A Lady of Quality guide

Summary

Characters

• JeoffryAlso WildairsGuardianFrom Chapter 1
• Mother PossetHelperFrom Chapter 1
• AnneHelperFrom Chapter 1
• BarbaraOtherFrom Chapter 1
• MargeryAlso WimpoleGuardianFrom Chapter 2
• ClorindaAlso CloLeadFrom Chapter 2
• Lord Twemlow's chaplainOtherFrom Chapter 4
• DunstanwoldeSuitorFrom Chapter 4
• JohnAlso OxonVillainFrom Chapter 4
• RebeccaHelperFrom Chapter 7
• GeraldAlso OsmondeLoveFrom Chapter 8
• JenfryHelperFrom Chapter 17
• Tom BeckSuitorFrom Chapter 21

Chapter by chapter

Storylines

• Daphne loves Jeoffry, but his early passion gives way to resentment and neglect over her bearing daughters; she dies after he refuses her final appeal.

  • Daphne's death ends the marital relationship without reconciliation.

• Jeoffry wants a male heir and resents the repeated birth of daughters.

• Daphne seeks a final meeting with Jeoffry, appealing to their early love.

  • Daphne dies without the desired final meeting being recorded, making its fulfillment impossible.

• Jeoffry instructs Mother Posset to conceal his deliberate refusal by saying he had already departed when she arrived.

• Daphne and her newborn depend on care in a household where Jeoffry rejects responsibility for daughters and Mother Posset leaves the dying mother unattended.

  • Daphne dies and Clorinda survives, but the child remains exposed to neglect, servants' deliberate provocation and Jeoffry's violence.

• Daphne resolves to suffocate Clorinda to spare her the suffering she anticipates for her daughter.

  • Clorinda is recovered alive from beneath her dead mother and grows strong; Daphne's death prevents any further attempt.

• Margery seeks to avoid poverty by becoming the children's dependent governess.

• Clorinda's nurse and a groom begin an amorous intrigue that prompts her to visit the stables.

• Clorinda learns to obtain what she wants through sustained screaming and extends this coercion to other demands.

• Clorinda uses violence to take her sisters' playthings and resist her nurse's care.

• Male servants deliberately provoke Clorinda's fury for their entertainment.

• Clorinda seeks increasing independence in riding and exclusive use of her favourite horse.

  • Clorinda renews her exclusive claim to Rake, gains her father's acknowledgement and permission to ride him, demonstrates her independent riding and later joins mounted hunts.
  • Clorinda gains ownership of Rake and hunts with Jeoffry.

• Clorinda threatens to kill the horse's rider to secure the horse for herself and enters the house to find him.

  • She recalls her search, renews the threat and recovers control of Rake with her father's acknowledgement of her claim; no attack on the rider is recorded.

• Jeoffry and Clorinda's encounter turns from his violent punishment and her furious retaliation to his amusement and admiration, while she expresses hatred and threatens his life.

  • Her initial rejection softens as she learns he is her father and receives his affection and indulgence. He gives her privileged access and rooms near him; she becomes fond of him and ultimately dominates their relationship.
  • Clorinda restrains Jeoffry's violence, returns to explain her own marriage strategy, and receives a great birthday dinner from him.
  • Watching Clorinda's social triumph awakens paternal feeling in Jeoffry and deepens his limited capacity for love.
  • Clorinda's kindness draws Jeoffry into her social life; his admiration becomes awe and emotion at his failures as a father and her escape from ruin.
  • Jeoffry's admiration becomes awe, although he refuses her invitations. Their relationship ends with Clorinda's devoted attendance, his recognition of her and his death looking at her.

• Clorinda learns to use her father's affection and power to obtain what she wants, eventually establishing dominance over him.

• Jeoffry keeps Clorinda near him for amusement and, encouraged by Eldershawe, brings her into his male companions' dining and hunting life.

  • Clorinda continues hunting and dining with the male companions and learns their worldly knowledge, but announces her intended departure from this way of life.

• Jeoffry's household loses connections with relatives and neighbouring gentry.

• Clorinda increasingly seeks opportunities to dress up, perform and attract the attention of her father's dining companions.

  • Her admirers celebrate her laugh, and she stages her birthday transformation into feminine dress before demanding a kneeling toast.

• Clorinda's growing public notoriety attracts scandal and the disapproval of respectable county matrons.

