The Adventures of Roderick Random

Confiding the Rejection to Strap

The narrator confides the full story of his rejection by Melinda and her mother to Strap, pretending to be furious and vowing to abandon the pursuit, while internally acknowledging his lingering guilt over courting Melinda while still carrying feelings for Narcissa.

CAPÍTULO L.

CHAPTER L

The narrator pursues revenge on Melinda and a new mistress, allying with Billy Chatter to secure a wealthy partner for a private assembly. He consults Banter, who devises a scheme to humiliate Melinda by pairing her with Banter’s barber disguised as a travelled gentleman. The narrator opens the ball as a faux French marquis with the rich heiress Miss Gripewell, tormenting Melinda with his success. The barber’s ridiculous performance shames Melinda into public withdrawal, and the scheme unravels, leaving Chatter disgraced. Reduced finances drive the narrator to drink, playhouse pursuits, and the company of templars as he cultivates a wit’s persona. He then receives a mysterious billet-doux signed “Your incognita,” which inflames his hopes of a wealthy conquest. Investigation identifies the correspondent as Miss Sparkle, daughter of the miserly Sir John Sparkle, reputed to own twelve thousand pounds. A clandestine correspondence ensues, and she eventually consents to a meeting at the milliner’s house. By the appointment, the narrator has forgotten Narcissa and anticipates triumphant matrimony.

Revenge on Melinda

Revenge on Melinda

The narrator becomes consumed with the desire to be revenged on Melinda, whose rejection has stung his pride. He enlists the help of Banter, whose misanthropical temperament makes him eager to devise a scheme against the proud coquette. Banter proposes not only providing the narrator with a partner for the assembly, but also procuring a ridiculous partner for Melinda herself. He recruits his own barber, a vain coxcomb recently returned from Paris, and convinces the man that Melinda has been captivated by his appearance and desires his acquaintance. Dressed in Banter’s tawdry clothes and introduced by Chatter as a man of fortune newly arrived from his travels, the barber is presented to Melinda at the ball. His absurd affectation passes for the sprightly politesse of a travelled gentleman, and the trap is set.

Alliance with Billy Chatter for Revenge

Alliance with Billy Chatter for Revenge

The narrator secures the alliance of Billy Chatter, a society go-between who engages the men at all private dances and is intimately connected with the ladies of the town. Having heard something of a difference between Melinda and the narrator, Chatter at once guesses the design and promises to match the narrator with a partner worth thirty thousand pounds at the next assembly. He undertakes to bespeak Melinda on behalf of Banter’s barber, and every arrangement falls into place according to the narrator’s wish.

Miss Gripewell’s Background

Miss Gripewell’s Background

Miss Biddy Gripewell, the heiress Chatter proposes as the narrator’s partner, is the daughter of a deceased pawnbroker who died intestate. Because the old man could not bring himself to pay for a will, Biddy inherits his entire substance rather than a mere sixth part. During her father’s lifetime she was kept like a servant wench, performing menial offices, but upon his death she assumed the airs of a fine lady. Lacking discretion and experience, she has grown insufferably vain and arrogant, aspiring to no less than a duke or earl. The English quality neglect her, though a poor Scottish lord courts her acquaintance. A scheming lady has already secretly disposed of her to a lieutenant of foot, and Biddy herself is as yet unaware of the arrangement. To dance with her, the narrator must allow Chatter to present him as a knight or foreign count.

Disguised Marquis at the Private Ball

Disguised Marquis at the Private Ball

The narrator consents to personate a French marquis for one night, that he may the more easily execute his revenge. At the appointed time he appears dressed to the best advantage, and in the borrowed title of marquis has the honour of opening the ball with the heiress, whose prodigious display of jewels attracts the eyes of the whole company. Among the spectators is Melinda, who can neither conceal her envy nor her astonishment at the narrator’s apparent triumph. Her curiosity is heightened by never having seen Miss Gripewell before, and Chatter is engaged at the other end of the room, so that she can obtain no satisfaction. The narrator observes her impatience, exults in her chagrin, and after his partner is seated passes her with a slight bow without stopping, thereby completing her mortification. She changes colour, bridles, assumes disdain, and furiously flutters her fan until it flies to pieces to the great entertainment of those nearby.