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Similes
Chapter 10
Explanation and Analysis—Cecil and Intermarriage:
In the tenth chapter, Lucy finds out that Cecil has thwarted her plan to install the Miss Alans at the villa Sir Harry Otway has been struggling to find tenants for—replacing the spinster sisters with none other than the Emersons. Several layers of irony, as well as foreshadowing, ensue in the conversation between Lucy and Cecil after she reproaches him on his obstruction of her plan. Not realizing that something is going on between Lucy and George, Cecil speaks the following line:
'No, Lucy, the classes ought to mix, and before long you’ll agree with me. There ought to be intermarriage — all sorts of things. I believe in democracy —’
Cecil's reason for bringing the Emersons to Summer Street in the first place is to punish Sir Harry Otway for his snobbery. The idea of one snob punishing another snob by playing with the lives of people who are below them in class, status, and wealth drips with situational irony. Additionally, the idea of Cecil educating Lucy on snobbery and democracy is ironic because Lucy is hardly a snob in comparison to Cecil.
Cecil thinks Lucy is opposed to the Emersons moving into the neighborhood because of her prejudices, when her opposition is in fact a result of her feelings for George. Claiming that he believes in intermarriage, Cecil brings the Emersons into Lucy's circle to educate her. Not only does he unintentionally bring Lucy and George together, Cecil is blissfully unaware of how close to home his supposedly desired intermarriage will occur. This is an instance of dramatic irony, as the reader knows that love and passion have long been brewing between Lucy and George. It is also an instance of foreshadowing, as Cecil's mention of intermarriage seems to hint at the union between George and Lucy.
Related Themes:
