as a father
and his improper behaviour towards his wife when he exposes his wife to the contempt and
ridicule of her children. But it has to be said that from his experience he surely warns
Elizabeth not to marry without respect for her spouse for it would be a life long misery. It is
only when she assures her being in really love with Darcy and that she respects him and
esteems him that he agrees to give his consent to their marriage.

Character of Mr. Bingley Charles Bingley is one of the important characters in the novel
Pride and Prejudice apart from the two protagonists Elizabeth and Darcy. The novel begins
with his arrival to the neighbourhood of Longbourn. Bingley is a perfectly amiable rich
young man with an annual income of five thousand 23 pounds. He has attractive personality
and polished manners. He likes to enjoy life and has gusto for good things in life. In that he
is a striking contrast to his best friend Mr. Darcy. Unlike Darcy who hates to meet people
who are not acquainted with him, Bingely enjoys social life especially the balls where young
men and women meet. He is a great dancer too dancing with all the women present at the
ball whether hosted by him or by others. Because of his amiable manners he becomes an
instant favourite with people. Jane too feels the same when she tells Elizabeth “He is just
what a young man ought to be … sensible, good humoured, lively and I never saw such
happy manners! – so much ease, with such perfect good breeding.” He is very patient too.
When everyone else sneer at the stupidity of Mrs Bennet, Bingley puts up with it in good
humour. As hoped and expected by Mrs Bennet, he falls in love with the beautiful Jane.
Unlike Darcy or his sisters who are much more socially conscious, Bingley does not see the
low connections of Bennets would affect the chances of Jane or Elizabeth.

When Jane falls ill during her visit to them at Netherfield, he is only one who is really
concerned about her health. But Bingley is extremely modest when it comes to thinking of
his own capabilities. So he depends too much on Darcy’s opinion even in the matters of love
and marriage. He allows his friend to decide for him what is right for him. As Darcy once
comments he is weak willed too and can be easily influenced. So when Darcy fears that
Bingley is in love with Jane he feels it necessary to break their relationship. Bingley gets
carried away by the argument of Darcy that a connection with the Bennets is most imprudent
and that Jane does not love him at all. He goes away to London. But it has to be said that he
does not entertain any other relationship especially with Miss Darcy as hoped by her sisters.
It shows that he genuinely loves Jane and only her so called indifference has made him go
away. Why does Bingley go away from Netherfield? Bingley comes back to Netherfield with
the consent of his friend and resumes his relationship with Jane. It goes to his credit that to
exonerate himself he does not betray his friend Darcy’s interference in their affair to Jane.
He is very much like Jane. He sees all the positive points in people and their circumstances
while Darcy comments and find faults with everything. Like Jane he very patiently puts up
with nonsense with good humour. The love of Jane and Bingley is ideal love though not as
fiery and interesting as Elizabeth’s and Darcy’s. Though it is with Bingley that the action of
the novel begins, after that he does not initiate much action but becomes part of the plans of
others. He proves an interesting contrast to Darcy. They are temperamentally poles apart.
The simple, straight forward docile Bingley becomes foil to the complex and authoritative
Darcy. He also becomes a contrast to Wickham. Both he and Wickham are very well
mannered, while Wickham’s charms are false, Bingley’s are genuine and heartfelt.

Character of Jane Bennet Jane Bennet is the eldest daughter of the Bennet family. She is
very beautiful and is considered a reputed beauty of Hertfordshire. She is equally beautiful at
heart for she is blessed with a kind heart and unassuming manners. She is twenty two at the
beginning of the novel so her mother is quite anxious to get her married away. Like
Elizabeth she too is gifted with intelligent and foresight but not given to so much of lively
manners nor wit and repartee in her speech as Elizabeth is. She is an excellent dancer and is
often the centre of attraction of many balls that are given in the novel. She is endowed with
patience and forbearance of an angel. Almost every one in the novel likes her. Her mother
dotes on her beauty, her father has high opinion of her judgement and good sense. Elizabeth
adores her so much that she thinks no one could be sweeter than Jane. Mr. Bingley falls prey
to her charms in their first meeting it self. Even the snobbish Mrs Hurst and Miss Bingley
who are highbrow and fastidious consider her a sweet girl. Darcy cannot but recognize her
merits. Jane loves Bingley sincerely. It is her first love. As she has never been in love before
she feels the emotion quite strongly. Further, she is the type of the girl who feels more than
she talks about it. So, Darcy who thinks himself to be a great observer of people thinks she
does not respond to the love of Bingley. Elizabeth who knows her sister well understands
how much love Jane has for Bingley though she doesn’t talk about it. Bingley’s sudden
removal to London and his decision not to return to Herfordshire leave her very sad. Though
she tries every effort to control herself, she is sad. But her regard for Bingley remains
undiminished.

She has unflinching faith in human capacity for virtue. So she can never have prejudice or
grudge against anyone. Even when Elizabeth tries to convince the meanness of Miss
Bingley, Jane refuses to agree with her. It is this quality which makes her a contrast to
Elizabeth. Her faith in the nobility of human nature so strong that she never tries to find fault
with others and thinks the best of everyone. When everyone including Elizabeth has openly
criticized Darcy for his haughtiness and pride, she alone thinks well of him. The same thing
is repeated when Elizabeth reveals about the villainy of Wickham to Darcy. She thinks it as a
misrepresentation of interested people. She is very optimistic so that she alone can hope for
better things from Lydia and Wickham when they elope. She is very dutiful. She takes the
responsibility of the entire family when Lydia elopes with Wickham. She acts with a lot of
forbearance whenever her mother throws tantrums for one thing or the other and never
complains. She has a capacity to suffering silently and never complains about Bingley using
her ill. Jane is very sweet, docile and self effacing as to appear colourless and uninteresting
but she fills the novel with a sweetness and optimism. Just as Bingley proves a foil to Darcy,
Jane proves a foil to Elizabeth. Her love for Bingley is presented as the ideal one where both
of them are of one mind, heart and soul. Who appears as a contrast to Jane in the novel?