  • Her notoriety prompts Twemlow's formal intervention and circulates to John; she accepts that the warning about her marriage prospects may be sensible.
  • Clorinda's notoriety becomes fashionable prominence: her transformation wins social admission and supremacy while alarming matchmaking mothers and rival daughters.

• Twemlow seeks to stop Clorinda hunting in masculine clothes, warning that her conduct endangers her marriage prospects and family honour.

  • Clorinda abandons hunting in boys' clothes, ending the conduct Twemlow sought to stop.

• Clorinda takes the frightened chaplain under her protection, securing his hearing and preventing Jeoffry from striking him.

• Jeoffry violently rejects Twemlow's intervention, threatening both Twemlow and his chaplain.

• Clorinda promises to prevent disgrace from befalling Twemlow and sends him that assurance through the chaplain.

• Clorinda intends to make a grand marriage, seeking a great lord.

  • Clorinda explicitly pursues a wealthy, high-ranking husband, gains standing as a possible ducal match, identifies Dunstanwolde as a conditional choice and refuses other suitors.
  • Clorinda accepts Dunstanwolde and their engagement becomes public; the intended grand marriage is secured prospectively but has not occurred.
  • Clorinda achieves her intended grand marriage, becoming Countess of Dunstanwolde with wealth, a magnificent household and court acclaim.

• Clorinda plans a final male revel before abandoning masculine clothes and riotous feasts, adopting feminine dress and improved manners to attract a great lord.

  • She carries out the change to feminine dress and accomplished public manners, gaining recognition and entry to fashionable society; these events do not establish every part of her promised renunciation.
  • Her changed manners persuade Dunstanwolde that she has reformed, and the intended marriage follows.

• John is intensely attracted to Clorinda and courts her; she initially withholds answering glances but later allows that her future favoured man might be among the guests.

  • Clorinda acknowledges John's attention and grants him exceptional dancing privileges; his return as a house guest brings the courtship closer, while she requires Margery's presence to guard against boasting.
  • John attempts to visit, but Clorinda deliberately refuses to receive him and he rides away.
  • John confirms his impending marriage elsewhere, Clorinda rejects his assumption of submission and dismisses him, and she becomes engaged to Dunstanwolde. John's desire persists.
  • Clorinda reports that her involvement with John has ended.

• Clorinda demands that male admiration take the form of submission, declaring that men she favours must bow to her.

  • Her admirers compete for her favour and remain devoted despite her refusals, extending her power over their pursuit.
  • Clorinda swears never to suffer or submit for a man and confirms that John's exclusion expresses her own wishes.
  • Clorinda asserts her power over John and commands his departure instead of submitting to him.

• Clorinda enforces her demands on her tirewoman through repeated violence and threats, making the employment painful and burdensome.

  • An initial improvement in Rebecca's treatment gives way to another beating when Clorinda blames her for the missing hair; Margery's appeal eventually secures Rebecca's release.

• Clorinda seeks supremacy in county society, using her beauty and fashionable accomplishments to outshine rival women.

  • Clorinda convenes county society, makes a striking entrance and publicly appears as Dunstanwolde's intended wife.
  • Her title, presentation at court and immediate fashionable acclaim extend her social ascendancy.
  • Clorinda's social ascendancy extends to fashionable town society, where she wins exceptional prominence and invitations to her assemblies become coveted.
  • Country society witnesses her social grace, the hunting company recognizes her noble bearing, and her social triumphs continue in town.
  • Her return as a widow brings heightened attention and distinguished entertainments, while she dismisses self-interested followers.

• Clorinda's admirers compete violently for her favour and resent John's preferential success.

  • County suitors explicitly declare their wish to marry Clorinda, sustaining the contest for her favour.
  • The announced engagement provokes jealousy, resentment and gloom among male guests.

• Clorinda will marry Dunstanwolde if no better prospect appears.

  • After an interval of rejecting existing offers, Clorinda acts on the conditional plan by committing to marry Dunstanwolde.

• Dunstanwolde's admiration for Clorinda becomes publicly acknowledged, making him a recognized marriage prospect.

  • Dunstanwolde's courtship progresses to an accepted and publicly announced engagement.
  • Dunstanwolde overcomes his apprehension about her character, hopes for marriage and becomes her husband.

