50 pages • 1 hour read
Charlotte LennoxThe Female Quixote
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1752A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Volume 2, Books 7-8Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Volume 2, Book 7, Chapters 1-7 Summary
Before the group departs, Sir George writes a letter to Arabella. She informs his messenger that Sir George, who betrayed Sydimiris and Philonice, is “not a Person worthy to adore Arabella” (256). As such, Sir George makes his excuses to Sir Charles for not joining them on their journey.
Sir Charles, Mr. Glanville, Miss Glanville, and Arabella travel to Bath. On the road, they are stopped by three highwaymen. Arabella misunderstands what the robbers are after, and her strange behavior causes them to flee. As they arrive in Bath, Arabella’s comparisons between the locale and locations from her historical novels confuse Sir Charles.
In Bath, Miss Glanville and Arabella prepare for a social event. Since Arabella has spent so long in the country, her fashion choices—informed by her love of romantic novels—are strange and outdated. Her decision to wear a veil amuses Miss Glanville, but her appearance causes a stir in the local society. She is admired by men and women despite her strange taste.
A man named Mr. Selvin is very interested in history. He has a reputation as an intellectual and a historian, though his knowledge is “very superficial.” When Arabella makes a comparison between the hot springs of Bath and the celebrated Grecian springs, Mr. Selvin is confused. Arabella references her novels, putting Mr. Selvin on the backfoot as he has not read any of the sources she cites. He is ashamed and confused, much to Mr. Glanville’s amusement. Miss Glanville speaks to a man named Mr. Tinsel, who is also fascinated by Arabella.
Ahead of a lavish ball, Arabella must prepare a dress. Miss Glanville is amused by Arabella’s desire to wear a dress fashioned after the style of Princess Julia, the “most gallant Princess upon Earth” (270), who supposedly lived thousands of years earlier. The dress is very different than those worn by the other women. It is “quite open round her Breast” (271), but it wins the approval of the other guests. Mr. Selvin insults Princess Julia, whom he claims was “the most abandon’d Prostitute in Rome” (273) and the cause of the poet Ovid’s banishment.
Volume 2, Book 7, Chapters 8-14 Summary
Arabella disagrees with Mr. Selvin in the strongest terms, and he dares not contradict her. As the dance takes place, Mr. Tinsel tells Arabella the story of a young woman who was a young officer’s mistress. Arabella is unimpressed with the scandalous story, which shows only “the Ugliness of Vice” (277). She cites examples from her romances of more suitable heroes and heroines before retiring to her room. Back in the rooms, Sir Charles asks whether she enjoyed society. She claims she would read her books and calls the dance “trifling.”
Mr. Tinsel and Mr. Selvin leave the dance with “very different Opinions” of Arabella (281). Mr. Tinsel is convinced that she is a fool, while Mr. Selvin is certain that she is intelligent and educated. The next day, Arabella busies herself with her novels. She is interrupted by Mr. Selvin, who—Miss Glanville gloatingly reveals— “almost quarrell’d with Mr. Tinsel last Night” about Arabella (282).
Miss Glanville is chastised by Arabella for talking about her in public. She agrees to attend the Parada later in the day on the condition that she is not left alone with people such as Mr. Selvin. She provides a lecture on the correct way for a man to declare his love for a woman, according to the principles established in her romance novels.
Miss Glanville and Arabella meet downstairs with Mr. Selvin. He notices Arabella’s cold, severe expression and fears that he has offended her. Mr. Tinsel, also in attendance, notices Arabella’s disposition and amuses himself by trying to draw compliments from her. Miss Glanville, who is attracted to Mr. Tinsel, tries to pair off Arabella and Mr. Selvin so she can talk to Mr. Tinsel. However, Arabella announces that she is “highly incens’d” by Mr. Selvin’s behavior (289), much to his horror. He tries to blame Mr. Tinsel for the crimes of which he is accused, but Mr. Tinsel eloquently denies any wrongdoing. Arabella announces her desire to retire from company.
As Arabella reflects on recent events, Mr. Selvin and Mr. Tinsel visit a nearby coffeehouse to discuss what happened. They both decide to send letters blaming each other for the offense caused. Lucy takes the letters from the messengers and delivers them to Arabella, who is hesitant to read them at first but conjures a justification using her knowledge from her novels. Miss Glanville takes great pleasure in reading the letters aloud.
When the ladies are summoned to dinner, Mr. Selvin approaches Arabella and tries to apologize again. She forbids him from appearing before her again. Mr. Tinsel, meanwhile, is outside and wishes to speak to Arabella. Lucy is supposed to give him instructions from Arabella, but she forgets them and panics. As Mr. Tinsel pushes past her, she cries out in alarm. Arabella, hearing Lucy’s cries, presumes that she is being kidnapped, and she faints. Sir Charles and Mr. Glanville rush in. Mr. Glanville aids Arabella, and Sir Charles tells Mr. Tinsel that he should leave and never return. Mr. Glanville criticizes Mr. Tinsel’s sneering attitude and challenges him to a duel if he does not leave.
