The Duchess and the Jeweller

“The Duchess and the Jeweller” (1938) is a Modernist short story that explores the complexity of money, social status, and class. Woolf, an innovator of Modernism, sought to convey “an ordinary mind on an ordinary day” with its “myriad impressions” so that novelistic representation comes as “close to life” as possible (“Modern Fiction” [1925], p. 160). The story offers a fragment of a life. It follows the actions, thoughts, and memories of jeweller Oliver Bacon, during a morning that is both typical and extraordinary. Through her characterization of Oliver and the Duchess, Woolf raises questions about “value,” materialism and greed, and social status.

As the title suggests, Woolf’s short story features two central characters: the protagonist Oliver Bacon and his antagonist the Duchess of Lambourne. The story is narrated via Oliver’s perspective, following his morning routine and meeting with the Duchess. He is a rich, well-respected jeweller whose clients include “countesses, viscountesses and Honourable Ladies” (248). He is “the richest jeweller in England” (249), and his shop off Bond Street (an area renowned for luxurious stores) has a global reputation. Through Woolf’s use of interior monologue, the reader gains insight into the jeweller’s mind. He is proud of his achievements and is materialistic, acquiring luxury items to convey his status. Yet despite all this, Oliver is dissatisfied, always looking for the next advancement. Woolf uses animal imagery to compare his drive to a “giant hog” who must root out the biggest “truffle.” This suggests Oliver’s ambition is a base instinct, devoid of ethics.

Oliver’s rise from “a little boy in a dark alley” to a world-renowned businessman is in some ways admirable (248). Through his shrewd judgment and hard work, he has become successful. While his staff envies his money and power, he shows disdain for those “below” him as he strides “through the shop without speaking” to his employees (250). His humble origins have not made him empathetic to those in a similar position as he once was. Through his indifferent treatment of others, the narrative questions whether Oliver is truly a success. His actions suggest he has secured wealth and social status by sacrificing other values such as honesty or kindness.

Woolf’s subject matter challenges the generic conventions of the short story. Rather than a conventional love story, or a traditional tale of good overcoming evil, the author presents an ambivalent business relationship between a high-ranking woman and a lower-class man. The techniques of ascribing value to the ordinary and presenting the internal landscape of the individual are hallmarks of literary Modernism. By presenting fragments of such characters’ lives, Woolf extends the limits of what is considered appropriate, or worthy, of literature.

While there is a strong link between the noble Duchess and the merchant Oliver, their relationship is difficult to define. Described as “friends, yet enemies” (251), their connection is built on commerce rather than shared interests or affection. Oliver and the Duchess’s relationship is based on secrets and the seeking of gain, which often turns into mutual distrust. As the third-person narrator observes: “he was master, she was mistress; each cheated the other, each needed the other, each feared the other, each felt this and knew this every time they touched hands thus in the little back room” (251).

Although in public they are not social equals, behind closed doors, there is a meeting of minds and a kind of parity between them. Equally matched, they are sparring partners with similar goals. The game to gain the upper hand is played out in the story through the negotiation over the sale of the Duchess’s pearls.

The detailed descriptions of the characters’ appearances in the narrative infer their character traits. The Duchess is presented as large and ridiculous, “very large, very fat, tightly girt in pink taffeta, and past her prime” (251). The ostentatious nature of her clothes is echoed in her self-important mannerisms conveying “the prestige, the arrogance, the pomp, the pride of all the Dukes and Duchesses” (251). Through this description the narrative questions the assumption of importance and wealth due to unearned prestige.

By comparison, Oliver’s dress is elegant and understated, but his “perfect trousers […] cut from the best cloth by the best scissors in Savile Row” still signify his wealth (248). Oliver’s appearance is also caricatured through animal imagery, figuratively presenting him as a greedy, “giant hog” (249), determined to snuffle out the next “truffle.” Oliver’s need to sniff out bigger and better opportunities is what leaves him unsatisfied. His depiction underscores the theme of Materialism and Greed. Both main characters are flawed, and each wants what the other has. While the Duchess needs Oliver’s money, he covets her rank. The story suggests that each is motivated by values that are “rotten at the core” (253).

The plot’s conflict comes from Oliver’s uncertainty as to whether the Duchess’s pearls are real or fake, and whether the Duchess herself can be trusted. This tension underlines the story’s theme of Authenticity Versus Deceit. Woolf suggests the Duchess has been deceitful before as Oliver reflects, “But real was it, or false? Was she lying again? Did she dare?” (251). Oliver’s interior monologue reveals that he is immediately suspicious. The dramatic action is increased when the Duchess interrupts his rational line of thought—to test the pearls for their authenticity—with an invitation to her country home. About to summon one of his employees, he stops and “[takes] his hand off the bell” (252). Oliver is tempted not only by the prospect of meeting royalty and the prime minister but also by the Duchess’s revelation that her daughter, Diana, will be there. While the reference to Diana appears to be a casual aside, the Duchess understands its significance to Oliver. She infers an opportunity for the jeweller to ascend the social hierarchy, speaking to the theme of Social Climbing and Class. By offering access to her daughter, as well as powerful people, the Duchess proffers the possibility of marriage into the nobility.

Oliver buys the pearls and the Duchess leaves with her head held high and her check grasped, “quite firmly in her hands” (253). The sale of the pearls can be interpreted as the Duchess hoodwinking Oliver and yet Oliver has bought something with the pearls that he feels has greater value: the long weekend. Like the Duchess, Oliver has gambled with his money, and whether he will earn a return on the risk is unresolved at the end of the story. The ambiguous nature of the text is designed to leave the reader unsure which of the characters has the upper hand. Ultimately, the characters’ business exchange over a figurative “rotten truffle” suggests that both the Duchess’s status and Oliver’s desire for it are equally corrupt. The narrative infers that even if Oliver attains the “noble” rank he yearns for, the role will prove rotten and dissatisfying.