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Allusions
Book 1, Chapter 16: The Exodus from London
Explanation and Analysis—Mrs. and Miss Elphinstone:
Mrs. and Miss Elphinstone are foils for each other. Most obviously, they are visual opposites: Mrs. Elphinstone is characterized by her white clothing, while Miss Elphinstone has dark hair and a darker complexion. They also differ in terms of character: Miss Elphinstone seems competent and clear-headed, whereas the other seems incompetent and prone to panic. For instance, in Book 1, Chapter 16, the narrator describes Miss Elphinstone's "quality":
For the second time that day [Miss Elphinstone] proved her quality. To force their way into the torrent of people, my brother plunged into the traffic and held back a cab-horse, while she drove the pony across its head.
Related Themes:
Book 1, Chapter 17: The “Thunder Child”
Explanation and Analysis—Mrs. and Miss Elphinstone:
Mrs. and Miss Elphinstone are foils for each other. Most obviously, they are visual opposites: Mrs. Elphinstone is characterized by her white clothing, while Miss Elphinstone has dark hair and a darker complexion. They also differ in terms of character: Miss Elphinstone seems competent and clear-headed, whereas the other seems incompetent and prone to panic. For instance, in Book 1, Chapter 16, the narrator describes Miss Elphinstone's "quality":
Unlock with LitCharts A+For the second time that day [Miss Elphinstone] proved her quality. To force their way into the torrent of people, my brother plunged into the traffic and held back a cab-horse, while she drove the pony across its head.
Related Themes:
Book 2, Chapter 1: Under Foot
Explanation and Analysis—Curate and Artilleryman:
The curate and artilleryman are foils for each other. The curate is annoying, highly religious, and panicky. The artilleryman is logical, brave, and admired by the narrator. In Book 2, Chapter 1, the narrator describes his attempts to get rid of the curate:
Unlock with LitCharts A+I grew very weary and irritable with the curate’s perpetual ejaculations, I tired of the sight of his selfish despair. After some ineffectual remonstrance I kept away from him, staying in a room – evidently a children’s schoolroom – containing globes, forms, and copy-books. When he followed me thither, I went to a box-room at the top of the house and, in order to be alone with my aching miseries, locked myself in.
Related Themes:
Book 2, Chapter 7: The Man on Putney Hill
Explanation and Analysis—Curate and Artilleryman:
The curate and artilleryman are foils for each other. The curate is annoying, highly religious, and panicky. The artilleryman is logical, brave, and admired by the narrator. In Book 2, Chapter 1, the narrator describes his attempts to get rid of the curate:
Unlock with LitCharts A+I grew very weary and irritable with the curate’s perpetual ejaculations, I tired of the sight of his selfish despair. After some ineffectual remonstrance I kept away from him, staying in a room – evidently a children’s schoolroom – containing globes, forms, and copy-books. When he followed me thither, I went to a box-room at the top of the house and, in order to be alone with my aching miseries, locked myself in.
Related Themes:
