Explanation Of Woolf’s The Dutchess and the Jewellers

Line By Line Explanation Of Virginia Woolf’s The Dutchess and the Jewellers

Explanation Of Woolf’s The Dutchess and the Jewellers

Posted on September 8, 2023 at 10:56 pm in Explanations, Others 0 Comments

“As a Parasol with many flounces, as a peacock with many feathers shuts his folds, its feather, so she subsided……..in the leather armchair,”

These lines have been taken from “THE DUCHESS AND THE JEWELLER’ written by Virginia Woolf. Verginia Woolf occupies a significam place in the realm of modern English fiction and short story writers. It was she who together with James Joyce and Shorthy Richardson introduced a new technique known as stream of consciousness in fiction. In the present story, she has picked up an event in the life of Oliver Bacon, who is the central character of this story. Here she presents a minute description of the duchess. The lines in question describe the beauty and style of the duchess. She comes to see Oliver Bacon and waits for ten minutes on a chair at his counter. She has come to sell her ten pearls to Oliver. She is a pretty young lady with curled brown hair. She has an attractive personality. She looks slim, wise and at the same time wicked. As a peacock with many feathers shuts its flounces, so the Duchess shut her flounces as she sank down in the leather armchair.

These lines are important because they give us a minute description of the Douchess who occupied a sofa in the shop of Oliver. The language of Mrs. Woolf, here, is highly poetic and forceful.

They were friends, yet enemies, he was master. She was mistress, each cheated the other……….Each felt this and knew this every time.

These lines have been taken from THE DUCHESS AND THE JEWELLER, a representative short story written by Virginia Woolf. Virginia Woolf occupies a significant place in the realm of modern English fiction. She introduced “stream of consciousness” technique in this story. Here she picked up an event in the life of Oliver Bacon, who is the central character of this story. At first Bacon had begun life in a filthy little alley. He used to sell stolen dogs to fashionable women in White Chapel. But now he becomes the richest jeweller in the city of London. In these lines, the author describes how Oliver Bacon was deceived by the Duchess. He was an experienced jeweller. but he could not properly test pearls. He signed on a cheque of twenty thousand pounds. The Duchess came to his counter and behaved him just as they were friend. But she wants to cheat him. He was master and she was mistress but they want to cheat each other. Sometimes, she hesitates and fears. She has black desire and she shows herself white light outside. Further she gave rotten pearls to him and cheated him. Thus, Oliver Bacon was deceived by the Duchess. These lines are remarkable because they give us an insight into the mind of Oliver Bacon. The poetic language of Virginia Woolf, here, is forceful and effective.

This then, was the truffles he had routed out of the earth. Rotten at the centre rotten at the core.

These lines occur in THE DUCHESS AND THE JEWELLER written by Virginia Woolf, Virginia Woolf occupies a significant place in the realm of modern English fiction and short story writers. Here, she describes the vagabond life of Oliver Bacon and his associates. Oliver has recollections of the dark little shop in Bond Street. He was the greatest jeweller in England. He lived at the top of a house overlooking Green Park. He used to take breakfast at night and morning. At first he used to sell stolen dogs to fashionable ladies of White Chapel. He often sold cheap watches. Thus he became a rich jeweller but once. The Duchess of Lambourne, who is young pretty lady came to his counter. She waits for ten minutes. She gave ten pearls to Oliver Bacon. She tried to deceive the jeweller and showed him false pearls. When he tested the pearls of the Duchess, he found them rotten at the core.

These lines are important because they show that the Duchess is responsible for the ruin of Oliver Bacon. It is full of foolish manstation of life. The language of Virginia Woolf, here, is forceful and effective.

And as their hands touched………behind them the safe.

The above mentioned lines have been taken from the short story entitled The Dutchess and the Jewellers’. These lines refers to the occasion when the Duchess and the Jeweller are sitting in the dark room and touch one another’s hands in order to deal in jewellery.

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The relation between the Duchess and the Jeweller was not new. They knew each other for long and have come in contact several times. They were old acquaintances and had settled many business deals between them several times before this. Oliver Bacon dealt in a kind of business in which he required the support of many such Duchess and countesses. So, as soon as they met and touched one another hands, a new relation between them was established. They were complementary for one another. Each held a status in life. Each needed the other. They were both friends and enemies. Friends because they were interested in bargain and enemies because their intention was to detraced each other. Even if suspecting each other, they had to rely upon each other because of the compulsion they felt for each other due to the fraudulent nature of their business. Therefore, every time they met in the same dark room and settled their business deals in the atmosphere of distrust. The story writer has written here about a delicate relationship between Oliver Bacon and the Dutchess. The language is simple and the description is interesting.

