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Book 8, Chapter 2
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Wings of the Dove, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Class Hierarchy in English Society
Illness and Mortality
Moral Ambiguity and Responsibility
Transactional Relationships
Secrecy, Deception, and Misunderstanding
Summary
Analysis
That night, Mrs. Stringham, Maud, Merton, and Kate are at Milly’s palace for dinner. Before dining, Mrs. Stringham talks to Merton alone and says that Milly won’t be coming down to dinner, though she is feeling better. Merton asks if that means that at some point Milly was feeling worse. Mrs. Stringham says that she is doing great. She then says that Sir Strett will be coming to the party tonight, and she asks Merton to speak with Strett when he comes. Merton is confused and doesn’t understand why Strett would want to speak to him or what he would say to the doctor. He is also struck that Mrs. Stringham wants what Kate wants—for Merton to show romantic interest in Milly—but each wants it for different reasons.
Again, Milly’s illness continues to progress and makes her unable to come down to dinner. However, the palace doors remain open to others. Considering that the palace is a symbol of Milly’s health and vitality, the fact that the palace doors remain open suggests that while Milly is not doing well, she hasn’t entirely withdrawn or isolated herself from social gatherings. Notably, even though Mrs. Stringham is selflessly devoted to Milly and has reason to believe that Kate and Merton are romantically involved, she still wants Merton to express romantic interest in Milly.
Themes
After dinner, Milly comes down. She in fact does look better than she has recently and seems to have recovered, on some level, from her most recent bout of illness. She makes the rounds through the palace, playing the role of hostess. Kate and Merton watch her from a distance. Strett is there too, and Merton says that Mrs. Stringham wants him to talk to the doctor. Merton also says that Mrs. Stringham contends that Milly is doing better. Kate says it’s not true and that if anything, Milly is worse. Merton asks Kate how Maud can feel at peace knowing that Milly is dying. Since Milly is dying, Merton says, it will only be a matter of time, no matter what happens with the plan for Merton to pursue Milly, before Merton returns to Kate.
Again, even though Milly’s illness is impacting her more and more, the palace remains open to social gatherings, and Milly later comes down after dinner, underlining the palace as a symbol of the vicissitudes of Milly’s illness and vitality. The secrecy around Milly’s illness then causes characters to speculate and make assumptions about the severity and progression of that illness. In this case, Mrs. Stringham seems to say that Milly is doing better not necessarily because she (Mrs. Stringham) believes it but because she wants to dissuade others from speculating about Milly’s health.
Themes
Kate says that she’s not going to spell things out for Merton. If he wants to know what’s happening, he’ll have to figure it out for himself. Merton thinks for a minute and then says he thinks he knows what Kate’s plan must be. Since Milly is going to die, he says, he’s supposed to marry Milly. And once she dies, she’ll leave her money to him, which he’ll then use to curry Maud’s favor and eventually marry Kate. But first, Merton says, he must propose to Milly. Kate quietly says that yes, he must propose to Milly, signaling that Merton has correctly figured out Kate’s plan. Kate then says that she and Maud will be leaving in three days, and Merton will stay. At that point, he can propose to Milly. Merton then says that he'll stay only if Kate comes to his room at night. Kate says she’ll come.
Merton finally comes to understand Kate’s plan, and this section is also the first time that the plan has been spelled out for the reader. In essence, Milly wants Merton to marry Milly so that Milly will leave her fortune to Merton when she dies—which, given the apparent seriousness of Milly’s illness, will happen sooner rather than later. After Milly dies, then, Merton will have enough money to gain Maud’s approval for a marriage between Kate and Merton.
Themes
