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Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Black Beauty, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Horse Care, Abuse, and Neglect
Class, Transportation, and Victorian England
Good, Evil, and Power
Dignity and Religion
Summary
Analysis
In the spring, Lord W and Mrs. W go to London with York. Black Beauty, Ginger, and some other horses remain behind with the head groom. Lady Anne stays behind; she is an exceptional horsewoman and often rides with her male relatives. She usually rides Black Beauty, while her companions prefer Ginger or a mare named Lizzie—whom the gentlemen love, but whom Ginger insists is nervous. A man named Blantyre likes Lizzie a lot, and one day, Lady Anne insists on riding Lizzie, since Blantyre has said such good things about the mare. Blantyre tries to convince Lady Anne to switch the saddles, but Lady Anne remains unmoved. A footman asks that Lady Anne and Blantyre deliver a message to the doctor, and they then ride out.
At first, it seems like things are looking up for Black Beauty. He describes Lady Anne’s riding with the same glowing regard as he described Mrs. Gordon’s, which indicates that this is a happy time for him. Keep in mind too that Lady Anne is riding sidesaddle, which means she’s safer on a quiet and trustworthy horse like Black Beauty—and will perhaps be much less safe on a “nervous” mare like Lizzie. This seems especially true given how much Mrs. Gordon preferred Black Beauty to Ginger, who wouldn’t have hurt her mistress but who was nevertheless less suited for riding sidesaddle.
Themes
Things are fine until they get to the doctor’s house. There, Blantyre gets off and starts to open the gate for Lady Anne, but she insists that she and Lizzie can wait by the road. Blantyre hangs Black Beauty’s rein on the fence and disappears, while Lady Anne relaxes her reins and hums. Moments later, some disorganized carthorses and colts trot out of an open gate, a boy behind them cracking a whip. One colt runs straight into Lizzie, who kicks out and then gallops off with Lady Anne. Black Beauty whinnies for Blantyre, who soon returns. They gallop after Lady Anne, taking directions from various people and navigating difficult terrain. They catch sight of Lizzie and Lady Anne as they approach a wide dyke (ditch)—but instead of stopping, Lizzie jumps it and falls.
Lady Anne reads as an extremely trusting rider as she loosens Lizzie’s reins and seems not to pay attention to her surroundings. So she’s totally unprepared when Lizzie gets scared and bolts, and she has no chance of gaining control and slowing Lizzie down on her own. This highlights the importance of riding carefully—particularly if readers recall the devastating foxhunt from Chapter Two, it’s clear that both Lizzie and Lady Anne are in danger as they gallop wildly over difficult terrain.
Themes
Literary Devices
Black Beauty and Blantyre jump the ditch carefully and find Lady Anne facedown at the bottom of it. Lizzie has since run off, and two men come to help after seeing Lizzie loose. Blantyre tells one man to take Black Beauty to the doctor and then to the hall for help and a carriage. The man isn’t a skilled rider, so Black Beauty tries to gallop gently. They finally reach the hall, and another man takes Ginger to find a Lord George. When Ginger returns, she says she got to Lady Anne just as the doctor did. She isn’t dead.
Blantyre is a far more experienced rider (and more secure, since he’s riding astride), so leaping over the dyke isn’t as difficult for him. This is another instance of good horsemanship. Then, in the flurry of trying to get help for Lady Anne, Black Beauty reminds readers how powerless horses are. He only puts together how things turned out much later, as nobody tells him anything like they would a person.
Themes
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Lord George has been taking Ginger hunting, which York doesn’t approve of—he doesn’t have a steady enough hand to train a hunter. Ginger enjoys it, but she also comes back from rides strained and coughing. Two days after the accident, Blantyre comes to the stable to praise Black Beauty, whom he insists should be Lady Anne’s horse from here on out. Black Beauty is thrilled.
It seems ominous that Lord George is training Ginger to hunt, despite York’s misgivings. For one, this suggests that Lord George is too full of himself to listen to York and do what’s best for the horse. The fact that Ginger is strained after these rides also seems concerning—Lord George isn’t doing a good job. But for Black Beauty, things seem to be looking up, especially if he can be Lady Anne’s horse after this.
Themes
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