There they were…….rotten at the core.

Taken from the short story entitled ‘The Duchess and the Jeweller’ written by Virginia Woolf. These lines refers to the occasion when the duchess came to the Jeweller and sold fake pearls to the Jeweller who on finding the pearls fake is disillusioned.

The Duchess left leaving the pearls on the bloting paper on the table. It was a deal of worth twenty thousand. After the departure of the Duchess, the Jewellers took the pearls to the window and held them under his lens to the light in order to know whether they were fake or real. One by one he tested the ten pearls and found them all false. Though it was a terrible discovery, but the Jeweller could not have retreat from the deal as he was bound by the transaction. He had to accept it as he was burning with the undefined zeal of meeting Dina whom he loved very much. He suffered from the ungovernable passion to dig bigger, blacken and richer treeffle. But this was the treeffle which was rotten at the centre and rotten at the core.

These lines are satirical with bitter sense. The satirical remarks by the author saying that the truffle the Jeweller had discovered was in accordance with what he had looked for is really biting and effective.

It was no more than Murmur…………there he goes.

These lines have been taken from the short story entitled ‘The Duchess and the Jeweller’ written by Virginia Woolf. These lines refers to the occasion when old Oliver Bacon is thinking of his days when he was young and how he had to pass through many stages before he rose to his present eminence.

Old Oliver Bacon recalls that he began his career quite humbly in a bad way. He used to steal and sell dogs. But this way he could not have given a shape of his future. So he began to sell cheap watches. But he soon left it as he did not find this trade as fortune clicker. Then he traded in jewels and throve and became a rich man. He hired a shop in Hatton garden. Oliver recalls that when he passed through the knots of jewellers who were discussing prices, gold mines etc. they murmured a sound of sigh. It was a faint murmur but Oliver felt all that. The gentle murmur sank into his spine. He felt the murmur piercing into his body. Every afternoon, as he marched briskly through the jewellery street, he heard that faint and indistinct murmur. The sound had developed a tectual sensation for him. But that happened many years ago. The murmur was never audible to him. But he could vaguely guess what that murmur meant. He felt excited at his glory as if the murmur made by the elderly jewellers was meant to praise him and his fortune. He was delighted at the experience he had and was filled with a strange sense of satisfaction.

These remarkable lines written in simple language arouse the interest of the readers and help the plot of the story go ahead with inquisitiveness to know more.

You have all the secrets…blossom cheeks.

The above mentioned lines from the part of Virginia Woolf’s short story entitled “The Duchess and the Jeweller”. These lines refer to the occasion when the cunning Duchess comes to the Jeweller and adopts all possible devices to touch his sentiment in order to lure him to enter the deceitful bargain with her.

The clever Duchess came fully prepared to hypnotise Oliver. She glanced at Oliver with a womanish shy. While talking to Oliver about the deal, she suddenly bursts into tears which fell out from her eyes in drops like small pieces of round diamonds. As those drops of tears glided upon her cherry blossomed cheeks, they collected powder in the hollow of her cherry blossom cheeks. The drops of tears had in them the glow of diamonds due to the mixing of powder. The drops of tears got collected in the hollow of her cheek of deep red colour and produced the glow of diamonds.

Through these lines Virginia. Woolfs depicts the scene of beauty and creates rare world of beauty using her sense of colour which is unexcelled.

With each tick the clock handed him…..he announced.

These lines have been taken from the short story entitled “The Duchess and the Jeweller’ written by Virginia Woolf. These lines refers to the occasion when the Duchess of Lambourne came to meet the wealthy Oliver Bacon who is busily engaged in getting the preparation made for her welcome.

After becoming the richest jeweller of the world Oliver Bacon feels proud and starts behaving aristocrately. Duchess, countesses and viscountesses wait on his pleasure. In the same order, the Duchess of Lambourne comes to meet Oliver and wait on his pleasure. Oliver would see her after ten minutes. Till then the Duchess must wait with impatience. Time moved on slowly. Meanwhile arrangements were made to entertain the lady. Within ten minutes the table was decorated with pastry of fat goose liver, a glass of champagne, fine brandy and a costly cigar. The time passed on. The minutes moved on. Each minutes had seemed to bring something to grace the table in the honour of the lady. Within a short span of time the dainty dishes and the richest drink were served on the table. Oliver then heard the approaching footsteps of the lady. Just then the door opened and Oliver was thrilled.

These lines give a picture of the luxurious life of Oliver-his glamour of wealth and riches. The description is very sensuous.