The Duchess and the Jeweller involve the human urge for materialistic things. The plot involves two characters who are greedy. “They try their best to deceive others by expressing their selfishness.” Through this literary storybook, you will find the moral corruption of humans.
In this article, I will provide the following information to you:
- Author Overview
- Character Analysis
- Summary
- Analysis
- Themes
- Moral Lessons
- Relevance
- Conclusion
Author
Dutchess and the Jeweller was written by Virginia Woolf back in 1938. She was a top-rated writer who had produced various masterpieces in literature. Some famous works to overview are:
Characters Analysis
Virginia Woolf had portrayed two characters in this story.
Oliver Bacon
He is the main protagonist in the reading. He is a jeweler who is selfish and greedy.
Dutchess
She owned the same habits that were owned by Oliver. She was also a greedy woman who loved to deceive others.
Diana
She was Dutchess daughter. It seems Oliver was in love with her.
The Duchess and the Jeweller Summary
You will get an overlook of moral corruption and social behavior after reading this story. I am just covering the summary in a simple way for readers. The plot starts with the introduction of Oliver Bacon. He is a jeweler who earned fame after years. Once, he was a poor guy but then started selling dogs to fashionable ladies. He also sold watches at higher rates. This mindset helped him get a house in the rich area. He lived in the best area of England in the story. The author presented him as a greedy man. He is morally corrupt. He always wants to earn money and get things that profit him.
One day, a dutchess visited his office. After waiting, she met Oliver. She was the same as Oliver. She was also morally corrupt. She wanted to sell some pearls to Oliver. She told him that she had lost some money in gambling. She is selling pearls to cover the loss.
Oliver was a cunning and intellectual jeweler. He went to check the accuracy of the pearls. As he was doing so, the Dutchess changed the topic. She manipulated and diverted Oliver from testing pearls. She told him that she was going to arrange a party for big celebrities this weekend. Further, you are also invited there. You can enjoy the day with Diana(She was Dutchess daughter and Oliver loved her). This thing manipulated Oliver. He signed the 20K dollar cheque and handled it to Dutchess.
After Dutchess left, Oliver went to test the pearls. He found out that Dutchess pranked him with fake pearls. He cursed his greedy nature and said sorry for his mother’s painting.
Literary Analysis
Through this literary story, Virginia Woolf elucidated the selfish and greedy nature of humans. The Dutchess was morally dishonest. She cheated the jeweler by selling him fake pearls. Further, Oliver was also the same. He thought that he would get exposure to rich people at parties. This would fasten his path in politics. His selfish nature cost him.
- Both characters of the story tried their best to show their greed and moral corruption.
Themes Explored
I found these themes:
Hypocrisy
It is prominent in this reading. Both characters were hypocrites who always looked for personal benefits.
Moral Corruption
Oliver and Dutchess both lacked ethics. They deceived one another in the best ways.
Greed
Oliver wanted to earn more money and fame The same goes with the Dutchess who sold fake pearls. This defines their greed level.
Moral Lessons
This story offers the following mandatory life lessons for its readers:
- We should try to be humble.
- A greedy nature only leads to disasters.
- We should never cheat or deceive others.
- Our actions must define our moral values.
- Bad intentions always had worse results.
Relevance
Suppose we compare this short story to the present era, it’s relatable. We can see many morally corrupt and dishonest people living around us. They are found in many shapes. These people can be dangerous for our society.
- As a reader instead of becoming like them, we should stay away from their habits.
Conclusion: The Duchess and the Jeweller
Dutchess and The Jeweller by Virginia Woolf involves the encounter of a jeweler with the Duchess. They both were morally corrupt and greedy. She sold fake pearls to Oliver. He was easily manipulated by her. He wanted to get into the rich people. This desire cost him twenty thousand dollars.
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