Bertram Cope’s Year · Chapters

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Chapter companions for Bertram Cope’s Year by Henry Blake Fuller.

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Chapter 1
I: Cope at a College Tea
Bertram Cope, a young instructor in his mid-twenties, attends a college tea where he is drawn into conversation with the assertive and patronizing Medora Phillips. She treats him as a 'college boy,' which rankles his pride, though he maintains a polished social facade. Cope is sent to fetch tea, charming the young woman at the samovar with a calculated smile. Mrs. Phillips then introduces him to Basil Randolph, a middle-aged observer who envies the youth and promise of undergraduates. The chapter establishes Cope's ambiguous position between youth and adulthood, and hints at the dynamics of patronage and desire that will unfold.
Chapter 2
II: Cope Makes a Sunday Afternoon Call
Bertram Cope pays his first Sunday call on Medora Phillips at her large, eclectic house west of the campus. He finds her alone, as the young women of the house are out walking. Their conversation is a playful, sparring exchange about the girls' talents and Cope's academic work, revealing Mrs. Phillips's determination to entertain and her curiosity about Cope's character. The chapter ends with the return of the young women.
Chapter 3
III: Cope Is "Entertained"
Cope is entertained by Mrs. Phillips and her three young female protégées—Amy, Hortense, and Carolyn—who perform music, painting, and poetry for him. He mentally composes a letter to Arthur Lemoyne, comparing the afternoon to a scene on Lesbos. After a rebuke for not helping, Cope sings, but his performance is received with polite reserve. Mrs. Phillips playfully chides him for not engaging with the girls, and Cope leaves, continuing his letter to Arthur and urging him to come down.
Chapter 4
IV: Cope Is Considered
Basil Randolph investigates Bertram Cope's background by consulting university records, finding his faculty page and address. He later visits Medora Phillips to discuss Cope, learning about his family, his singing, and his teaching at a college in Winnebago. Randolph reflects on his own collecting habits and his interest in young men like Cope.
Chapter 5
V: Cope Is Considered Further
Randolph visits Joseph Foster, who is confined to a wheelchair and nearly blind, in his cluttered room. They discuss Foster's isolation, the noise of the young women in the house, and Cope's recent singing, which Foster heard but did not see. Foster describes Cope's voice as cool and correct, like an 'icicle on Diana's temple.' Randolph shares his impressions of Cope from a tea at Mrs. Ryder's, noting his trim figure and breezy manners but also a detached quality. The conversation turns to the generational gap and how young people treat their elders. Later, Randolph speaks with Medora Phillips, who plans a young people's dinner and invites him, hinting that Cope may attend.

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I: Cope at a College Tea

II: Cope Makes a Sunday Afternoon Call

III: Cope Is "Entertained"

IV: Cope Is Considered

V: Cope Is Considered Further