第七章
Chapter VII traces the aftermath of the confession scene in the Piazza della Signoria. Lucy promises Miss Bartlett to keep the incident secret from her mother, an exchange that abruptly ends the intense interview. Left alone, Lucy reflects on the wrong done to her and on the manipulative influence her cousin has exerted. That night she hides from George Emerson at the window, while Miss Bartlett intervenes to dismiss him from the drawing-room. Distraught, Lucy cries out against the muddle of her situation, and Miss Bartlett sends her to bed. The chapter closes with the party departing for Rome the next morning, marking the transition into Part Two.
Agreement to Keep the Incident Secret
When George suggests that Lucy’s mother will see the situation as clearly as he does, Lucy asks, out of cowardice, why her mother need hear of it at all. He reminds her that she tells her mother everything, but Lucy refuses to be forced into the position of someone who must hide things from Mrs. Honeychurch. She declares she would naturally have told her, but to spare him blame she promises never to speak of the incident to anyone.
Miss Bartlett Ends the Interview
Lucy’s promise brings the long interview to a sudden end. Miss Bartlett, in a brisk and efficient manner, pecks Lucy smartly on both cheeks, wishes her good-night, and sends her off to her own room.
Lucy Reflects on Wrong and Influence
For a moment the original trouble recedes, and George seems to have behaved badly throughout. Lucy neither acquits nor condemns him, refusing to pass judgement, because at the moment she was about to judge him, her cousin’s voice had intervened. Since then Miss Bartlett has dominated the situation, sighing even now through the partition. Lucy recognises that her cousin has really been neither pliable, humble, nor inconsistent, but has worked like a great artist, producing at last the picture of a cheerless, loveless world in which the young rush to destruction until they learn better. Lucy feels she is suffering from a grievous wrong: diplomatic advantage has been taken of her sincerity and her craving for sympathy and love. Such a wrong, she feels, will not easily be forgotten, and may react disastrously upon the soul.
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