• Jeoffry's dissipation depletes his property and leaves Wildairs Hall approaching ruin.

  • Jeoffry's mounting debt further diminishes his financial means.

• Jeoffry develops a strong liking for John and receives him as a guest at Wildairs Hall.

• Margery's fear of Clorinda shifts from fear of lawlessness to anxious submission to her exacting social authority, accompanied by gifts from Clorinda.

• Clorinda intends to prevent gossip from diminishing her reputation and the marriage value of her beauty.

  • Clorinda explicitly maintains supervision of John's visits to deny him grounds for boasting about private access.
  • Clorinda's unexpectedly dignified and prolonged mourning strengthens her public reputation.

• Clorinda orders Margery to remain present during John's courtship so that he cannot plausibly boast of private encounters; Margery promises obedience.

  • Clorinda reiterates that Margery must prevent private encounters with John, and Margery repeats these restrictions to her other charges.
  • Clorinda instructs both sisters about attendance during John's visits, receives assurance of their availability and loses her concern about a future visit; Margery grows less fearful of the duty.

• Anne feels an unfamiliar attraction to the young man in Clorinda's miniature and recognizes him when John visits.

  • John's courteous attention intensifies Anne's attraction into anguished love; she seeks accounts of him, loses sleep and prays for his happiness with Clorinda.
  • Anne's attraction remains visible in her blush and shame, which John interprets as conquest. She learns of his impending marriage and subsequently grows markedly thinner and paler.
  • Anne's attraction to John deepens into secret passionate love, expressed through pity and overwhelming agitation at his handwriting.

• Anne keeps her discovery and handling of John's miniature from Clorinda, replacing it beneath the bed valance out of fear of her anger.

• Clorinda welcomes Anne into her confidence and offers clothes, companionship and social inclusion; Anne becomes devoted to her and pledges service.

  • Anne expresses her devotion through domestic service and hopes of lifelong attendance, while Clorinda gives her finery and fulfils her promise of social inclusion.
  • Clorinda includes Anne in formal family dinner and entrusts her with attendance duties, notices her deterioration and receives her declaration of unconditional love and moral trust; Anne hears Clorinda assert authority over her own right and law.
  • Clorinda establishes Anne in both households, provides clothing and personal care, and strengthens Anne's adoration through sustained kindness.
  • Clorinda keeps Anne as her sole companion at the vigil, shares an intimate memory of her marriage, provides for Anne's rooms and takes her back to town.
  • Clorinda seeks Anne's protection and responds to her comfort with rare affection and gratitude; Anne's compassionate devotion grows despite renewed fear.
  • Anne's gratitude for Clorinda's care sustains her devotion, expressed through prayer, concern and a nearby vigil.
  • Anne pledges love and assistance even if Clorinda has committed murder; Clorinda explicitly acknowledges her trust in Anne's unconditional fidelity.
  • Clorinda gives Anne a maternal place in her family, and Anne's devotion deepens into worship.
  • Anne's final disclosures reveal the extent of her lifelong devotion and protection; their confidence becomes mutual before her death.

• Anne commits to mending Clorinda's tapestry hangings and gains permission to enter her apartment whenever she wishes for that purpose.

• Anne secretly takes over some of Rebecca's duties for Clorinda, allowing Rebecca to receive the credit while finding satisfaction in Clorinda's pleasure.

• Anne indirectly prompts Margery to tell her about John so she can learn about him without openly declaring her interest.

• Anne hopes to serve in Clorinda's future town household and care for her imagined son.

  • Anne gains a settled place in Clorinda's town household, fulfilling the residential part of her hope; service and care of an imagined son remain unfulfilled.
  • Anne's hope of caring for Clorinda's son is fulfilled through daily care and explicit recognition as Mother Anne.

• Despite her own love for John, Anne wishes him better fortune and Clorinda's favour.

  • Anne's appeal fails: Clorinda declares her involvement with John ended, commits to Dunstanwolde and sends Anne away.

• John is outside the house at night, moving secretively; Anne discovers his presence, but his purpose remains unknown.

• Clorinda intends to curb her temper to advance her social prospects, but her assault on Rebecca interrupts the improvement.

