The Cords of Vanity · Character

Mrs. Vokins

A housekeeper or servant in the narrator's household.

minor

First appearance: i writing

Mrs. Vokins shows up with force in VI. The page is where that presence becomes real.

Briefly mentioned as a woman who has taken a house in Lichfield and is eager to meet Jaques.

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In VI: Briefly mentioned as a woman who has taken a house in Lichfield and is eager to meet Jaques. Later, in He Is Urged to Desert His…

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

In this scene, the emotional peak occurs when Elena physically strikes the narrator after his social blunder,…

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Mrs. Vokins appears across 6 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

VI
Briefly mentioned as a woman who has taken a house in Lichfield and is eager to meet Jaques.
He Is Urged to Desert His Galley
Prepares supper and asks 'who's a-beating?' prompting the narrator's pun.
I
Mentions the narrator's regular visits, saying he 'came reg'lar as the milkman.'
II
Elena Barry-Smith's mother, a woman from a mountain village who never adjusted to wealth, uncomfortable with servants, traditional in her views.
VII
Mrs. Vokins is mentioned as preparing supper and is the subject of the narrator's condescending remarks about her 'veneer' and ignorance.
IV
Privately pats the narrator's hand and says she wishes he had married Elena.

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