The Duchess and the Jeweller

“But he dismantled himself often and became again a little boy in a dark alley.”

Oliver enacts an almost compulsive “dismantling” of his identity. Repeatedly tracing his upward trajectory from rags to riches serves as a source of satisfaction. However, it also betrays an anxiety about his position. Despite being the “richest jeweller in England” (249), in his mind he repeatedly reverts to a scared little boy, hinting that his social airs are partly a performance.

“[H]e would rip his letters open with his long pointed nails and would extract thick white cards of invitation upon which the engraving stood up roughly from duchesses, countesses, viscountesses and Honourable Ladies.”

The description of Oliver’s “long pointed nails” is a jarring personal detail evoking the image of claws. The claws tie into the animal imagery repeatedly used to describe Oliver. They suggest a grasping, greedy aspect to his nature, highlighting the theme of Materialism and Greed.

“[B]ut his nose, which was long and flexible, like an elephant’s trunk, seemed to say by its curious quiver at the nostrils (but it seemed as if the whole nose quivered, not only the nostrils) that he was not satisfied yet.”

The narrator gives Oliver animal attributes, figuratively comparing his nose to “an elephant’s trunk.” This suggests that his nose is not only large but dexterous with the ability to sniff out an opportunity. The image of his nose taking on a life of its own strikes a comedic note of caricature.

“Imagine a giant hog in a pasture rich with truffles; after unearthing this truffle and that, still it smells a bigger, a blacker truffle under the ground further off. So Oliver snuffed always in the rich earth of Mayfair another truffle, a blacker, a bigger further off.”

Oliver is again, unflatteringly, compared to an animal: this time a truffle-hunting pig. Though truffles are precious and expensive, and the pigs that hunt them are skilled, the metaphor hints at Materialism and Greed. Despite unearthing many truffles, the giant hog wants the biggest, most difficult, most unattainable truffle. This reveals Oliver’s insatiable “animalistic” drive to acquire more and gain status.

“Now then he straightened the pearl in his tie, cased himself in his smart blue overcoat; took his yellow gloves and his cane; and swayed as he descended the stairs and half snuffed, half sighed through his long sharp nose as he passed out into Piccadilly. For was he not still a sad man, a dissatisfied man, a man who seeks something that is hidden, though he had won his bet?”

The description of Oliver’s immaculate dress, his confident swagger, and his affluent location—all attributes one would expect him to be happy about—are juxtaposed against the idea that he is a deeply dissatisfied man. His nose, once again, gives him away as he snuffles and sighs on his way to work. The question mark ending this statement emphasizes Oliver’s dissatisfaction. Despite winning “his bet” to become the richest jeweller in the world, he feels that he has lost.

“One tree waved six green leaves, for it was June. But Mademoiselle had married Mr. Pedder of the local brewery—no one stuck roses in his buttonhole now.”

This brief mention of a past love hints at an opportunity lost and a path not taken. Oliver’s recollection suggests regret at being alone. Mademoiselle is associated with the values of love and tenderness, now sacrificed by Oliver for money and status.

“The Duchess of Lambourne waited his pleasure; the Duchess of Lambourne, daughter of a hundred Earls. She would wait for ten minutes on a chair at the counter. She would wait his pleasure.”

As the aristocratic Duchess waits for the merchant, Woolf presents a reversal of the social hierarchy and power structure typically in place in England. Oliver is well aware of this power play, and he enjoys the game. His ability to keep the Duchess waiting indicates that he holds power within the relationship. Though she is of a higher social class, he is in charge inside his own domain.

“Then she loomed up, filling the door, filling the room with the aroma, the prestige, the arrogance, the pomp, the pride of all the Dukes and Duchesses swollen in one wave.”

The Duchess is a forceful and imposing figure. Despite her embarrassing circumstances—having to sell her jewellery to pay her gambling debts—she carries herself with pride. Her inherited privileges mean she has a sense of entitlement and power. The mocking tone of the passage questions whether she deserves the respect that she expects.

“And as their hands touched the link was forged between them once more. They were friends, yet enemies; he was master, she was mistress; each cheated the other, each needed the other, each feared the other.”

Despite their different backgrounds and circumstances, Oliver and the Duchess share a connection. Each benefits from the other and has what the other covets. The Duchess needs money, which Oliver possesses; Oliver craves status, which the Duchess has. The fact that each will lie and cheat to get what they want undermines any ideas of the noble class behaving honorably.

“Oliver stretched out and took one of the pearls between finger and thumb. It was round, it was lustrous. But real was it, or false? Was she lying again? Did she dare?”

This passage contains the key conflict in the story: whether the pearls are real or fake. This concern applies beyond the pearls to whether the characters themselves are being deceitful. Oliver’s question “was she lying again?”’ underlines the fact that the Duchess has lied to Oliver before. The extract underlines the theme of Authenticity Versus Deceit.

“‘You will come down to-morrow?’ she urged, she interrupted. ‘The Prime Minister—His Royal Highness…’ She stopped. ‘And Diana…’ she added.”

To distract Oliver from testing the pearls’ authenticity, and to persuade him to buy the pearls, the Duchess offers Oliver something he does not have—access to the highest-ranking people in England and the woman he desires. Both understand that it is social status that he is really paying for.

“He looked past her, at the backs of the houses in Bond Street. But he saw, not the houses in Bond Street, but a dimpling river; and trout rising and salmon; and the Prime Minister; and himself too, in white waistcoat; and then, Diana. He looked down at the pearl in his hand. But how could he test it, in the light of the river, in the light of the eyes of Diana? But the eyes of the Duchess were on him.”

Oliver, once the “wily astute little boy” (250), is swayed by his vision of a place as removed from the “dirty alley” of his childhood as is possible. He dreams of a country retreat, mixing with the most powerful people in England, and the possibility of marrying into that world through Diana. Looking at the pearls, he understands that accepting their uncertain authenticity could be the key to accessing this upper-class world.

“[S]he held her honour—a Cheque for twenty thousand pounds with his signature—quite firmly in her hands.”

This ironic remark precisely conveys the value of the Duchess’s “honor.” While her hold on the check is firm, her grip on her honor is precarious. Her secret is safe with Oliver but she has sold it for 20 thousand pounds.