  • Dunstanwolde believes her reformed and experiences consistent kindness, but her forcible treatment of Anne shows that her temper remains active.
  • Clorinda deliberately dismisses her maid without beating or swearing, carrying out discipline with greater restraint.
  • The horse battles revive her formerly restrained fury, but Gerald's suffering moves her to promise that she will not cause him such pain again.

• The cause and whereabouts of Clorinda's missing lock remain unknown; she believes Rebecca accidentally cut it and concealed the loss.

  • John claims to have recovered and to carry the missing tress. Its whereabouts are asserted but not independently established, and its original loss remains unexplained.
  • John reveals that he secretly cut the missing lock as proof of his conquest and later rediscovered it; Clorinda burns it.

• John pursues a wealthy marriage arranged through his mother; rumour of his success reaches the household, and he confirms his impending marriage to Clorinda.

  • John's projected marriage to the heiress fails; she has heard adverse accounts of him, and the failure becomes publicly known.
  • John's projected marriage has fallen through, leaving him under debt and creditor pressure.
  • John's dissipated fortune renews his need to restore his means through marriage.
  • John's arranged marriage to the heiress ends.

• John proposes a private tryst, but Clorinda defies his expectation of submission and orders him away despite his renewed desire.

  • Clorinda declares the involvement with John over and commits to honouring her marriage to Dunstanwolde.

• Gerald is captivated by Clorinda and keeps her fallen rose; she experiences unprecedented bashful agitation under his gaze after learning his identity and kinship with her fiancé.

  • Gerald's attachment deepens through subsequent encounters. He believes Clorinda understands and shares his aspirations, while her husband notices her unusual understanding of Gerald. She learns that Gerald cannot visit as freely as he wishes.
  • Clorinda welcomes Gerald's tenderness and frequent visits, experiences unprecedented happiness and emotional dependence, and seeks his escort; the narrator anticipates their union.
  • Their attraction becomes openly reciprocated love, and each learns that the other's attachment began at their first meeting.

• Clorinda and Dunstanwolde enter a marriage in which her kindness and attentiveness bring him renewed happiness.

  • Dunstanwolde learns of Clorinda's competent treatment of the servants and her commitment to managing the household; their exchange about John combines his wish to avoid restricting her with her reassurance.
  • Their marriage continues to bring Dunstanwolde happiness and increasing love until his sudden death ends it.

• Clorinda commits to being a true wife to Dunstanwolde, honouring their marriage bargain and sparing him suffering.

  • Clorinda reassures Dunstanwolde that John will seldom visit because she does not like him enough, supporting her commitment to spare her husband distress.
  • Clorinda renews and fulfils her commitment through kindness that deepens Dunstanwolde's happiness and attachment; his death ends her role as his wife, and she grieves.

• Anne tries to stop Clorinda's marriage over her involvement with John, but Clorinda demands an explicit explanation, frightens Anne into silence and dismisses her.

  • Anne finally explains her knowledge of Clorinda's involvement with John, ending the silence surrounding her earlier intervention.

• Clorinda undertakes to govern her household competently, providing adequately for servants while immediately dismissing dishonest or incompetent workers.

  • Clorinda dismisses the maid implicated in delivering the letter and resolves to dress herself until she can find an honest replacement.

• Access to Clorinda's assemblies becomes a social prize, prompting schemes for invitations and resentment among those she neglects.

• Gerald's deepening attachment to the married Clorinda makes their encounters painful and leads him to restrict visits despite Dunstanwolde's wish for greater intimacy.

  • Anne observes Gerald's concealed, hopeless longing; Dunstanwolde's death changes the marital circumstance underlying that conflict without resolving Gerald's attachment.
  • Widowhood permits welcomed courtship, but Clorinda's reaction to John creates fresh doubt and prompts Gerald to consider withdrawal before choosing cautious persistence.
  • The former need to restrain and avoid their attachment gives way to acknowledged mutual love and relief from romantic despair.

• Dunstanwolde seeks more frequent, informal visits from Gerald and asks Clorinda to encourage him.

  • Dunstanwolde's death ends his effort to secure more frequent, informal visits from Gerald.

• Gerald asks Clorinda to prevent Dunstanwolde from interpreting his restricted visits as discourtesy or ingratitude.

  • Dunstanwolde's death removes the need to protect him from interpreting Gerald's restricted visits as discourtesy or ingratitude.

• John's renewed and intensified desire for the married Clorinda drives attempts to regain familiar access and send letters; she rejects his approach and destroys his correspondence.

