Cranford

Peter’s Navy Enlistment

Peter had made his way to Liverpool, where, with war then raging and the king’s ships lying off the mouth of the Mersey, he enlisted as a sailor. Standing five foot nine and described as a fine likely boy, he was welcomed aboard. The captain wrote to Peter’s father, and Peter wrote to his mother. The chapter thus reveals Peter’s fate as a sudden and decisive flight into a military life at sea, far from the broken home he left behind.

Mrs Jenkyns’s Unopened Letter

While searching for letters related to Peter, Miss Matty and the narrator light a candle and discover, alongside the captain’s letter and Peter’s own, a small simple begging letter from Mrs Jenkyns addressed to Peter at the house of an old schoolfellow. The letter had been returned unopened by that schoolfellow and had been inadvertently filed with other correspondence from that period, remaining sealed and unread ever since. This unopened letter becomes a poignant relic of the family’s anguish and Peter’s abrupt departure.

CHAPITRE VI.

Chapter VI presents Miss Matty narrating the painful history of her brother Peter’s departure from Cranford to join the navy. Through the reading of letters and Miss Matty’s recollections, the chapter traces the family’s grief over Peter’s missed reunion, their mother’s decline and death, the posthumous arrival of an Indian shawl, the family’s reduced circumstances, Peter’s brief return as a lieutenant, his final disappearance at sea, and Miss Matty’s lingering hope—concluding with a mysterious street noise at the door.

Peter’s Mother’s Farewell Letter

Miss Matty reads aloud her mother’s farewell letter to Peter, expressing the family’s deep sorrow at his departure and entreat­ing him to return, noting that his father sits sighing and cannot hold up his head for grief.

Missed Liverpool Reunion

A captain’s letter summoning the parents to Liverpool was delayed by the races, and when they finally set off in their gig, they arrived too late—the ship had already gone, denying Peter his reunion with his mother.

Peter’s Parting Letter to His Mother

Peter’s letter to his mother was full of love, pride in his new profession, shame over his disgrace in Cranford’s eyes, and a passionate plea that she come to see him before his ship sailed into battle against the French.

Peter’s Mother’s Grief and Failing Health

Miss Matty’s mother bore Peter’s loss with patience though she had never been strong; she grew weaker with hidden bitter crying, sent repeated messages to Peter through India, and faded away within a twelvemonth of his departure.

Father’s Gentle Transformation After Wife’s Illness

The father, seeing that his wife’s health was failing, became remarkably gentle and humble after his severity, checking himself if he spoke too harshly and seeking reassurance that he had said nothing to hurt his daughters.

Mother’s Death and Posthumous Shawl Arrival

A large soft white Indian shawl with a narrow border arrived for the mother from Peter the day after her death, arriving too late for her ever to wear it in life.

Father’s Request to Bury Wife in Peter’s Shawl

The father, sitting with his wife’s hand in his all night, declared she should be buried in Peter’s shawl—the very shawl she had wished for at her marriage and never received—and she was laid out in it looking fair and smiling.

Family’s Reduced Circumstances After Loss

After the father’s death, the sisters were compelled to leave the rectory with its maids and man and move to a small house with a single servant-of-all-work, though Deborah maintained they had always lived genteelly despite reduced circumstances.

Deborah’s Devotion to Her Father

Deborah devoted herself wholly to her aging father, reading to him, writing and copying on his behalf, conducting parish business, and even writing to the bishop; Miss Matty quietly did odd jobs to set Deborah at liberty to serve him.

Peter’s Brief Return as a Naval Lieutenant

Peter returned home once as a naval lieutenant, and he and his father became devoted companions, with the proud father taking Peter’s arm about the parish and relying on him as he had once relied on Deborah.