Character of Mr Collins Mr Collins is a distant cousin of Mr Bennet. He is the beneficiary

of the entailment which makes him the owner of Longburn estate after the death of Mr
Bennet. He is the rector of Hunsford Parsonage. He is stupid, pompous and conceited. The
very letter he writes to Mr Bennet requesting him to allow a visit at to Longbourn is a
symbol of his stupidity, pomposity and conceit. As the author informs he has been brought
up an uneducated narrow minded dominant father whose influence even the university
education could not wipe out. Added to it he got into a profession quite easily and has easy
money with him at a quite early an age. All this have added to his limitations from the birth.
So he turns out to be an odd mixture of pride and servility, self importance and humility. His
patronage by Lady Catherine encourages all these qualities in him.

Mr. Collins is very class-conscious not of his class but of the superiority of Lady Catherine.
He is quite happy enough to be associated with such a great lady as her. He glories in the
reflected importance. He is so servile that he would bow even to the carriage which takes
Lady Catherine or her daughter. He spends the entire day walking among the trees to
ascertain the Lady’s nephews have come and bow to them. That Lady Catherine is his
patron, he projects as an advantage of marrying him. Talking to a great lady and making up
her card party are projected as the greatest and enviable pleasures that he would offer in
marriage to his fiancée. Mr Collins’ proposals of marriage to Elizabeth is one of the funniest
episodes in the novel. He comes with the hope of marrying one of the Bennet sisters. As
soon as he sees Jane he decides that he would marry her without ever thinking whether she
would like to marry him or not. When he comes to know that Jane is to be engaged he shifts
his attention immediately to Elizabeth. When she refuses, he thinks it to be her modesty
refuses to believe her. When he realizes it, he doesn’t even take a day to woo Charlotte and
propose to her. When Elizabeth visits Hunsford it becomes his sole purpose to show off what
she has lost by refusing him.

When he comes to know of Lydia’s elopement he writes a letter to Mr. Bennet,

congratulating himself that he has narrowly escaped disgrace. Mr Collins is unbearable in his
civilities. Darcy frowns on him and others laugh behind his back. But it is only the vulgar
Mrs Philips who finds his civilities extraordinary. As a rector, all his time goes away in
praising his patron. His Christian charity is such that he advises Mr Bennet to throw off
Lydia from his affection once and for all. The language he uses either in speech or in writing
absolutely reflects the man – full of pompous, high sounding usages and clichés. As a
character he turns out to be one of the most comic. He also plays important enough role in
the novel especially in the progress of the plot. Because it is Elizabeth’s visit to the
Parsonage that brings her and Darcy face to face once again which leads to Darcy’s second
proposal. Mr. Collins is under the patronage of ___________________________ Mr. Collins
first wanted to marry __________________________ Mr. Wickham When Wickham enters
the novel he comes as a very handsome young man with very pleasing manners who is an
absolute contrast to the proud 28 arrogant Darcy. Elizabeth likes him very much and
becomes his immediate attention. They fall in to conversation very easily and from his
conversation she comes to know of the grave wrongs done by Darcy who Wickham claims
has cheated him out of his money and position.

Like Elizabeth we too are taken in by what Wickham says. But gradually the readers’
opinion is shifted to see the other side of Wickham when Elizabeth rejects Darcy’s love
citing his ungentlemanly behaviour to Wickham and her sister. The letter that Darcy writes
to Elizabeth to explain his behaviour brings out the truth of Wickham. Mr. Wickham is the
son of the steward of late Mr. Darcy. His father was a very kind and nice man who worked
very honestly for several years for Pemberley estate. He is of the same age of Darcy. He was
his childhood playmate. Late Mr. Darcy liked Wickham very much and was his god father.
He supported him in his school and university too. Late Mr Darcy wanted Wickham to join
the church and so made the provision for him in his will in addition to giving him a legacy of
one thousand pounds. But Wickham grew up to be a wild, lazy young man given to pleasures
of life. When the senior Mr. Darcy died followed by the death of his own father, Wickham
expressed a desire not to join church but to study law. Though Darcy has known the real
character of Wickham, he has compensated him generously for giving up the church position
in addition to the thousand pound legacy. Wickham soon spends all the money away and
comes back to Darcy to request to join the church again. Darcy knowing fully well
Wickham’s character refuses to oblige. As a revenge Wickham plans to elope with
Georgiana. His aim is to take away her ten thousand pound legacy as well as to take revenge
on Darcy through her. Darcy finds about it and takes his sister away. Wickham then finds a
post in –militia with the help of some friends comes to Meryton. Elizabeth herself then
realizes how hypocritical and slanderous Wickham has been. She remembers that he dare not
speak about Darcy to others till he stayed in the Nether field but as soon as he has left he has
spoken ill of Darcy to every one. She also realizes that Wickham has shifted his attention to
Miss King very soon after she has got a legacy of ten thousand pounds and when Miss leaves
Meryton he is once again back to show attention to Elizabeth. He gives a proof of his
diabolic nature when he elopes with Lydia even though he doesn’t want to marry her. He
claims that it is Lydia’s own problem and wishes not to marry her till he is suitably
compensated. Wickham’s shameless nature gets revealed when he comes to Longburn after
his marriage. He behaves as if nothing has happened and shows no sign of repentance which
shocks even Jane who never thinks ill of anyone. He comes as a contrast to Darcy and as a
rival too in the beginning. As Elizabeth comments if he has all the appearance of being good
while Darcy is good in reality. The mistake she commits believing in Wickham makes
Elizabeth finally realize and overcome her limitations and also learn to respect esteem and
trust Darcy. It is Wickham’s elopement that brings Elizabeth and Darcy together finally.

