Summary
Valancy's world turns upside down again when she meets Dr. Redfern, a wealthy patent medicine magnate who turns out to be Barney's father. The jovial, diamond-wearing businessman reveals that Barney is actually Bernard Redfern, heir to millions, who disappeared eleven years ago after a broken engagement to a beautiful Montreal socialite named Ethel Traverse. The pearl necklace Valancy wears cost fifteen thousand dollars—money that means nothing to Barney's family fortune. As Dr. Redfern shares Barney's history and expresses hope that his son will return to civilization, Valancy realizes the crushing irony: she worried about trapping a poor man into marriage, but Barney can easily afford a divorce. The revelation adds another layer to her misery—not only did she deceive him about her health, but now she discovers he's been living a completely false identity. Her guilt deepens as she understands that Barney, who could have any life he wanted, chose to live simply on the island until she complicated everything. The chapter explores how our assumptions about people's circumstances can be completely wrong, and how new information can make us see past events in an entirely different light. Valancy's pain intensifies as she realizes that what she thought was a mutual escape from poverty was actually a rich man's romantic hideaway.
Coming Up in Chapter 39
With storm clouds gathering and Barney still away, Valancy must decide what to do with this devastating knowledge. Will she flee before he returns, or stay to face the consequences of all the deceptions between them?
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
Alancy walked quickly through the back streets and through Lover’s Lane. She did not want to meet any one she knew. She didn’t want to meet even people she didn’t know. She hated to be seen. Her mind was so confused, so torn, so messy. She felt that her appearance must be the same. She drew a sobbing breath of relief as she left the village behind and found herself on the “up back” road. There was little fear of meeting any one she knew here. The cars that fled by her with raucous shrieks were filled with strangers. One of them was packed with young people who whirled past her singing uproariously: “My wife has the fever, O then, My wife has the fever, O then, My wife has the fever, Oh, I hope it won’t leave her, For I want to be single again.” Valancy flinched as if one of them had leaned from the car and cut her across the face with a whip. She had made a covenant with death and death had cheated her. Now life stood mocking her. She had trapped Barney. Trapped him into marrying her. And divorce was so hard to get in Ontario. So expensive. And Barney was poor. With life, fear had come back into her heart. Sickening fear. Fear of what Barney would think. Would say. Fear of the future that must be lived without him. Fear of her insulted, repudiated clan. She had had one draught from a divine cup and now it was dashed from her lips. With no kind, friendly death to rescue her. She must go on living and longing for it. Everything was spoiled, smirched, defaced. Even that year in the Blue Castle. Even her unashamed love for Barney. It had been beautiful because death waited. Now it was only sordid because death was gone. How could any one bear an unbearable thing? She must go back and tell him. Make him believe she had not meant to trick him—she _must_ make him believe that. She must say good-bye to her Blue Castle and return to the brick house on Elm Street. Back to everything she had thought left behind forever. The old bondage—the old fears. But that did not matter. All that mattered now was that Barney must somehow be made to believe she had not consciously tricked him. When Valancy reached the pines by the lake she was brought out of her daze of pain by a startling sight. There, parked by the side of old, battered ragged Lady Jane, was another car. A wonderful car. A purple car. Not a dark, royal purple but a blatant, screaming purple. It shone like a mirror and its interior plainly indicated the car caste of Vere de Vere. On the driver’s seat sat a haughty chauffeur in livery. And in the tonneau sat a man who opened the door and bounced out nimbly as Valancy came down the path to the landing-place. He stood...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of False Assumptions
We make major life decisions based on incomplete information, filling gaps with logical-seeming assumptions that can be completely wrong.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to recognize when our logical-seeming assumptions about people's circumstances might be completely wrong.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when you're assuming someone's financial situation, stress level, or motivations based on limited information—then ask a direct, caring question instead of guessing.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Patent medicine fortune
Before strict drug regulations, people made millions selling unproven remedies and tonics. These 'medicines' often contained alcohol or opiates and promised to cure everything. The Redfern family wealth comes from this industry.
Modern Usage:
Like modern supplement empires or wellness companies that make fortunes from unregulated health products
Divorce laws in 1920s Ontario
Divorce was extremely difficult and expensive to obtain in early 20th century Canada. Only certain grounds were accepted, and the process could bankrupt ordinary people. This made unhappy marriages feel like traps.
Modern Usage:
Similar to how expensive legal processes today can keep people stuck in bad situations they can't afford to escape
Class deception
When someone hides their true social or economic status, often to escape expectations or find genuine relationships. Barney lived as a poor woodsman while being heir to millions.
Modern Usage:
Like wealthy people using fake names on dating apps, or celebrities going incognito to experience normal life
Broken engagement scandal
In the 1920s, a broken engagement was serious social disgrace, especially for wealthy families. It could ruin reputations and create lasting family shame, explaining why Barney disappeared.
Modern Usage:
Like when public breakups or failed relationships go viral on social media and people retreat from public life
Covenant with death
Valancy's dramatic way of saying she had accepted dying and planned her life around it. When death 'cheated' her by not coming, she feels betrayed and unprepared for living.
Modern Usage:
When someone plans their whole life around an expected outcome that doesn't happen, leaving them feeling lost and unprepared
Insulted clan
Valancy's extended family who feel personally dishonored by her behavior. In tight-knit communities, one person's actions reflect on the whole family's reputation.
