Chapter 8: Violet
Contains spoilers
Summary
- Violet has been on good behavior, focusing on her lessons.
- Even though she dislikes picking flowers, she excels in her French and art classes.
- She's sewing a silk slip for her trousseau, but she doesn't see the point.
- Violet stays indoors to avoid being sent to finishing school.
- She misses the outdoor activities and the companionship of her spider, Goldie.
- As the outside world becomes muted to her, she feels isolated and alone.
- She's losing her appetite, preferring solitude and darkness in her room.
- Nanny Metcalfe and Mrs Kirkby are concerned about Violet's withdrawn behavior.
- Nanny Metcalfe interrupts a needlepoint lesson, encouraging Violet to go outside.
- Violet feels disconnected from nature, unable to hear the birds or interact with a butterfly.
- Her father insists she join him and Graham for tea, demonstrating their strained relationship.
- Violet questions her mother's and her own well-being, feeling excluded and protected.
- Social structures and family status are important, but Violet feels excluded.
- Dressed unattractively, Violet struggles with dinner, especially eating mutton.
- Her father stresses the importance of respecting her cousin Frederick and acting appropriately.
- After an evening of needlepoint, Violet contemplates how her life has become restrictive.
- She retrieves a Brothers Grimm book and receives a thoughtful yet disheartening gift from Graham.
- Violet feels disconnected even from the damselfly gift and returns to her lonely room.
- She reflects on the grimness of the story in the Grimm book and its relation to her life.
- While searching for a fallen necklace, Violet discovers the word "Weyward" scratched into the wall.