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Part 2
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
The third part of the story takes an epistolary form. In a short letter, Metcalfe informs Peabury that he is in touch with Hargood-Hood and that the necessary funds to buy the land total £500—a £330 increase from the price when Metcalfe first moved to the village. He makes his final offer: they can split the £500 exactly in half. If she refuses, Metcalfe will abandon his efforts to save the land altogether and will sell his property so that it can be developed. In her reply, Peabury turns down the offer and dismisses his threats. Reading it, Metcalfe considers the matter closed.
The result of Metcalfe and Peabury’s letters is essentially a stalemate over a petty issue. It’s worth mentioning that Metcalfe’s commitment to developing his own property represents a complete reversal of his principles: for all his talk of the greater good of the community and landscape, he is willing to compromise it entirely in order to make a point to one woman.
Themes
