Arcadia: Act 2, Scene 6 Summary & Analysis

Septimus returns from an early-morning hunt, carrying a dead rabbit, which he gives to Jellaby. Jellaby tells Septimus that while he was off sleeping in the boat house, Brice, Mr. Chater, and Mrs. Chater all left, followed by Byron. Septimus bribes Jellaby to get the gossip. Last night, Lady Croom, on a late-night visit to Byron, found Mrs. Chater exiting. The two of them had a noisy fight.

Lady Croom enters, sending Jellaby away for tea. She tosses down two letters and begins to yell at Septimus. We can gather that one letter was a confession of love to her, and the other a letter about rice pudding to Thomasina. Septimus left both because he expected he might be killed in a duel this morning, but, it’s now clear, the duel never took place because Chater left after the previous night’s drama.

Jellaby delivers tea and a letter from Byron to Septimus. Lady Croom doesn’t want Septimus to read the letter from Byron, whom she no longer considers a friend, so Septimus burns it. Lady Croom explains that Brice, Chater and Mrs. Chater are sailing for the West Indies. Brice is funding Chater to be the expedition’s botanist, but, Lady Croom explains, Brice’s real goal is to continue his affair with Mrs. Chater. Chater still wants to believe in his wife’s virtue.

Lady Croom mentions that Septimus’s passionate love letter to her rings false because of Septimus’s fling with Mrs. Chater. Septimus explains that he only got with Mrs. Chater because of his unquenched passion for Lady Croom. Lady Croom, with characteristic ironic humor and high manners, invites Septimus to come to her sitting room that evening.