Modern Usage:
Like families who feel embarrassed by a relative's choices and worry about what the community will think
Characters in This Chapter
Valancy
Tormented protagonist
Walks through town consumed by guilt and confusion after learning Barney's true identity. Her mind is described as 'confused, torn, messy' as she realizes she trapped a rich man who could easily divorce her.
Modern Equivalent:
The person who discovers their partner has been hiding something major and spirals into self-blame
Dr. Redfern
Revelatory father figure
Barney's wealthy father who reveals his son's true identity as heir to a patent medicine fortune. He's jovial and diamond-wearing, representing the civilized world Barney rejected.
Modern Equivalent:
The successful parent trying to understand why their privileged kid chose to live off-grid
Barney
Mysterious husband with hidden identity
Revealed to be Bernard Redfern, heir to millions who disappeared after a broken engagement. His simple island life was a choice, not necessity, making Valancy feel she ruined his peaceful escape.
Modern Equivalent:
The wealthy person living under an assumed identity who gets exposed when their past catches up
Ethel Traverse
Ghost from Barney's past
The beautiful Montreal socialite whose broken engagement with Barney caused his eleven-year disappearance. Though not present, her memory haunts the revelation of Barney's true background.
Modern Equivalent:
The ex whose relationship trauma still defines someone's life choices years later
Key Quotes & Analysis
"She had made a covenant with death and death had cheated her."
Context: Valancy reflects on how she planned her life around dying, but now must live
This reveals how completely Valancy had restructured her thinking around her supposed terminal diagnosis. When that certainty is removed, she feels betrayed rather than relieved, showing how we can become attached even to terrible certainties.
In Today's Words:
I planned my whole life around this one thing happening, and now it's not going to happen
"She had trapped Barney. Trapped him into marrying her."
Context: Valancy's guilt as she realizes Barney married her thinking she was dying
Valancy sees herself as the villain who deceived a good man. This self-blame shows how guilt can distort our perspective, making us take responsibility for others' choices while ignoring their agency.
In Today's Words:
I tricked him into this relationship and now he's stuck with me
"My wife has the fever, O then... Oh, I hope it won't leave her, For I want to be single again."
Context: A cruel song that cuts Valancy like a whip as she walks
The universe seems to mock Valancy's situation through this random song about wanting to escape marriage. It perfectly captures her fear that Barney wishes he could be free of her, turning a stranger's song into personal torment.
In Today's Words:
I wish my spouse would just disappear so I could be free again
Thematic Threads
Class
In This Chapter
Valancy discovers Barney is wealthy, completely overturning her understanding of their relationship dynamics and her own guilt about being a burden
Development
Evolved from earlier themes of class barriers to reveal how class assumptions can be entirely wrong
In Your Life:
You might assume someone's financial situation based on their appearance or lifestyle choices, missing their real circumstances entirely
Identity
In This Chapter
Barney's true identity as Bernard Redfern reveals he's been living as someone completely different, adding another layer of deception to their relationship
Development
Builds on Valancy's own identity transformation to show both partners have been hiding their true selves
In Your Life:
You might discover that someone you thought you knew well has been living a completely different reality than what they've shown you
Guilt
In This Chapter
Valancy's guilt deepens as she realizes her assumptions about 'trapping' a poor man were wrong, and now she feels worse about deceiving someone who had unlimited options
Development
Transforms from guilt about her lie to compound guilt about misunderstanding everything
In Your Life:
You might feel guilty about a situation, only to discover new information that makes your guilt feel even more complex and justified
Communication
In This Chapter
The revelation shows how both Valancy and Barney's silence and assumptions led to fundamental misunderstandings about each other's circumstances
Development
Highlights the ongoing pattern of important conversations not happening between them
In Your Life:
You might avoid asking direct questions about important topics, allowing dangerous assumptions to build up over time
Deception
In This Chapter
Barney's hidden wealth and identity add another layer of deception to a relationship already built on Valancy's lie about her health
Development
Escalates from Valancy's single lie to reveal multiple layers of hidden truth between both partners
In Your Life:
You might discover that a relationship you thought was based on honesty actually contains multiple hidden truths from both sides
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What does Dr. Redfern reveal about Barney's true identity and background?
analysis • surface - 2
Why did Valancy's assumptions about Barney's financial situation affect all her decisions about their marriage?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see people making major life decisions based on assumptions rather than facts in today's world?
application • medium - 4
How would you handle discovering that someone close to you had been living under a completely different identity than you assumed?
application • deep - 5
What does Valancy's reaction teach us about how guilt and shame can multiply when we realize we've been operating on false information?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Assumption Audit
Think of someone in your life whose behavior or situation you've been interpreting in a certain way. Write down three assumptions you've made about them based on what you can observe. Then list three direct questions you could ask to test whether those assumptions are actually true. Consider what might be happening in their life that you can't see from the outside.
Consider:
- •Focus on assumptions that affect how you treat this person or make decisions about the relationship
- •Think about what information gaps you've been filling with guesses rather than facts
- •Consider how your own experiences and biases might be shaping what seems 'obvious' to you
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you discovered your assumptions about someone's situation were completely wrong. How did that change your understanding of their behavior? What did you learn about the danger of filling information gaps with guesses?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 39: The Truth Sets Her Free
Moving forward, we'll examine discovering truth can transform your understanding of relationships, and understand leaving with dignity preserves your self-respect even in painful situations. These insights bridge the gap between classic literature and modern experience.