Previous
Part 1
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in An Englishman’s Home, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Class, Hierarchy, and Selfishness
Hypocrisy and Elitism
Social Mobility
Summary
Analysis
Metcalfe moves on to a bit of light yardwork, attempting to pull some plants from his lawn so that he can plant new grass there instead. Boggett passes by and Metcalfe calls out to him, showing him his work and asking for input—only to be disappointed when Boggett finally informs him that the plants will grow back no matter what. When Metcalfe looks up, he notices two unfamiliar young men in “urban clothes” inspecting a neighboring field full of cows. Upon summoning Boggett again, Metcalfe learns that a neighboring farmer has sold his land to a man from London, who, Metcalfe and Boggett surmise, must want to build a house upon it. Metcalfe is horrified at the thought of the land being developed and resolves to act.
Gardening is yet another method by which Metcalfe attempts to pass as a genuine countryman. But it certainly doesn’t come easily to him, as even the landscape seems to resist his influence. When he looks up from his work, he notices a threatening image of discord: city men in Westmacott’s field. Part of Metcalfe’s dismay at the sight comes from the fact that he considers Mr. Westmacott’s cows to be symbols of pastoral simplicity itself, elements of the countryside that he sees from his property every day. Metcalfe’s horror is comically exaggerated, though. At this point, Metcalfe and the gentry are imagining a new house on Mr. Westmacott’s field, and their disgust at the idea suggests that their fear of development may be rooted in their aversion to outsiders in addition to their aesthetic and environmental concerns.
Themes
Metcalfe pays a visit to Lady Peabury and somberly explains the situation to her. She is as disturbed by the news as Metcalfe is, but she soon looks for someone to blame for the state of affairs. First, she turns to the farmer who sold the land, implying that it was indecent of him to make the sale without checking in with the upper-crust community nearby. Soon, though, she turns her attention to Metcalfe himself, scolding him for not buying the plot of land along with his original purchase of Much Malcock Hall. In fact, she seems to think he should buy it now. After all, everybody has always associated the land with Metcalfe’s property, even if he didn’t buy it when he originally moved to Much Malcock.
Lady Peabury is quick to judge, and it doesn’t take long before she tries to blame others for the impending development of Westmacott’s field. Her conviction that Metcalfe should have bought the field along with his house ultimately highlights that she thinks it’s her right to control the shape of the landscape around her. And this, in turn, demonstrates the ways in which wealthy people in this story feel entitled to make sweeping decisions about the surrounding world.
Themes
Colonel Hodge is waiting at the Hall when Metcalfe returns, having already heard the news. Like Peabury, he mentions that he feels the sold land ought to have been part of Metcalfe’s property from the start. He mourns the arrival of an entire housing development of bungalows or villas sure to come from the urban men’s building plan, but Metcalfe still hopes to prevent them from breaking ground through bureaucratic means. Meanwhile, at the Old Mill, the Hornbeams receive word of the situation and react with melodramatic despair. Mr. Hornbeam laments the plight of the solitary Artist in a world that is increasingly urban and industrial, and he grouses that their hopes for salvation depend on the actions of Metcalfe, whom they consider unrefined and nouveau riche.
While Hodge and the Hornbeams’ reactions to Metcalfe’s news vary in their particulars, they all share the same dramatic sense of dread at the prospect of a housing development. Metcalfe’s conversation with Hodge follows the template of the one he just had with Peabury fairly closely; they both end up placing the blame and the responsibility to act on Metcalfe’s shoulders. The Hornbeams also resign themselves to being dependent on Metcalfe’s actions. Metcalfe, of course, wants to avoid this responsibility by appealing to bureaucracy. In short, much of the comedy in this section comes from the gentry’s avoidance of what they see as their “duty,” as well as their drawn-out, ineffective meetings about the best course of action.
Themes
Metcalfe calls a meeting of the neighbors at Much Malcock House. The others have agreed that Metcalfe should be the one to buy the land in order to preserve it, but Metcalfe is still pushing to split the bill. He proposes that they each pay an amount proportional to the amount of land they own, which would leave Peabury paying the lion’s share, Metcalfe and Hodge each paying much less, and the Hornbeams paying half of that. Even with expectations so low, Hodge and the Hornbeams immediately refuse. Peabury, on the other hand, feels stuck in the bargain even though Metcalfe has more money than she does, since she refuses to lower herself by pointing out this fact.
The neighbors convene at Lady Peabury’s house, underlining her status as the de facto leader of the group. All of the neighbors seem willing to hear Metcalfe’s proposal, but once he reveals that he wants them to split the cost, their tenuous cooperation splinters. They’ve all attended the meeting in the spirit of self-interest, but as soon as Metcalfe asks them to contribute to the effort, they scatter—they expected Metcalfe to pay for the land himself. Intentionally or not, Metcalfe’s wording does trap Peabury in the bargain, since she’s too prideful and polite to admit that Metcalfe is actually richer than she is.
Themes
Get the entire An Englishman’s Home LitChart as a printable PDF.
Ruffled and bitter, Peabury exchanges tense words with Metcalfe. Metcalfe informs her that he’s not particularly attached to the idea of owning the field itself. Hodge points out that they ought to check that the land is for sale first, to which Peabury snipes that she looks forward to the outcome of Metcalfe’s conversation with the seller. She immediately regrets her words, and sure enough, Metcalfe takes them as a grave insult. That evening, he decides to revert to his hard-nosed, stubborn persona from his days in the cotton business: “Metcalfe the lion of the Rotarians.”
Peabury’s words seem to insult Metcalfe in two ways: they (again) place the entire onus on him to strike a bargain with the new landowner, and they snottily call attention to his experience with negotiations from his business career. Her arrogance is the last straw for Metcalfe, who decides to embody exactly the stubborn businessman that she and the other neighbors mock. In this moment, Metcalfe abandons his goal of becoming a community-minded country gentleman and settles back into his profit-minded past.
Themes
Hodge feels disappointed in the day’s events, realizing that Metcalfe is now going to dig in his heels and refuse to buy the land to spite Peabury. His wife suggests that he meet with the man who bought the land instead, and he does. Finding Mr. Hargood-Hood at the local inn, Hodge introduces himself and asks after Hargood-Hood’s intentions with the land. Hargood-Hood is perfectly willing to converse with Hodge, and the Colonel discovers that he purchased the field through his lawyer as a site for industrial experiments—there will be two large chimneys, Hodge learns, because of the facility’s poisonous fumes. Hodge reports this to Metcalfe, also mentioning that Hargood-Hood seemed generally agreeable and neutral to the idea of reselling.
When Hodge seeks out Hargood-Hood at his wife’s suggestion, he finds a man who seems perfectly friendly and polite. Slowly, however, Hargood-Hood reveals his plan to develop the land into the absolute worst-case scenario. The chimneys in particular escalate the issue from a cosmetic or class-based one into an environmental crisis, endangering everything that makes the countryside appealing to its upper-class residents.
Themes
