Cranford

Miss Matty’s Greeting and the Name Change

Following Miss Jenkyns’s death, the narrator receives letters from both Miss Pole and Miss Matty inviting visits. Upon arriving at Miss Matilda’s house, the narrator finds her in tears from nervous anticipation of the call. The most poignant moment comes when Miss Matty, grasping the narrator’s hand, requests to be called “Matilda” instead of the familiar “Matty”—explaining that her deceased sister did not like the intimate name, and now that Deborah is gone, Miss Matilda wishes to honor her memory in this small way. The narrator promises to comply, though efforts to use the formal name throughout Cranford prove largely unsuccessful.

Quiet Stay at Miss Pole’s

The narrator’s visit to Miss Pole proves uneventful, reflecting Cranford’s social stagnation without Miss Jenkyns’s leadership. The Honourable Mrs Jamieson, despite her precedence in the social hierarchy, lacks the energy to organize gatherings, leaving society without its usual entertainments. The visit provides ample opportunity for quiet companionship, with Miss Pole sharing old-world stories while the narrator occupies herself with plain sewing. One of these tales hints at a shadowy love affair from years past, foreshadowing revelations to come.

Servant Troubles at Miss Matilda’s

Servant instability emerges as a persistent concern in Cranford’s genteel society, where pretty servant-maids face constant temptation from handsome tradesmen required to visit the houses. Miss Matilda’s maid Fanny becomes a particular source of anxiety; though forbidden to have “followers” by her engagement terms, Fanny’s innocence regarding her flirtations troubles her mistress deeply. The narrator herself witnesses suspicious circumstances—a man’s coat-tails disappearing into the scullery and a young man glimpsed behind the kitchen door at night—though she keeps these suspicions from Miss Matilda. Eventually Fanny must leave, and the narrator agrees to stay and train a new maid named Martha before departing.

Preparations for Major Jenkyns’s Visit

News arrives that Major Jenkyns, Miss Matilda’s cousin who spent twenty or thirty years in India, has returned to England and writes proposing to visit Cranford. Miss Matilda becomes frantic with worry about proper arrangements for a gentleman guest, lamenting that her late sister Deborah would have known exactly what to provide. She frets about razors, slippers, and coat-brushes for the dressing room, and how to know when to leave him to his wine after dinner. The narrator takes charge of coffee preparations and undertakes to instruct Martha in waiting duties, though Miss Matilda’s constant interruptions muddle the training. The household prepares with fresh wine and anxious anticipation.

The Major’s Visit

Major Jenkyns and his invalid wife arrive accompanied by their own servants—a Hindoo body-servant for the Major and an elderly English maid for his wife—though these attendants lodge at the inn. The visitors prove quiet and unpretending, though languid as East Indians presumably are. Martha stares openly at the turbaned Hindoo servant, and Miss Matilda afterward confesses he reminded her of Blue Beard. The visit proceeds satisfactorily and becomes a favorite topic of conversation for Miss Matilda, having created considerable excitement throughout Cranford. Even Mrs Jamieson stirs herself to offer advice on gentleman visitors, delivered in the wearied manner of a prophetess longing for rest.

The Love Affair of Long Ago

Miss Pole reveals to the narrator the story of Miss Matilda’s rejected suitor, Thomas Holbrook, a yeoman farmer who once offered for her hand long ago. Holbrook, though living only four or five miles from Cranford on his own modest estate, possessed an honest pride that prevented him from pushing into squire ranks or accepting the title “Esquire.” He rejected modern refinements, kept his house door shut without a knocker, spoke the country dialect freely, and read aloud with exceptional beauty and feeling. Miss Matilda was willing enough to accept him, but her sister Deborah and the rector father discouraged the match as beneath her station—the family being distantly connected to Sir Peter Arley, a connection Miss Jenkyns valued highly. After his refusal, Holbrook took his business to the neighboring market town and rarely visited Cranford again.