https://youtu.be/HKL1WOplA38?si=8lV45B9yi7pllSWt

https://youtu.be/U1XM3m0RA_Y

THE PLOT – Ivanhoe It is a dark time for England. Four generations after the Norman
conquest of the island, the tensions between Saxons and Normans are ata peak; the two
peoples even refuse to speak one another's languages. King Richard is in an Austrian prison
after having been capturedon his way home from the Crusades; his avaricious brother, Prince
John, sits on the throne, and under his reign the Norman nobles havebegun routinely abusing
their power. Saxon lands are capriciously repossessed, and many Saxon landowners are
made into serfs.These practices have enraged the Saxon nobility, particularly the fiery Cedric
of Rotherwood. Cedric is so loyal to the Saxon cause thathe has disinherited his son Ivanhoe
for following King Richard to war. Additionally, Ivanhoe fell in love with Cedric's high-born
wardRowena, whom Cedric intends to marry to Athelstane, a descendent of a long-dead
Saxon king. Cedric hopes that the union willreawaken the Saxon royal line.Unbeknownst to
his father, Ivanhoe has recently returned to England disguised as a religious pilgrim.
Assuming a new disguise as theDisinherited Knight, he fights in the great tournament at
Ashby-de-la-Zouche. Here, with the help of a mysterious Black Knight, hevanquishes his
great enemy, the Templar Brian de Bois-Guilbert, and wins the tournament. He names
Rowena the Queen of Love andBeauty, and reveals his identity to the crowd. But he is badly
wounded and collapses on the field.In the meantime, the wicked Prince John has heard a
rumor that Richard is free from his Austrian prison. He and his advisors, WaldemarFitzurse,
Maurice de Bracy, and Reginald Front-de-Boeuf, begin plotting how to stop Richard from
returning to power in England.John has a scheme to marry Rowena to de Bracy; unable to
wait, de Bracy kidnaps Cedric's party on its way home from the tournament,imprisoning the
Saxons in Front-de-Boeuf's castle of Torquilstone. With the party are Cedric, Rowena, and
Athelstane, as well as Isaacand Rebecca, a Jewish father and daughter who have been
tending to Ivanhoe after his injury, and Ivanhoe himself.De Bracy attempts to convince
Rowena to marry him, while de Bois-Guilbert attempts to seduce Rebecca, who has fallen in
love withIvanhoe. Both men fail, and the castle is attacked by a force led by the Black
Knight who helped Ivanhoe at the tournament. Fighting withthe Black Knight are the
legendary outlaws of the forest, Robin Hood and his merry men. The villains are defeated
and the prisoners arefreed, but de Bois-Guilbert succeeds in kidnapping Rebecca. As the
battle winds down, Ulrica, a Saxon crone, lights the castle on fire,and it burns to the ground,
engulfing both Ulrica and Front-de-Boeuf.At Templestowe, the stronghold of the Knights-
Templars, de Bois-Guilbert comes under fire from his commanders for bringing a Jew
intotheir sacred fortress. It is speculated among the Templars that perhaps Rebecca is a
sorceress who has enchanted de Bois-Guilbertagainst his will; the Grand Master of the
Templars concurs and orders a trial for Rebecca. On the advice of de Bois-Guilbert, who
hasfallen in love with her, Rebecca demands a trial-by-combat, and can do nothing but await
a hero to defend her. To his dismay, de Bois-Guilbert is appointed to fight for the Templars:
if he wins, Rebecca will be killed, and if he loses, he himself will die.At the last moment,
Ivanhoe appears to defend Rebecca, but he is so exhausted from the journey that de Bois-
Guilbert unseats him inthe first pass. But Ivanhoe wins a strange victory when de Bois-
Guilbert falls dead from his horse, killed by his own conflicting passions.In the meantime,
the Black Knight has defeated an ambush carried out by Waldemar Fitzurse and announced
himself as King Richard,returned to England at last. When Athelstane steps out of the way,
Ivanhoe and Rowena are married; Rebecca visits Rowena one lasttime to thank her for
Ivanhoe's role in saving her life. Rebecca and Isaac are sailing for their new home in
Granada; Ivanhoe goes on tohave a heroic career under King Richard, until the king's
untimely death puts an end to all his worldly projects.