  • John enquires about Clorinda's return and learns its date, continuing his pursuit of access; her response makes Nero suspect anger.
  • John secures repeated access and pursues Clorinda publicly; his frustrated desire becomes obsessive hostility and explicit threats.
  • John's frustrated desire intensifies into passion mixed with hatred; Clorinda believes he understands her victory's personal meaning, and he departs after her preference for Gerald becomes apparent.
  • John escalates his pursuit into repeated public approaches, interception on the road and an imposed arrival at Clorinda's house.
  • John's pursuit escalates into coercion, then ends with his death.

• Anne harbours passionate love for John without fully recognizing it herself; his handwriting agitates her, and Clorinda's condemnation of him evokes distress and pity.

  • Anne acknowledges her love for John and reveals it to Clorinda, including her farewell to his concealed body.

• Barbara marries a widower who considers her meekness suited to his household's needs.

• Anne prefers seclusion and infrequent outings, while Clorinda requires occasional appearances among her guests and prepares suitable clothing for her.

  • Anne learns that Clorinda's insistence on her social attendance serves a protective purpose, particularly against John.

• Anne infers Gerald's concealed, apparently hopeless love for Clorinda and tries to avoid revealing that she has observed it.

  • Anne observes Clorinda's unprecedented tenderness and Gerald's apparent relief, gaining evidence that his formerly hopeless attachment is reciprocated.

• Gerald and Anne become acquainted through their shared devotion to Clorinda; his respectful kindness eases Anne's timidity, and his public attention raises her standing among the guests.

• Dunstanwolde's sudden death leaves Clorinda bereaved and brings Anne and the assembled guests into distress.

  • Burial and the final vigil give way to secluded mourning. Clorinda eventually declares mourning finished and returns to town, without evidence that her grief itself has ended.

• Clorinda undertakes a secluded mourning period at her father's house, deferring her return to town until mourning is over.

• Clorinda rejects her former rooms, chooses the old red chambers and commissions improvements to her apartments and Anne's.

• Clorinda determines to end secluded mourning and resume a life of colour, adornment and renewed beauty in town.

  • Clorinda has resumed fashionable society and enjoys renewed beauty, public admiration and exceptional social prominence.

• Gerald continues his courtship cautiously despite doubts about Clorinda's feelings, intending to persist until he knows his suit is useless or unfair.

  • Gerald receives explicit confirmation of Clorinda's love, ending his uncertainty about whether his courtship is welcome.

• Clorinda uses Anne's presence in society to avoid unwanted encounters, especially with John.

• John threatens exposure, death and suffering worse than death to punish Clorinda's rejection and frustrate her attachment to Gerald.

  • John's apparent new leverage overwhelms Clorinda, and his relentless pursuit brings the threatened confrontation to her home.
  • John specifies his threat to expose their intimacy to Gerald, but his death ends his ability to carry it out and Clorinda destroys the lock.

• John possesses a rose-garden and sun-dial history involving Clorinda that he threatens to expose; its particulars remain undisclosed.

  • John identifies the missing tress as something he claims to possess and promises a concrete demonstration of his leverage; the underlying history remains undisclosed.
  • The concealed history is disclosed: Clorinda loved John and treated their intimacy as marriage, while he pursued her on a wager, took her hair as a trophy and abandoned her.

• Clorinda suffers an unnamed trouble that drives her to seek Anne's protection, without disclosing its cause.

  • Clorinda's anguish persists, but she recognizes that seeking Anne's comfort risks disclosing her secrets and turns toward constant company; her past also intrudes upon her happiness with Gerald.
  • Clorinda's concealed grief and shame emerge as unprecedented despair and sleepless agitation that alarm Anne without revealing their cause.
  • The source of Clorinda's earlier distress becomes explicit, and killing John brings a further concealed crisis.
  • Clorinda's distress persists beneath her anticipation of Gerald's arrival. Anne offers help, but Clorinda denies murder and ends the conversation without revealing her trouble.
  • Clorinda's fulfilled life displaces her belief that she lives under a ban, easing the distress associated with her concealed past.

• Clorinda resolves to remain strong and prevent anyone from defeating her.

