The Moon and Sixpence · Chapter
Chapter VIII explained
The narrator reflects on the Stricklands as an ordinary middle-class family, then learns from Rose Waterford that Charles Strickland has abandoned his wife.
What happens
The narrator reflects on the Stricklands as an ordinary middle-class family, then learns from Rose Waterford that Charles Strickland has abandoned his wife. He visits Mrs. Strickland, who is distraught, and her brother-in-law Colonel MacAndrew reveals that Strickland has gone to Paris with a woman, leaving his family penniless.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This is the dramatic climax because it marks the emotional and psychological peak of Dirk Stroeve’s complete s…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Convention vs. Individuality
Strickland's abrupt departure defies societal expectations of marriage and duty, shocking his social circle.
- Gender Roles and Marriage
Mrs. Strickland's distress and the Colonel's outrage highlight the era's assumptions about marital obligations and female dependence.
Characters to notice
- The Narrator
Returns to London and learns of Strickland's desertion; visits Mrs. Strickland.
- Mrs. Strickland
Found in distress, with swollen face from tears; tries to maintain composure during the narrator's visit.
- Miss Waterford
Gossips to the narrator about Strickland's abandonment, hinting at a woman from a tea shop.
- Colonel MacAndrew
Mrs. Strickland's brother-in-law; angrily reveals Strickland's desertion and advises divorce.
- Charles Strickland
Absent; discussed as having run away to Paris with a woman, leaving his family.
Key passages
“The Stricklands were an average family in the middle class. A pleasant, hospitable woman, with a harmless craze for the small lions of literary society; a rather dull man, doing his duty in that state of life in which a merciful Providence had placed him; two nice-looking, healthy children. Nothing could be more ordinary.”
The Stricklands epitomized a typical middle-class family: a sociable wife with a penchant for minor literary celebrities, a dutiful but unremarkable husband, and two attractive, healthy children.
The narrator emphasizes their ordinariness, contrasting it with later events.
“He's bolted. He's gone off to Paris with a woman. He's left Amy without a penny.”
Strickland has fled to Paris with a woman, abandoning his wife penniless.
Colonel MacAndrew's blunt revelation of the scandal.
