The relationship between the jeweller and the duchess is
transactional
. Each has something the other needs. The Duchess has a gambling addiction that leads her into debt: she needs money. The jeweller, who is from a humble background, is very rich but craves the prestige a Duchess and her set can bring.
What is the relationship between The Duchess and the Jeweller Why does the Duchess invite Oliver to her estate?
The Duchess invites Oliver to her estate
because she knows that he craves social respectability
. Oliver may well be a fantastically wealthy man, but due to his humble background he’s still looked down upon by the upper classes.
What does the jeweler want the Duchess to do?
The Duchess needs
money to pay her gambling debts
. Think about the unspoken part of the bargain that the duchess and the jeweller enter into with the sale of the pearls. … She gains assurance that the jeweller will not reveal her gambling to her husband.
What animals are Oliver compared to in The Duchess and the Jeweller and what are the effects of these comparisons?
What animals are Oliver compared to in “The Duchess and the Jeweller,” and what are the effects of these comparisons?
Oliver’s described as having a nose like an elephant’s trunk—long and flexible
. Like an elephant sniffing out for food, Oliver’s always sniffing out for new opportunities.
What is Oliver’s attitude toward his past in The Duchess and the jeweler?
Oliver has a somewhat ashamed view of his past. He is
definitely unhappy with his checkered history
and doesn’t want it to be brought to light, but he is certainly happy with where he has gotten, now a wealthy and industrious individual.
What is the main theme of the Duchess and the Jeweller?
Virginia Woolf delves into the theme of
the affect of greed on decision
making in her story “The Duchess and the Jeweller.” In the story, both the Duchess and the jeweler have agendas, and both are corrupt in their judgement. For her part, the Duchess accrues gambling debt, which she must address and hide.
Who is the old woman in the picture?
The old woman in the picture is
Oliver Bacon’s late mother
who worried that her son ” who began life in a filthy little alley” would not rise above his circumstances.
Why did Oliver let the Duchess deceive him?
In “The Duchess and the Jeweller,” Oliver deceives himself
by pretending the pearls that the Duchess is offering him as security for a loan are real
and by believing someone from his background could really gain access to the Duchess’s world.
Why do you think the Jeweller is dissatisfied with his life?
The jeweller is dissatisfied with his his life in “The Duchess and the Jeweller”
because no matter how much he has, he always wants more
. This is rooted in his shame over his poor, obscure childhood, to him a stain he can never wash away.
Why does the Jeweller keep the Duchess waiting?
The jeweller kept the Duchess of Lambourne waiting
because of his inferiority complex
. He wanted to enjoy his present position of the richest jeweler of England.
What things are important in the world of Oliver Bacon?
Oliver Bacon, the jeweller, has everything and nothing—his life is a paradox. He has
wealth, possessions, jewels, and the respect and envy of others
.
What amount of Cheque does Oliver give away to the Duchess and why?
Answer: Specifically, he loses the
twenty thousand pounds
that he pays to the Duchess in exchange for fake pearls. To confront her about it might mean ruining his chances of having a romance with her daughter Diana.
Why does the Duchess want to sell the pearls?
Why does the Duchess want to sell the pearls?
The Duchess needs money to pay her gambling debts
. Think about the unspoken part of the bargain that the duchess and the jeweller enter into with the sale of the pearls. … She gains the money needed to pay her gambling debt.
How Oliver Bacon became a successful Jeweller?
In “The Duchess and the Jeweller,” Oliver Bacon’s life before becoming a jeweler was a mixture of the colorful and the mundane. As well as
working behind a counter and selling cheap watches
, he also used to sell stolen dogs back to their wealthy owners.
What was Oliver’s childhood like?
He was
slim, lissome, with eyes like licked stones
” and has been able to raise himself from his humble beginnings, proving to his mother that he could do better and becoming the “richest jeweller in England.”