  • Clorinda channels her determination into conquering Devil, recovers a sense of power and interprets her victory as personally significant before John.
  • Clorinda repeatedly renews her determination to resist ruin and acts to escape John's pursuit, despite her physical distress.
  • Clorinda renews her determination to resist defeat and suppresses panic sufficiently to act and conceal her condition.
  • Clorinda recovers clear-headed control and deliberately faces the sight of the murder weapon, although the threat of discovery briefly renews her terror.

• Clorinda resolves to preserve and fulfil her mutual love with Gerald despite the anguish associated with her concealed past.

  • Her marriage preparations continue, but John's claimed possession of the tress makes the danger to her future with Gerald immediate and leaves her feeling trapped.
  • John's threatened disclosure endangers the marriage; his death creates a new obstacle that Clorinda resolves to conceal to preserve Gerald's love.
  • Gerald's declaration and proposed vow renew Clorinda's tenderness and briefly restore her happiness in their anticipated union, while her concealed predicament remains.
  • Gerald's letter briefly elates Clorinda, and she predicts that his arrival will bring lasting safety, although thoughts of her past and impending actions displace her joy.
  • Clorinda and Gerald fulfil their intended union by marrying.

• Clorinda apparently seeks constant company and social activity to avoid being alone with her distress.

• Clorinda stakes her strength and life on mastering Devil, overcoming his resistance through repeated violent riding contests.

  • Clorinda declares that she will cease breaking horses like Devil and retires the heavy whip, ending her stated commitment to these dangerous contests.

• Anne tries to prevent Clorinda from risking her life on Devil, but Clorinda persists.

  • Clorinda's declared abandonment of dangerous horse-breaking removes the immediate practice Anne has opposed.

• Gerald's State duties obstruct his desire to return immediately when he learns that Clorinda is risking her life.

• John squanders his fortune, falls into debt and loses his companions' company, attributing their withdrawal to his financial decline.

  • John's ruined fortune and diminished standing culminate in creditors believing he has fled England with money owed to them; the rumour spreads through society.

• Gerald intends to make his suit formally and return to France the following day to complete his interrupted duty.

  • Gerald returns to France to complete his business, with his intention to prepare for marriage on returning to England publicly known.

• Clorinda's past causes distress during her intimacy with Gerald, while he understands her distress as regret for her wild girlhood.

  • Clorinda fully recognizes how her concealed past threatens her future with Gerald; John's disclosure intensifies her shame and terror.
  • The past concealed from Gerald is identified as Clorinda's intimate relationship with John and his betrayal, extending beyond Gerald's understanding of wild girlhood.
  • Discussion of John's wager and his claimed possession of her lock renews Clorinda's aversion to her past; she asks to end the discussion and wishes those days erased.

• Clorinda undertakes purchases and arrangements for her impending marriage to Gerald.

  • The impending marriage for which Clorinda was preparing takes place.

• Clorinda vows to do good, avoid wrongdoing and cultivate faith so that she may become worthy of Gerald; Anne promises to pray for her.

  • Her vow to avoid wrongdoing is contradicted by killing John and Frisk and deliberately deceiving her servant.
  • Clorinda acts on her aspiration to do good by comforting and caring for John's victim, committing to protect those he wronged, and arranging refuge for the girl and her mother.
  • Clorinda pursues worthiness through prayer, commitments to obedience and almsgiving, and requests for guidance from Anne and Gerald, although Anne's instruction provokes rebellion.
  • Clorinda puts her moral commitment into sustained care, restitution and reconciliation, and renews her aspiration to act nobly.
  • Clorinda expresses her moral commitment through prayer for wise motherhood and through the values she teaches her children.
  • Clorinda puts her commitment to goodness into practice through sustained protection, care and prayer for her father.
  • Anne's mercy establishes Clorinda's faith, and her subsequent life fulfils her commitment through charity, loving parenthood and publicly honoured goodness.

• John announces a morning visit, then pursues Clorinda on her ride and insists on following her home to speak privately.

  • John obtains the private interview he pursued and uses it to demand marriage and threaten disclosure.

• Alarmed by Clorinda's condition, Anne seeks medical help and keeps watch in a chamber near her bedroom.

• Clorinda plans to evade callers by riding Devil, then attempts to outride John when he intercepts her.

  • Clorinda's attempted evasion fails when John follows her into the parlour and secures a private interview.

• John demands that Clorinda marry him instead of Gerald and uses evidence of their former intimacy to threaten her proposed marriage.

