Picnic at Hanging Rock: Chapter 10 Summary & Analysis

The narrator writes that the “spreading pattern” which has taken hold of the lives of those involved both intimately and distantly with the events of the picnic at Hanging Rock is “still fanning out in depth and intensity”—the pattern is not yet complete.

At Lake View, Mike and Irma’s recoveries are progressing well. Mike is nearly back to his old self, and while Irma still has no memory of what happened to her on the rock, she’s awake and well enough for basic questioning. Doctor McKenzie doesn’t believe Irma will ever recover her memories of Saint Valentine’s Day—her mind, he says, is like a clock that has stopped.

The following Saturday, Mademoiselle arrives at Lake View to visit Irma. Though the newspapers have been swarming with rumors about Irma, Mademoiselle has paid none of it any mind. The two share a tender, happy embrace—but don’t speak of the shared heaviness on their hearts, knowing no words will ever be sufficient. Mademoiselle shares the news of her engagement and teases Irma about whether she has met Mrs. Fitzhubert’s “handsome” nephew yet. Irma deflects Mademoiselle’s playful taunts, but Mademoiselle insists Irma will know her beloved the instant she sees him. The second she laid eyes on her own fiancé, she says, she knew he was the one.

Mike is recovering well and spending more and more time out of doors. His aunt tries to entice him with visits from eligible bachelorettes, but Mike has no interest in the English transplants his family wants to fix him up with. One evening, after a visit with a particularly boring suitor, Mike takes a walk down by the lake. He believes he sees Miranda down at the water’s edge, but as he runs toward her, sees that he has mistaken a swan for her slender visage. The swan flies away over the lake.

One afternoon, upon his aunt’s suggestion, Mike asks Albert to help him arrange a visit to meet with Irma. Though she’s been staying at another wing of the estate, they haven’t had a meeting or conversation since their return from Hanging Rock. As Mike approaches her lodgings, he wonders what the two of them could possibly have to talk about—but as soon as he lays eyes on her, he is smitten by her “sweet serious face.” Though Mike expects her to be simple and quiet like all great beauties he’s met, Irma is chatty and pleasant.

Before long, the elephant in the room comes up—Hanging Rock, and the Appleyard girls’ ill-fated picnic. Irma insists she’s glad the conversation has shifted toward Hanging Rock—she’s been looking forward to thanking Mike for continuing the search that led to her rescue. Mike insists that Albert was the one who really found her. Irma says that though she’s heard Albert’s name frequently lately, she doesn’t know who he is. She asks to meet him, and Mike promises to arrange a visit.

That night, Mike goes out to the stables to find Albert. Albert welcomes Mike warmly and says how nice it is to see him up on his “pins” again. Albert jokes about the unsightly “pins” of the girl who called upon Mike this afternoon, and Mike laughs. Mike tells Albert that Irma wants to meet him—Albert, however, is loath to meet Irma, uncertain of what he’d say to the wealthy and beautiful heiress. Nevertheless, Mike tells Albert to meet him and Irma at the boathouse the following afternoon.

At the appointed time, Mike and Irma wait together at the boathouse. Albert tries to hurry by them pushing a wheelbarrow, but Irma stops him to introduce herself and to thank him for his part in saving her. Albert shakes Irma’s hand but insists that Mike is the one who really rescued her. Irma points out how modest both men are. After a brief conversation, Albert excuses himself and continues with his duties. Though their interaction lasted only a few moments, over the years, the narrator reveals, Albert will come to think of their conversation as a sprawling and acrobatic one that lasted the entirety of the afternoon.

That afternoon, Michael and Irma go out for a boat ride on the lake—and every day after, they enjoy daily outings in the little punt, jaunts through the gardens, and board game matches outdoors. Irma is chatty and bright, and though Mike is often quiet and demure, he comes to enjoy her company. One afternoon out on the lake at the end of the summer, Irma laments that their time together is over. Mike insists it’s been good fun while it lasted. Irma states that Miranda used to tell her “everything begins and ends at exactly the right time and place.” The two of them watch plaintively as a swan swims out from some reeds up ahead and takes flight.