The Secret History: Chapter 7 Summary & Analysis

Richard is shocked by how many people come out of seemingly nowhere to mourn Bunny’s death. He regularly hears people say about Bunny, “He would have wanted it that way,” despite the fact that they barely knew him. In addition, the college donates money in Bunny’s name to the ACLU, which Richard describes as “an organization Bunny would certainly have abhorred, had he been aware of its existence.” For some time, all upcoming events at the college incorporate Bunny in some fashion and even communities who previously hated him—such as the local hippies—find ways to mourn his passing. Although Richard is skeptical as to whether this outpouring of grief is genuine, he does realize that he underestimated how many people cared for Bunny.

 In the days following the discovery of Bunny’s corpse, Richard doesn’t see much of his friends. Henry goes to Connecticut with the Corcorans, and Richard doesn’t spend time with the others. Instead, he hangs out with Judy and her friends. Whenever Judy is left alone with Richard, she tries to sleep with him, though Richard declines her advances. In addition, Richard does briefly see Francis, who tells him that Bunny’s parents have ordered an autopsy. This fact, along with Richard’s general feelings of guilt, keep him up at night. Ultimately, the autopsy reveals nothing about Bunny’s cause of death, and no drugs are found in his system.

The following Monday, Richard receives a letter from Henry inviting him to stay at the Corcorans’ house the night before the funeral. Henry strongly suggests that Richard do so because he is having a hard time dealing with the Corcorans on his own. Together with Francis and a girl named Sophie Dearbold, a casual acquaintance of Bunny’s, Richard travels to Connecticut for the funeral. They have fun on the car ride together, though Richard dreads their arrival at the Corcoran home. Eventually, they find it; it is a large house decorated in a garish postmodern style. Richard is clearly appalled by its appearance, though Francis shrugs it off.

Mr. Corcoran answers the door and greets Francis warmly. Next, Sophie introduces herself, though Mr. Corcoran clearly has no idea who she is. Before Richard can introduce himself, Mr. Corcoran breaks down crying. In response, Francis comforts him, and he quickly pulls himself back together. This moment scars Richard who recalls, “Suddenly, and for the first time, really, I was struck by the bitter, irrevocable truth of it; the evil of what we had done.” Francis realizes what’s on Richard’s mind and kicks him so that he’ll snap out of it. All of a sudden, Mr. Corcoran stops crying and invites everyone inside for a beer. Everyone is shocked by his reaction, though Francis accepts the offer. Before they go inside, Richard manages to introduce himself to Mr. Corcoran, who recognizes him from Bunny’s stories.

Shortly after they enter the house, the doorbell rings and Mrs. Corcoran answers it to find a boy delivering flowers. She begins chastising the boy for a previous delivery, which he did not make, while Mr. Corcoran tries to deduce who sent the latest batch of flowers. Mr. Corcoran seems to appreciate the flowers, though Mrs. Corcoran is suspicious of many of them. She thinks that a man named Bob Bartle who works for Mr. Corcoran only sent a wreath because he plans on asking for a raise.

After the dispute over the flowers, Mrs. Corcoran turns to her guests and asks Francis how his mother is doing and says, “I was so sorry when I heard she’d been admitted to the Betty Ford Center.” Francis assures her that his mother is fine and attempts to drop the subject. Mrs. Corcoran does not get the hint and continues to discuss the subject. However, she is soon cut off by Mr. Corcoran, who sees Henry coming down the stairs and loudly greets him. Mr. Corcoran asks Henry if he’s spent his time upstairs “[l]ooking at girlie magazines.” Henry responds by telling Mr. Corcoran that he’s been reading the Upanishads.

Mrs. Corcoran tells Henry to show Francis, Richard, and Sophie where they are staying. Before Henry can do so, Mr. Corcoran has another one of his crying fits. No one knows how to react, and it is clear that Mrs. Corcoran is not happy with her husband’s breakdown. Eventually, Mr. Corcoran calms down when his sons and grandsons arrive. As Mr. Corcoran plays with the children, Mrs. Corcoran once again repeats her order to Henry about showing the others their accommodations.