Analysis - Ivanhoe

Ivanhoe

is first and foremost an adventure novel. Its popularity and longevity have secured it a place
as one of the great historicalromances of all time. The main goal of the novel is to entertain
and excite its readers with a tale of heroism set in the high Middle Ages,and any symbolic or
thematic purpose Walter Scott might have is decidedly secondary to that goal.Still, Scott was
too intelligent an author to have written a mindless book. In addition to evoking the
atmosphere of a vanished era,

Ivanhoe

's adventure story makes some critical points about an important time in English history, the
moment when King Richard the Lion-Hearted returned to England after four years spent
fighting in the Crusades and languishing in Austrian and German prisons. The novel'smain
historical emphasis focuses on the tension between the Saxons and the Normans, the two
peoples who inhabited England.As a matter of course, the novel proposes Ivanhoe, the hero,
as a possible resolution to those tensions--not because of anything Ivanhoe

does,

for he is weirdly inactive for an action hero (he spends more than half the novel on the
sidelines with an injury), but for what he

is,

aSaxon knight who is passionately loyal to King Richard, a Norman king.Structurally,

Ivanhoe
is divided into three parts, each of them centering around a particular adventure or quest.
The first part involvesIvanhoe's return to England in disguise (disguise is a major motif
throughout the novel: Ivanhoe, Richard, Cedric, Locksley, and Wambaeach mask their
identities at some point) and centers around the great jousting tournament held at Ashby-de-
la-Zouche.The second part involves Sir Maurice de Bracy's kidnapping of Cedric's Saxon
party out of lust for Rowena and centers around theefforts of King Richard (in disguise, of
course) and Robin Hood's (Lockley's) merry men to free the prisoners. The third part
involvesRebecca's captivity at the hands of the Templars and Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert, and
centers around the trial-by-combat which isarranged to determine whether she will live or
die.For a writer whose early novels were prized for their historical accuracy, Scott was
remarkably loose with the facts when he wrote

Ivanhoe.

Historical errors plague the book, and in many cases (as in the depiction of Isaac, presented
as the stereotypical literary Jew)the depictions reveal more about mores and attitudes when
Scott wrote the book, in 1819, than when the story is supposed to havehappened, in around
1194.This has led many contemporary critics, especially fans of Scott's popular Waverly
novels, to criticize the book. But it is crucial toremember that Ivanhoe, unlike the Waverly

books, is entirely a romance. It is meant to please, not to instruct, and is more an act
ofimagination than one of research. Despite this fancifulness, however, Ivanhoe does make
some prescient historical points. The novel isoccasionally quite critical of King Richard, who
seems to love adventure more than he loves the well-being of his subjects. This criticismdid
not match the typical idealized, romantic view of Richard the Lion-Hearted that was popular
when Scott wrote the book, and yet itaccurately echoes the way King Richard is often judged
by historians today.

Characters - Ivanhoe

Wilfred of Ivanhoe

- Known as Ivanhoe. The son of Cedric; a Saxon knight who is deeply loyal to King Richard
I. Ivanhoe wasdisinherited by his father for following Richard to the Crusades, but he won
great glory in the fighting and has been richly rewarded bythe king. Ivanhoe is in love with
his father's ward, the beautiful Rowena. He represents the epitome of the knightly code of
chivalry,heroism, and honor.

King Richard I

- The King of England and the head of the Norman royal line, the Plantagenets. He is known
as "Richard the Lion-Hearted" for his valor and courage in battle, and for his love of
adventure. As king, Richard cares about his people, but he has a recklessdisposition and is
something of a thrill-seeker. His courage and prowess are beyond reproach, but he comes
under criticism--even fromhis loyal knight Ivanhoe--for putting his love of adventure ahead
of the well-being of his subjects.

Lady Rowena

- The ward of Cedric the Saxon, a beautiful Saxon lady who is in love with Ivanhoe.
Ivanhoe and Rowena are preventedfrom marrying until the end of the book because Cedric
would rather see Rowena married to Athelstane--a match that could reawakenthe Saxon
royal line. Rowena represents the chivalric ideal of womanhood: She is fair, chaste, virtuous,
loyal, and mild-mannered.However, she shows some backbone in defying her guardian by
refusing to marry Athelstane.

Rebecca

- A beautiful Jewish maiden, the daughter of Isaac of York. Rebecca tends to Ivanhoe after
he is wounded in the tournamentat Ashby and falls in love with him despite herself.
Rebecca's love for Ivanhoe is in conflict with her good sense; she knows that they cannever
marry (he is a Christian and she is a Jew), but she is drawn to him nonetheless. Still, she
restrains her feelings; Rebecca is astrong-willed woman with an extraordinary degree of self-
control. The novel's equivalent of a tragic heroine, she is among the mostsympathetic
characters in the book.

Cedric the Saxon

- Ivanhoe's father, a powerful Saxon lord who has disinherited his son for following Richard
to the Crusades. Cedricis fiercely proud of his Saxon heritage, and his first priority is to the
prospects of his people--hence his desire to marry Rowena toAthelstane rather than to
Ivanhoe. Cedric's unpolished manners make him the butt of jokes among his Norman
superiors, but he has aknack for making grand gestures to restore the balance--as when he
shocks Prince John by toasting Richard at John's tournament feast.

Prince John

- Richard's power-hungry and greedy brother, who sits on the throne of England in Richard's
absence. John is a weak anduninspiring ruler who lets himself be pushed around by his
powerful Norman nobles. But his tenacious desire to hold the throne makes agreat deal of
trouble for England; he aggravates tensions between the Saxons and the Normans, and does
everything he can to keepRichard in his Austrian prison. John's chief adviser is Waldemar
Fitzurse, and his allies include Maurice de Bracy and Reginald Front-de-Boeuf.

Brian de Bois-Guilbert

- A knight of the Templar Order, also known as the Knights-Templars. The Knights-
Templars are a powerfulinternational military/religious organization ostensibly dedicated to
the conquest of the Holy Land, but in reality is often meddling inEuropean politics. Brian de
Bois-Guilbert is a formidable fighter, but he is a weak moralist and often lets his temptations
take control ofhim. Among the most complex characters in

Ivanhoe,

de Bois-Guilbert begins the novel as a conventional villain--he and Ivanhoe aremortal

enemies--but as the novel progresses, his love for Rebecca brings out his more admirable
qualities.

