28 pages • 56 minutes read
Virginia WoolfThe Duchess and the Jeweller
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1938A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Literary Devices
Interior Monologue
Interior monologue is a narrative technique that presents the unspoken, conscious, thoughts of a character. This is a powerful device for conveying a character’s motivation and frame of mind. In interior monologue, sometimes called internal monologue, the reader can “overhear” a character’s internal thoughts. For example, the reader has access to Oliver’s thought process during his morning routine as he reflects, with pleasure how, as his wealth increased, “he dressed better and better; and had, first a hansom cab; then a car; and first he went up to the dress circle, then down into the stalls” (249). From this, we learn that Oliver values material wealth.
Interior monologue can be presented directly, as in first-person interior monologue. This happens when Oliver thinks about the Duchess’s gambling debt, reflecting:
Been gambling again, had she?
[…]
The man with the chipped cheek bone? A bad ’un. And the Duke was straight as a poker; with side whiskers; would cut her off, shut her up down there if he knew—what I know (252).
Oliver’s thoughts are presented directly here, giving readers the impression they have access to the unfiltered thoughts of his character. First-person interior monologue is a common Modernist technique.
Woolf’s story extensively uses indirect third-person monologue, presenting the character’s thoughts and emotions, but through the filter of a narrator or author. The character’s internal thoughts are introduced via signals such as “she thought” or “he felt as though.” Oliver’s vision of the long weekend which will allow him access to royalty and Diana helps the reader to understand why does not test the pearls and buys them anyway:
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? (253).
Here, the monologue gives cues like “he saw” and “he looked down on,” yet the vision is clearly Oliver’s own.
Irony
Literary Modernism makes great use of irony, which exploits the gap between the expected and the actual, thereby capturing the complex social, political, and cultural changes of the early 20th century. Irony is a device in which there is a tension between how words, phrases, or situations seem to be and how they really are. For example, there is an ironic gap between the Duchess’s public presentation of herself in opulent finery, like “the plumes of the peacock, the radiance of the wave, the swords and spears of Agincourt,” (253) and the fact she is in severe debt, likely due to gambling. Given her addictions and flaws, it is also ironic that she is part of the “nobility,” a term that suggests a highly moral character.
Ambiguity
Part of the story's power stems from its use of ambiguity. Ambiguity is when a word, phrase, idea, or situation has more than one meaning and is open to interpretation. Ambiguity can create feelings of uncertainty, doubt, or even the pleasure of multiple possibilities. This technique allows room for complexity and asks the reader to take an active role in interpreting the situation.
Woolf offers ambiguous characterization and plot as a way to build tension and engage the reader. The Duchess’s intentions are open to interpretation. Meanwhile, Oliver’s choice to buy the pearls even though he is doubtful of their authenticity could be seen as a means to a greater prize or a foolish gamble. The characters, the situation, and the outcome are all ambiguous.
Direct Address
Direct address breaks the sense of a self-contained and complete fictional world when the narrator addresses the reader. Given the use of interior monologue, which presents the mind of the characters directly and the use of ambiguity to present an unresolved plot, the use of occasional direct address in the story is important. For example, when the text states, “Imagine a giant hog in a pasture rich with truffles” (249). The imperative “imagine” demands the reader’s attention. Having previously been immersed in Oliver’s interior monologue, this imperative creates distance between the reader and the character. The effect draws attention to the fact that despite a lack of didactic commentary, there is a narrator shaping the text. The technique highlights that there is no objective reality or “truth” being presented.
Related Titles
By Virginia Woolf