Henry points Francis and Richard to the basement where they will be staying. The basement is dank, and they quickly realize that they will have to sleep on cots, likely alongside a number of other people. Francis is revolted and suggests that they leave and check into a hotel. At the same time, Camilla comes down the stairs and tells them that their accommodations are nothing compared to what she’s had to endure. She arrived the night before and had to share a bed with Marion. She also tells them that Henry is having another bout of headaches and is therefore taking a lot of pills.

Richard describes the time he spends with the Corcorans as “one of the worst nights of [his life].” He is forced into many awkward conversations while eating bad food and trying to withstand the hustle and bustle of the house. In addition, he is wracked with guilt for the role he played in Bunny’s death and is reminded of a line from Crime and Punishment: “It was I killed the old pawnbroker woman and her sister Lizabeta with an axe and robbed them.” Eventually, he is able to get away from the crowd and talk to Henry, alone. Henry tells him that he is doing his best to keep up appearances, but he’s run out of medicine for his headaches.

Together, Richard and Camilla raid one of the Corcoran’s bathrooms in search of medicine for Henry. While they look, someone aggressively and repeatedly knocks on the door. After much searching and little success, Richard opens the door to find Cloke. Cloke is surprised and annoyed to find Richard and Camilla in the bathroom together, and he interrogates Richard about what they were doing. Richard eventually tells him the truth and Cloke turns out to be helpful. He reveals that Mrs. Corcoran “is on about sixteen different types of dope” and promises to show Richard where to find the drugs when the opportunity arises.

Richard returns downstairs to find more chaos. The young children are yelling and crying, while Mr. Corcoran attempts to regale a captive audience with a story about Henry. As it turns out, the story is about someone else entirely. Eventually, Richard manages to step away again, and Cloke shows him the location of the drugs. He pockets some for Henry and heads back downstairs. Before he can find Henry, he runs into Francis who is concerned because Charles left in Francis’s convertible in the rain with the top down. Richard tells Francis not to worry and assures him that everything will be fine.

Shortly after his conversation with Francis, Richard finds Henry and gives him the pills. He tells Henry to be cautious because he shouldn’t be taking the pills with alcohol in the first place. Next, Richard runs into Camilla. He tells her to be careful while talking on the phone when around other people because apparently Cloke has been attempting to listen in on her conversations. Camilla assures him that she is being careful. Then, on a whim, Richard gives her a brief kiss. Before anything else can happen, Charles stumbles drunkenly through the door, closely followed by Francis. The two are fighting because Francis thinks Charles may have ruined his car by leaving the top down in the rain. Eventually, Francis ends the argument because he realizes the extent to which Charles is disturbed and upset.

The next morning, Richard gets up and prepares for the funeral. Because Henry is a pallbearer, he must leave early. This leaves Richard, Camilla, and Sophie alone with an irritated Mrs. Corcoran, who is annoyed because no one else is ready. Richard assures her that Francis is coming, however, he isn’t finished dressing. Though this is the truth, Richard fails to mention that Charles and Cloke are on the porch smoking pot. Eventually, Mrs. Corcoran manages to round everyone up, and they make their way to the church.

The funeral service is long and features a sermon from the minister, a cliché speech from Bunny’s high school football coach, and a poem from Henry. The Greek students find the poem, which is A. E. Housman’s “With Rue My Heart Is Laden,” to be in poor taste. However, Henry chooses it because it is something that Bunny would often recite. During the closing prayer, Richard once again begins to dissociate and worries that he might pass out. Ultimately, though, he manages to hold himself together.

After the church service, Richard overhears a conversation between Mr. Corcoran and his son Hugh. Hugh is excited because Paul Vanderfeller, who owns a large percentage of Mr. Corcoran’s bank, attended the funeral. Upon learning this, Mr. Corcoran rushes off to talk to him. Following this interaction, everyone makes their way to Bunny’s grave. Richard finds the site of the grave almost unbearable, and he is stricken with guilt as he watches Bunny’s casket be lowered into the ground. After Bunny is in the ground, Henry picks up a handful of dirt and lets it fall on the coffin. Then, he smears his hand across his clean shirt. The other Greek students all stare at him in shock, though he doesn’t seem to realize what he’s done.