Locksley

- The leader of a gang of forest outlaws who rob from the rich and give to the poor, Locksley
is soon revealed to be noneother than Robin Hood. Robin and his merry men help Richard to
free the Saxon prisoners from Torquilstone and later save the king fromWaldemar Fitzurse's
treacherous attack. A gallant, witty, and heroic thief, Robin Hood adds an extra dash of
adventure, excitement, and

familiarity to the story of

Ivanhoe

--after all, the character of Robin Hood was deeply enshrined in English legend long before
Scott wrotehis novel.
Maurice de Bracy

- A Norman knight who is allied to Prince John. John plans to marry de Bracy to Rowena,
but de Bracy becomesimpatient and kidnaps her party on its way home from Ashby,
imprisoning them in Front-de-Boeuf's stronghold of Torquilstone. In mostways a cardboard
villain, de Bracy experiences a strangely humanizing moment shortly after he kidnaps the
Saxons: When he tries toforce Rowena to marry him, she begins to cry, and he is moved by
her tears. To his own surprise, he tries awkwardly to comfort her.

Reginald Front-de-Boeuf

- The ugliest and most brutal villain in the novel, Front-de-Boeuf is a Norman knight allied
to Prince John. Heruns the stronghold of Torquilstone, where de Bracy brings his Saxon
prisoners. Front-de-Boeuf threatens Isaac with torture unless theJew coughs up 1,000 silver
pieces. Front-de-Boeuf is killed in the fight for Torquilstone.

Isaac of York

- Rebecca's father, a wealthy Jew. Isaac is a thoroughly stereotypical literary Jew, cut after
the pattern of Shylock inShakespeare's

The Merchant of Venice

an avaricious, somewhat bumbling, but ultimately kind-hearted character who loves

moneymore than anything in the world except his daughter.

Waldemar Fitzurse

- Prince John's chief adviser, who has no great love for the prince, but who has tied his
political aspirations toJohn's success. Fitzurse is a cool, calculating, and treacherous power-
seeker, who often reacts calmly to news that makes John panic.At the end of the novel,
Fitzurse leads an unsuccessful ambush against King Richard and is banished from England
forever.

Gurth

- Cedric's swineherd, who becomes Ivanhoe's de facto squire. Gurth longs for nothing so
much as his freedom, which he finallyobtains from Cedric after he helps to orchestrate the
attack on Torquilstone.

Wamba
- Cedric's jester, a witty, incisive Saxon clown, whose barbed comments often mask nuggets
of wry wisdom.

Prior Aymer

- The abbot of a monastery, the prior is nonetheless addicted to good food and pleasure. Used
to represent thehypocrisies of the medieval church, Prior Aymer is a companion of Brian de
Bois-Guilbert.

Oswald

- Cedric's porter.

Athelstane

- A high-born Saxon nobleman whom Cedric hopes to see married to Rowena, thinking that
their union could reawaken theSaxon royal line.

The Friar

- A merry monk who befriends King Richard in Robin Hood's forest. He is soon revealed to
be none other than the legendaryFriar Tuck, a member of Robin Hood's band of merry men.

Ulrica

- The Saxon crone who has lived her life as a consort to the Norman rulers of Torquilstone.
At the end of the battle for the castle,she burns it to the ground, taunting Front-de-Boeuf and
singing a weird death song as the flames slowly engulf her.

Lucas Beaumanoir

- The stern, moralistic Grand Master of the Knights-Templars.

Albert Malvoisin

- The leader of the Templar stronghold of Templestowe. Malvoisin urges Brian de Bois-
Guilbert to put aside his love forRebecca and stay the course of his career with the Templars.

The Palmer

- A religious pilgrim who wears a palm emblem to indAicate that he has made a pilgrimage
to the Holy Land. In reality, thePalmer is Ivanhoe in his first disguise.

The Disinherited Knight

- The name under which Ivanhoe fights in the great tournament at Ashby, using a disguise
because he still hasnot revealed his presence in England.

The Black Knight

- The disguise King Richard uses during most of the novel, when he is still hiding his
presence in England. As themysterious Black Knight, Richard is involved in a spate of
adventures: He fights with Ivanhoe (also in disguise) at the tournament,rescues the Saxon
prisoners from Torquilstone, and meets Robin Hood and his merry men

__________________________________________________________________________

The events of the story “Sign of Four” take place in London in 1888. During a forced
idleness due to the lack of orders, the well-known detective consultant Sherlock Holmes,
who lives on 221-6 on Baker Street, along with his friend Dr. Watson, sets out to him his
deductive method, which he uses in solving crimes. Sherlock Holmes is convinced that an
observant person is able to prove the existence of the Atlantic Ocean and Niagara Falls by
logical conclusions, even if he had never seen them before and heard nothing about them.
The smallest details and facts should be noted, since they are capable of making an
invaluable contribution to the reconstruction of the full picture of events, the nature of the
person and the circumstances of the crime.

Being a brilliant detective, Sherlock Holmes possesses encyclopedic knowledge in the field
of criminal chronicle and chemistry, plays the violin well, has excellent fencing and boxing
skills, is well versed in geology, anatomy, botany, and has an outstanding acting talent, but
in the field of literature, philosophy, astronomy, his knowledge is zero. In the hours when he
has nothing to do, he is gripped by deadly boredom and finds solace in morphine and
cocaine.