• Clorinda kills John with her loaded whip and conceals his body beneath the divan.

  • The dropped whip nearly draws guests beneath the divan, but Anne retrieves it first and the concealed body remains undiscovered.
  • Anne raises murder as a hypothetical test of her fidelity; Clorinda expressly denies it, continuing to conceal her killing of John.
  • John's death remains concealed while creditors and society interpret his disappearance as flight. The girl's inquiries expose further connections between his last movements and Clorinda, but she brings no knowledge of his whereabouts.
  • Clorinda learns that Anne discovered John still expiring beneath the couch and knew where his body was hidden. She explains her lack of murderous intent; the death remains concealed beyond their confidence.

• Clorinda resolves to conceal John's death until night, destroy his evidence and control her conduct to preserve Gerald's love and honour.

  • Clorinda sustains the reception and resolves to dispose of the body after tonight. She controls her response to the whip and survives the near discovery; the guests leave without recognizing her predicament. Disposal and destruction of John's evidence remain uncompleted.
  • Clorinda masks her pallor, dismisses attendants, releases the servants for the night and sends Anne away, securing solitude under the stated purpose of examining documents and writing. The events do not establish that she has destroyed evidence or disposed of the body.
  • The public explanation of John's absence becomes flight from creditors, and Clorinda marries Gerald without the killing being exposed.
  • Retrospective disclosure establishes that Clorinda removed the body to an isolated cellar and had it closed off, with Anne secretly protecting the removal. The concealment preserves her marriage and subsequent happiness.

• Clorinda fabricates John's departure and sends a servant to seek him and deliver a note at his lodgings, sustaining the appearance that he remains alive elsewhere.

  • Clorinda repeats the account of John's hurried departure and the attempt to recall him. Jenfry's three-hour wait and return with the undelivered letter extend the appearance that John is absent elsewhere.
  • Clorinda maintains the appearance that John can send a reply, orders how any message from him should be handled and receives confirmation that none has arrived.
  • The servant finds John absent, others explain his disappearance as escape from debt, and the girl learns of Clorinda's repeated messages to his lodgings, sustaining the appearance that Clorinda was seeking him.

• Frisk's disturbance threatens to reveal the concealed corpse; Clorinda restrains and kills him.

• Clorinda conceals her killing of Frisk by telling the servant that illness, a spasm and a fall caused his death.

• Witnesses of Clorinda and John's morning ride seek further information about their connection and another public encounter.

• Anne insists on remaining beside Clorinda despite her weakness; Clorinda tends her, and Anne prevents the guests from reaching beneath the divan where John's body lies.

  • Anne wishes to remain and help, but Clorinda insists on working alone. Anne recognizes that further appeals are impossible and leaves.
  • Their mutual care develops into shared motherhood, while Anne increasingly accepts their present happiness over her remembered fears.
  • Anne reveals that her presence beside Clorinda and protection of the divan were deliberate acts of concealment after discovering John's body.

• Gerald plans to return to Clorinda in four days and invites her to join him in vowing that obstacles will strengthen their union.

  • Gerald leaves France, returns to Clorinda and marries her, fulfilling the intended reunion; these events do not establish whether he returned within four days.

• Clorinda intends to take Anne to Camylotte and provide her with a private retreat.

  • Anne receives the tower for her own residence, fulfilling the promised private retreat.

• Clorinda orders her house closed for a prolonged absence but kept ready to reopen within two days, with repairs including bricking up the cellar passage entrance; builders begin the work.

  • Clorinda confirms that the farthest cellar containing John's body was cut off and closed.

• The country girl seeks Clorinda's help in finding John after coming to town on his promise of marriage and finding him absent.

  • The country girl's search gives way to a protected life at Dunstanwolde, where she recovers happiness and John fades from her thoughts.

• Clorinda commits to protecting the country girl and others whom John wronged and deserted.

  • Clorinda identifies further victims, cares for a dying woman until her death, pays John's debts and assists the youths, women and children he harmed; the country girl recovers under her protection.
  • Her protective work expands into unprecedented charitable efforts for the weak and lost, earning widespread honour.

• John exploits the country girl's and her mother's religious trust to promise marriage and lure her to his town lodgings; she escapes a frightening reception and later learns from Clorinda that he intended to deceive and harm her.