When Arabella comes to, she is convinced that she must have been kidnapped during her brief unconsciousness. She demands Lucy tell her the full story of what happened, and when Lucy struggles to say anything more than the truth, Arabella becomes angry. She goes to find Sir Charles and Miss Glanville in the dining room.
Volume 2, Book 8, Chapters 1-4 Summary
Miss Glanville is secretly delighted by the spectacle Arabella made of herself. Mr. Glanville criticizes his sister’s attitude until Sir Charles must tell his children to stop arguing. When Arabella enters, she accepts Mr. Glanville’s apology for his sister’s behavior.
Mr. Selvin arrives, again keen to redress Arabella’s mistaken attitude about him. Arabella refuses to revoke his “voluntary Banishment” from her presence (312), much to his confusion. She leaves in a passionate dash to her room, and everyone is shocked by her behavior. They laugh and joke about Arabella’s actions, and Mr. Selvin insists to Sir Charles that he “never entertain’d any Design” on declaring his love for Arabella (315).
Arabella sends Lucy to fetch word of Mr. Selvin’s fate, and through a misunderstanding, convinces herself that Mr. Selvin has taken (or is about to take) his life out of his sense of duty. She returns to the room to find that Mr. Selvin has already left, and she struggles to comprehend that he has not died on her behalf. Growing increasingly frustrated by Arabella’s strange notions, Mr. Glanville tries to make a legalistic argument to prove why she is mistaken, saying that everyone serves the king, not her laws of chivalry. Arabella launches into a long speech about morality which, she believes, proves herself correct.
Volume 2, Book 8, Chapters 5-8 Summary
Though many of the women in Bath dislike Arabella’s attitude—which pleases Miss Glanville—a celebrated Countess is intrigued by her. In her youth, the Countess says, she was “deep read in Romances” (323). She arranges to meet Arabella, and the two quickly strike up a friendship, swapping tales and interpretations of famous romantic stories. They talk about “the necessary Qualifications of Heroes” (328), to the confusion of everyone else present. Mr. Glanville is pleased that such an esteemed woman has taken to Arabella, but his joy is short-lived. The Countess is called away due to tragic circumstances, bringing the brief friendship to an end. Sir Charles suggests that they travel to London, which they do. The journey is not very remarkable.
Volume 2, Books 7-8 Analysis
The introduction of Mr. Selvin is an important moment in the novel, as it provides Arabella an opportunity to interact with a man who is an expert in history. Mr. Selvin’s understanding of history, however, is superficial; he knows many dates and quotes, but much of his intellect is built on repeated phrases and borrowed ideas. He has few insights of his own, which makes him an easy target for Arabella when she begins to cite examples from her French romances to justify her understanding of history. That Mr. Selvin has no response to her absurd claims illustrates his shallowness. Rather than resent Arabella, however, he is impressed by her and seeks her approval; of all the people he has met, she stands out as a potential intellectual in a crowd of people who could not discern his fraud. She is genuine and sincere (even if she is not correct), which are admirable qualities to a man who deceives others. The exposure of Mr. Selvin by the delusional Arabella is a scathing indictment of a society that heralds superficial intellectuals.
Over the course of the novel, few characters spend as much time with Arabella as Miss Glanville. Though Miss Glanville envies Arabella’s beauty and resents the attention that she receives from people like Sir George, she has a latent sympathy for Arabella’s sincerity. She may harbor some affection for Arabella, but this does not stop Miss Glanville from hoping to embarrass her in high society, casting her as her rival. When they attend parties and social events, she does not attempt to divert attention from Arabella’s more delusional beliefs. If anything, she encourages Arabella to be herself, hoping that her refusal to conform and absurd ideas will render her an embarrassment. However, while many people scorn Arabella’s oddities, others are fascinated by her unique worldview and sense of style. They sympathize with Arabella, not only because she is a beautiful woman but because she is a unique figure among the elite, while Miss Glanville is just another wealthy, fashionable woman. Miss Glanville’s attempts to weaponize respectability against Arabella fail when she realizes that Arabella’s delusion makes her impervious to shame and that others are genuinely intrigued by her. Their fascination with her illustrates The Danger and Allure of Escapism.
A key figure in this respect is the Countess. While Sir George has read a number of romantic novels, his understanding of the genre is fundamentally shallow, and he only wants to use this knowledge for his selfish purposes. The Countess is different because, like Arabella, she is sincere. In her youth, she shared a similar love of these novels, which makes her sympathetic to Arabella’s disposition. The novel frames this sympathy through Language’s Ability to Connect and Separate; they are mutually intelligible, speaking in a mode that is impenetrable to those around them. To the people watching, Arabella’s words are overly familiar and impolite, but to the Countess, well-versed in chivalric language, Arabella is a delightful reminder of her youth. While the Countess may not have been captured by these novels to the same extent as Arabella, her ability to comprehend Arabella’s worldview suggests that there is more than mere delusion to Arabella’s world. However, this friendship is short-lived, and the Countess is taken away before she can dismantle Arabella’s delusions. Their interaction hints at the novel’s ending, where genuine understanding and compassion instead of mockery and confrontation change Arabella.