Dr. Watson, a friend and companion of Sherlock Holmes, a former military doctor who
served with the English army in the Indian war with Afghanistan and was wounded in this
war, lives with Holmes in the same apartment and is a chronicler of all the cases his friend
revealed.
To the great pleasure of Sherlock Holmes, his temporary idleness is interrupted by a certain
Miss Morsten, a special twenty-seven year old with a spiritualized and kind face, testifying
to the nobility and sympathy of the soul. She tells the detective about strange events that
happened recently in her life, and asks him for help. In childhood, she lost her mother. The
father, who served as an officer in India, sent his daughter to a boarding house in England. In
1878, that is, ten years ago, he arrived in England, as previously announced in a telegram.
However, when Miss Morsten arrived at the hotel, she found out that her father had suddenly
disappeared. He did not return the next day, never returned again. Then, starting in 1882, she
suddenly began to receive one very beautiful and large pearl from someone each year. And
on the day of the visit, she received a letter to Holmes.

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson go to the indicated place with her. Before leaving, she
shows Holmes a strange note, found in the belongings of the missing Morsten, which
depicted a plan of some room, with four crosses painted in the same row, with crossbeams in
contact with each other and with a pretentious signature: “sign of four”. The person they met
takes them in a cab to southern London. There they meet a small red-haired man with a shiny
bald head. It turns out that he is one of the twin sons of Major Sholto, who died six years
ago, Tadeusz Sholto. His father and father Miss Morsten once served together in India in the
colonial forces. Major Sholto there, mysteriously getting rich, resigned eleven years ago and
returned to England with a rich collection of oriental rarities and a whole staff of native
servants. The major did not reveal the secret of the acquisition of treasures and where they
were kept until his death. Sensing her approach, he called his sons to him and told them how
Captain Morsten died. It turned out that, having arrived in London ten years ago, he came to
Sholto and they had a dispute over the division of treasures, about which Morsten knew and
half of which was due to him. He, suffering from a sore heart, had an attack. Then he fell
and, having hit his head on the corner of the treasure chest, he died. Fearing that he would be
accused of murder, Sholto hid the captain's body and did not say anything to his daughter
when, a few days later, looking for the missing father, she came to his house. Before his
death, he also wanted to reveal to his sons where the casket itself is hidden, but a terrible face
outside the window prevented him from doing this. He died, taking the secret with him to the
grave. His sons, feeling a duty to Miss Morsten and wanting to rid her of at least need, began
to send her each year one pearl of pearl beads, once removed by their father from the casket.
For the time being, Tadeusz Sholto and his brother Bartholomew did not even know where
the riches themselves were hidden. However, the day before, after many years of
unsuccessful searches, Bartholomew found them in the attic of his house, in a secret walled
room. He reported this to Tadeusz. He, despite the objections of his brother, who inherited
his stinginess from his father, decided to share the treasures with Miss Morsten. All four go
to Bartholomew. However, they discover that he was killed by a poisoned thorn thrown into
his neck,

Small details make Sherlock Holmes assume that two people are the criminals - a runaway
convict named Jonathan Small, who has a wooden prosthesis instead of his right leg, and
Number One, a savage from the Andaman Islands, is small, very angry and nimble. After he
helped Small along with the casket to get down the window from the rope, he closed the
shutters from the inside and got out through the attic. While fleeing, he got his foot dirty in
creosote, and Holmes, with the help of the sniffer dog Toby, followed his footsteps to the
river. There he found out that the criminals boarded the hired Aurora boat. When Holmes’s
plan to track down a boat with the help of a group of boys he hired breaks down, he, dressed
as an old sailor, sets off in search of the Aurora and tries to find her on the docks. He
succeeds. He calls for help from Scotland Yard Inspector Ethelney Jones, investigating this
murder, and they, along with Dr. Watson, chase a police boat and catch the criminals with a
casket. When chasing a savage, he has to be killed, because he begins to shoot at his pursuers
with his poisonous thorns. Dr. Watson takes the casket to Miss Morsten, but in the end it
turns out that he is empty, which the doctor is extremely happy because the barrier that, in
his opinion, has arisen between him and the young woman due to her alleged wealth,
disappears. Now he can freely confess her love and offer his hand and heart. Miss Morsten
finds his offer very attractive. Small, realizing that he would inevitably be caught, threw the
jewelry into the Thames, because he did not want to let anyone else get it. The death of
Bartholomew Sholto was not part of his plans, and it was not he who killed him, and the evil
savage without Small's knowledge. To convince Sherlock Holmes and Ethelny Jones of this,
he tells them the story of his life. In his youth, he enlisted as a soldier in the regiment, sent to
India. However, he soon had to part with the service: when he bathed in Tanga, the crocodile
bit off his leg above the knee, and he became a helpless cripple. Then, when he worked as an
overseer on a plantation, a riot suddenly began in the country. Small hastened to Agra and
joined the British unit hiding in the Agra fortress. He was entrusted with guarding one of the
entrances to the fortress and was given two Sikhs. On the third night, the Sikhs seized Small
and confronted him with a choice: to be with them or shut up forever. They told him about
their plan: in the northern provinces there lived one very rich raja. He ordered part of his
wealth to hide the servant Akhmet in the Agra fortress until the end of the war, so that in
case of victory of the British to save at least this chest. The Sikhs and Akhmet’s companion,
their accomplice, wanted to kill him and take possession of the casket. Small decided to join
them and swore allegiance to them. All four carried out their plan. They hid the murdered
Akhmet in one of the halls of the old fortress, where no one had ever entered. The chest was
walled up in the wall of the same hall. Each of them received a note with a plan and
symbolizing their fidelity to each other with the “sign of four”. However, subsequently they
were all sentenced to life imprisonment for murder. While serving their sentences, they could
not use their wealth. Then Small agreed with Sholto and Morsten, who were guarding the
prison, that he would tell them where the casket was hidden, they would get their share, and
in return arrange for four prisoners an escape. Sholto, who went for the casket, deceived
everyone and returned to England alone. Since then, Small began to live only with the
thought of revenge. He escaped from prison with the help of a friend - a native named
Tongo. In England, he made contact with one of Major Sholto's servants and waited for the
right moment. It was Small who looked out the window to the dying major. Waiting in the
wings, he stole the treasures. For the death of Bartholomew, he unfastened Tongo with a
rope. That was the story of Jonathan Small. It was Small who looked out the window to the
dying major. Waiting in the wings, he stole the treasures. For the death of Bartholomew, he
unfastened Tongo with a rope. That was the story of Jonathan Small. It was Small who
looked out the window to the dying major. Waiting in the wings, he stole the treasures. For
the death of Bartholomew, he unfastened Tongo with a rope. That was the story of Jonathan
Small.
Treasures did not go to anyone. Dr. Watson was given the wife of Miss Morsten, Ethelney
Jones - fame for the solved crime, and Holmes was satisfied with an ampoule of cocaine.