• Clorinda plans to send the country girl and her mother to Dunstanwolde.

  • The country girl's protected life at Dunstanwolde confirms that the planned placement has taken effect.

• Clorinda seeks forgiveness and holiness so that she may remain united with Gerald after death.

  • Clorinda seeks atonement through repairing John's harms; Anne interprets the child's birth as evidence of divine forgiveness and release from inherited punishment.
  • Clorinda affirms faith through Anne's mercy, asks for her intercession and receives counsel to trust God with disclosure; she ultimately dies peacefully and is buried beside Gerald.

• Clorinda seeks religious instruction from Anne, but the instruction makes her restless, dissatisfied and rebellious.

  • Anne's demonstrated mercy brings Clorinda to belief and willing reliance on spiritual counsel.

• Clorinda and Gerald marry and begin their life together at Camylott; she entrusts him with guiding her toward becoming a worthy wife and woman.

  • Their married life develops through shared public honour, Clorinda's confidence in Gerald's support and the joyful birth of their son.
  • Clorinda's married life develops into a flourishing household of six children, whom she raises with reverence for human beings.
  • Their marriage develops into lasting shared happiness, goodness and loving parenthood, ending with peaceful deaths and burial together.

• Clorinda asks Gerald to teach and guide her moral development.

  • Clorinda shares her exercise of authority with Gerald and explicitly renews her wish to rule nobly with his help.

• Clorinda resolves to win the love of the Camylott villagers who welcome her.

  • The estate people's fear becomes esteem, and the villagers' joy at her child's birth demonstrates the affection she sought.

• Clorinda undertakes reparative work as private atonement for killing John; Anne learns of the work.

  • Clorinda explicitly offers her subsequent good life as a plea before Christ and continues exceptional charitable work.

• Betty's father beats and expels her after discovering her sexual involvement; Clorinda secures her parents' acceptance, Tom's repentance and their marriage, providing the couple with a cottage.

• Clorinda commits to invoking Gerald's protection against anyone who mocks Tom for marrying Betty.

• Clorinda aspires to exercise her authority nobly with Gerald's help.

  • Clorinda exercises her authority to relieve exhausted attendants, obtain treatment and restore dignity and order to her father's sickroom.
  • Her sustained protection of vulnerable people and moral influence on her children fulfil her aspiration to exercise authority nobly.

• Clorinda and Gerald become parents of a son and heir, deepening their shared happiness.

  • Their first son grows healthily, five more children are born, and the children's beauty and growth receive public recognition.

• Clorinda wants sons who resemble Gerald and daughters who are strong, just, noble and better protected than she was.

  • Clorinda has four sons and two daughters and teaches them self-respect and respect for others; their hoped-for mature character remains unproven.

• Clorinda commits to fulfilling her maternal duties and raising her children with love, wisdom and reverence for themselves and others.

  • The children receive reassuring instruction about death and learn the meaning of life and the honouring of love from both parents.

• Clorinda shares motherhood with Anne, whom all the children recognize as Mother Anne and love protectively.

  • Anne's shared maternal role ends with her death; the children express their love by surrounding her body with flowers.

• Anne becomes increasingly frail and aged amid her happiness in the family.

  • Anne's increasing frailty culminates in collapse, a final bedside conversation and death.

• Jeoffry's pursuit of stronger pleasures culminates in delirium, terrifying visions of John, physical collapse and death.

• Clorinda undertakes to remain beside her dying father, protect him from self-injury and secure medical care and orderly attendance; she sustains the vigil until his death.

• Facing death, Jeoffry seeks divine justice through Clorinda's prayer but comes to believe it will condemn him, acknowledging his injustice to Daphne and her abandonment.

• Anne reveals that she discovered Clorinda's involvement with John, secretly guarded their meetings and later protected the concealment and removal of his body, believing she was preserving Clorinda's happiness at the cost of her own soul.

• Anne's belief that Clorinda deliberately murdered John is corrected when Clorinda explains that she struck in frenzy without intending his death; Anne accepts this with joyful relief.

• Clorinda offers to confess everything to Gerald if Anne requires it, but Anne counsels her to leave disclosure to God.

Places

Wildairs Hall, London, Eldershawe Park, The Park, England, West Indies, France, The Mall, The old red chambers, Panelled Parlour, Camylotte, Camylott, Tower of Camylott