__________________________________________________
SUMMARY OF THE REMAINS OF THE DAY

Section 1: The novel begins with Stevens, an English butler, preparing for a motoring trip.
He works at Darlington Hall, reflecting on his career and the qualities of a great butler.
Stevens expresses a desire to prove his worth through his upcoming journey.

Section 2: Stevens embarks on his trip to the West Country of England in his employer’s car.
He reflects on the changing times and the decline of the traditional British upper class.
During his travels, he meets a retired gentleman who engages him in conversation about
democracy and the role of the working class.

Section 3: Stevens continues his journey and recalls memories from his past. He reflects on
his father’s influence as a butler and his own experiences working at Darlington Hall under
the previous owner, Lord Darlington. Stevens remains loyal to the memory of Lord
Darlington and downplays any questionable aspects of his employer’s political associations.

Section 4: Stevens encounters a couple at a pub and engages in a conversation about

professional pride. He reflects on the qualities of a great butler and shares anecdotes from his
own experiences. Stevens also contemplates the idea of dignity and how it relates to his role
as a butler.

These early sections of the novel establish the introspective nature of Stevens’ character and
provide insights into his perspective on duty, loyalty, and the changing world around him.
They set the stage for further exploration of his personal journey and the themes of identity,
regret, and the cost of unwavering loyalty that are central to the narrative.
Section 5: Stevens continues his journey and reflects on his past relationship with Miss
Kenton, a former housekeeper at Darlington Hall. He remembers their interactions and
suppressed feelings, highlighting the missed opportunities for emotional connection and
personal fulfillment. Stevens acknowledges that his dedication to duty hindered him from
pursuing a romantic relationship with Miss Kenton.

Section 6: Stevens arrives at a small town where he plans to spend the night. He stays at a
bed and breakfast run by a kind and hospitable landlady. They engage in conversation, and
Stevens contemplates the nature of greatness and how it relates to his own life as a butler.

Section 7: Stevens visits an old friend, Mr. Farraday, in the village of Moscombe. They
discuss Stevens’ trip, and Mr. Farraday expresses concern about Stevens’ life at Darlington
Hall. Stevens reflects on his role as a butler and contemplates the notion of serving a great
cause.

Section 8: Stevens continues his journey back to Darlington Hall. He reflects on the events
and conversations of the past few days and contemplates the significance of his life as a
butler. Stevens ponders the possibility of reclaiming the remains of the day, of making the
most of the present and finding personal fulfillment despite the missed opportunities of the
past.

These sections of the novel delve deeper into Stevens’ personal reflections, his relationship
with Miss Kenton, and his contemplation of the nature of greatness and personal fulfillment.
The narrative explores themes of regret, the cost of self-repression, and the search for
meaning and dignity in life. As Stevens nears the end of his journey, he faces important
decisions about his future and the potential for personal growth and fulfillment.

__________________________________________________________________________
______
A Summary and Analysis of Woolf’s To the Lighthouse

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

To the Lighthouse was Virginia Woolf’s fifth novel. By this stage of her career, she’d
written a couple of more conventional novels, The Voyage Out (1915) and Night and Day
(1919); she’d written the novel which is often cited as the turning point in her career as a
modernist writer, Jacob’s Room (1922); and she’d written what is probably her most famous
novel, Mrs Dalloway (1925), which features a couple of characters who’d featured in The
Voyage Out (the action of Mrs Dalloway takes place over one day in June 1923, although
there are numerous flashbacks to earlier in the characters’ lives, particularly to the youthful
years of the title character).

However, to call To the Lighthouse (1927) a ‘novel’ at all is to go against Woolf’s own
intentions, slightly: she believed that a new word (‘elegy’ was her own suggestion) more
satisfactorily summed up what she is trying to do in this nov… sorry, in this book, call it
what you will.

Summary of To the Lighthouse

The book is divided into three sections: ‘The Window’, ‘Time Passes’, and ‘The
Lighthouse’.

The first section, ‘The Window’, follows Mrs Dalloway in being set over the course of just
one day during the Ramsays’ family holiday on the Isle of Skye. The son, James, wants to
take a boat out to the lighthouse (hence the title), but his father, the distant Victorian
patriarch Mr Ramsay, isn’t sure the weather will allow it – perhaps tomorrow (but probably
not even then).
The second section, ‘Time Passes’, is at odds with the first section in reducing ten years of
‘action’ into a relatively short middle section. Several of the novel’s characters – including
Mrs Ramsay herself – die, news of their deaths dropped casually into the narration
parenthetically. The War lurks behind this section – that is, WWI.

The final section, ‘The Lighthouse’, sees James – now grown into a young man – finally
making the trip to the lighthouse, ten years after he’d originally wanted to make the journey.

Themes of To the Lighthouse

To the Lighthouse is Woolf’s most autobiographical work of fiction, drawing on her own
childhood and family experiences in the 1890s and early 1900s. Interestingly, John
Sutherland (in an essay included in his hugely entertaining book of ‘literary detection’,
Where Was Rebecca Shot?: Puzzles, Curiosities and Conundrums in Modern Fiction) points
out that when Mr Ramsay and his house-guest Minta Doyle refer to the ‘final’ third volume
of George Eliot‘s Middlemarch, someone has blundered: unlike most other long Victorian
novels, Middlemarch was actually published in four rather than three volumes.

Perhaps Woolf altered the facts here to suggest the ironic relationship between her ‘three-
volume’ novel and the triple-deckers that had dominated the Victorian era, of which
Middlemarch (despite its actual four-volume structure) symbolically embodies. (Sutherland
also suggests that the closing words of Middlemarch are being alluded to here: Eliot’s
magnum opus ends by extolling the value of those who live hidden lives – implicitly, the
women who faithfully serve their menfolk.)
Divided into three sections (‘The Window’, ‘Time Passes’, and ‘The Lighthouse’), the novel
may, then, be attempting to put us in mind of the triple-decker novels of the Victorian era
(which had rapidly died out in the 1890s during Woolf’s childhood). But if we expect a
linear, teleological narrative with a clear goal and conclusion, our expectations are to be
dashed, because To the Lighthouse is all about delay, repetition, and inaction.

Note that the title, To the Lighthouse, could suggest a journey steadily progressing towards
an end goal (compare Woolf’s earlier use of the journey motif in The Voyage Out), but what
the novel actually gives us is a narrative in which that journey ‘to the lighthouse’ is delayed
until the end of the novel (and that final section, pointedly titled ‘The Lighthouse’; the
preposition has been dropped, but has the trip to the lighthouse really been achieved? It is,
after all, years later and the children have grown up).

Thus the novel ostensibly remains a novel with a linear narrative (as its title and three-part
structure imply), while at the same time it seems to be straining against the limits or
expectations of such a narrative. Note how the novel ends with the lighthouse being reached,
and Lily Briscoe finishing her painting (which may be read as a self-reflexive touch on
Woolf’s part, since Woolf the literary ‘artist’ is at this moment finishing her portrait of Mrs
Ramsay, namely the novel).

Yet the action of painting the picture, the experience of artistic creation and the memories
and thoughts it entails, have been the important thing for Lily Briscoe: she doesn’t care what
happens to her picture once she’s finished it. Unlike Mr Ramsay, she couldn’t be less
concerned with questions of legacy or posterity.

Analysis of To the Lighthouse

Immediately we can see that subjective experience and perspective are key elements of
Woolf’s novel. Mr Ramsay sees the world very differently from his wife. However, the two
are not so different as they may first appear.

For instance, Mr Ramsay seems to embody the male, patriarchal, linear, and teleological
view of the world which nineteenth-century novels had often adopted (where we find out
who the murderer was, the man and woman get together, and all loose ends are satisfactorily
tied up by the final page): he sees ‘thought’ as something to be understood in a linear
fashion, like working through the alphabet from A to Z (there is an autobiographical
suggestion here, too, since Woolf’s father, Leslie Stephen, who was the model for Mr
Ramsay, was the first editor of the Dictionary of National Biography, now the ODNB).

He also spends part of the early section of the novel reciting Tennyson’s ‘The Charge of the
Light Brigade’, which is revealing because this is a Victorian poem by the pre-eminent
Victorian poet (Tennyson was Poet Laureate for 42 years) but also because it is a poem about
the action of charging, moving forward, attacking, progressing.

However, it is also ironic, because the ‘charge’ memorialised in Tennyson’s poem was a
futile and self-destructive military action which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of men:
the light brigade charged to their deaths.

But the linear, progressive, masculine quality of Mr Ramsay’s reference to this poem is also
undermined by the fact that he is constantly repeating the same phrase (tellingly, ‘Someone
had blundered’), and is thus caught in a cyclical world of repetition and return which is at
odds with the linearity he ostensibly embodies.
Mr Ramsay’s best work also appears to be behind him, and he seems doomed to repeat the
same ideas in his later work. He is caught in an ideology of teleological development but
cannot develop to any precise ‘end’.

Similarly, Mrs Ramsay’s narrative may embody more ‘feminine’ qualities, with its emphasis
on cycles, return, nurturing, and selflessness, but these same qualities also point up her
complicity in the Victorian patriarchy embraced by her husband: she is a traditionalist who
believes women should be married, wives should serve their husbands, and unmarried men
and women should not stay out too late together. In other words, those looking for a clear
distinction where Mr Ramsay = linearity and progress and Mrs Ramsay = cycles and
returning are sure to be disappointed.___________________________________________