41 pages • 1 hour read
Tom StoppardArcadia
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1993A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Act II, Scenes 5-7Act Summaries & Analyses
Act II, Scene 5 Summary
Bernard is pacing and reading aloud from lecture notes about his theory about the deadly Byron-Chater duel. Valentine, Chloe, and Gus are his audience. Hannah tries to interrupt to show Valentine a copy of Peacock’s letter from the India Office Library. Bernard continues his lecture, describing Septimus as the connection between the two families.
Hannah and Valentine challenge some of his claims and assumptions, while Chloe is more sympathetic. Hannah points out all the inconsistencies and omitted facts. Hannah and Bernard fight. She calls him arrogant, greedy, and reckless. He insults her book as a “novelette.”
Valentine ran some computer models that suggest the reviews are not a good fit with Byron’s known reviews. Valentine and Bernard quibble over the different meanings of the word “trivial” to a scientist and to a historian. Valentine argues that who discovered it first is not as important as the discovery and progress itself. Bernard dismisses the idea of progress, favoring philosophy and poetry.
Frustrated, Valentine says he has given up on his study of grouse because there is too much noise. Valentine leaves. Chloe tearfully beats on Bernard before leaving. Gus runs to follow her.
Bernard tells Hannah her dust jacket does not actually have a Fuseli ink study of Byron and Caroline Lamb on it. She states that she just knows it is them. Bernard asks Hannah to come with him to London for sex. He claims to have had sex with Chloe and comments upon her vagina reminding him of Hannah. Hannah slaps him. He pulls out a book that describes the hermitage. Valentine returns to tell Bernard a taxi is here for him. Bernard leaves.
Hannah realizes that the hermit and Septimus were born in the same year, and she slowly realizes that her hermit was actually Septimus Hodge. The discovery that he was a genius makes her argument about his symbolism even better. Hannah is determined to find proof.
Act II, Scene 6 Summary
It is early morning when Jellaby enters the empty room with a lamp. He opens the French windows to let Septimus in. Septimus takes out two pistols, seemingly implying he was in a duel. It is immediately revealed that he had actually been hunting: He caught a rabbit for Thomasina because she likes rabbit pies.
Last night, Septimus slept in the boat-house. Jellaby shares that Captain Brice, Mr. and Mrs. Chater, and Lord Byron left at four in the morning. Septimus asks if Lord Byron left his book, which he did not. Jellaby, after prompting for a tip, tells Septimus that Lady Croom had discovered Mrs. Chater leaving Lord Byron’s room.
Angrily, Lady Croom enters with two opened letters. Septimus had left letters in his room for her in the event of his death. One is for Lady Croom and one for Thomasina. While not specifically describing the contents, it is clear that the letter to Lady Croom is a sexual love letter and the letter for Thomasina is philosophical.
Byron left a letter for Septimus when he was leaving. When Lady Croom complains, Septimus burns the letter without reading it.
Lady Croom explains how the Chaters and Lord Byron were banished for their indiscretions. Mr. and Mrs. Chater are sailing with Captain Brice to Malta, with Mr. Chater acting as botanist despite his lack of expertise.
Lady Croom flirts with Septimus, suggesting that they have a “lesson” that evening. Septimus burns the two letters he wrote.
Act II, Scene 7 Summary
Valentine and Chloe are at the table as Gus digs through a trunk. Valentine and Chloe are in period Regency clothes, while Gus is still picking them out. Chloe is reading from two newspapers and Valentine is working at a laptop in Regency clothes.
In the newspaper, Chloe reads about Bernard’s discovery. She asks Valentine if she was the first person to think something, but Valentine interrupts to say “no” before she even shares the thought. Chloe describes a deterministic universe. Valentine points back to an 1820s theory about being able to predict everything with a formula. Valentine suggests it is because of the math, but Chloe says it is because of sex. Valentine concedes that she may be the first person to think of this.
Hannah enters and ridicules the headline about Bernard’s discovery. Hannah and Valentine discuss truth, the afterlife, and meaning. Valentine has used his computer to extend Thomasina’s math and make a beautiful model, which he calls the “Coverly set.” Her work is publishable, and he says Thomasina would have been famous. Hannah reminds him that Thomasina died in a fire on the night before her 17th birthday.
The scene shifts focus to the past, with Lord Augustus and Thomasina bursting onto the stage while Hannah and Valentine remain onstage. Augustus is threatening to tell one of Thomasina’s secrets to their mom. Thomasina catches him as Septimus enters. Septimus returns Thomasina’s homework. She is upset Septimus did not like her rabbit equation. When she points out a feature of her work, Septimus wants to see it again. She returns it, complaining she has no room to extend it.
The scenes overlap, with Hannah and Valentine discussing the Coverly set’s ability to predict the end of the world while Septimus and Thomasina develop the formula at which the others are looking at.
The scene shifts solely to Hannah and Valentine. They discuss how the transfer of heat is one way: Things only cool down. This is a more modern understanding, but Thomasina’s formula accounts for this. Valentine struggles to accept the equation because it predates so much algebra that it needs. When discussing genius, Hannah quotes Byron.
The scene shifts focus back to Thomasina and Septimus. Thomasina asks him if she will marry Lord Byron. Thomasina is infatuated with his hero in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, who she argues reflects Byron. Septimus says she will not because Byron is not aware of her. Thomasina disagrees, as she thinks they shared many significant glances. Augustus insults Thomasina. When told to be quiet by Septimus, Augustus is offended and leaves the room.
Thomasina tells Septimus that she told Augustus about their kiss in the hermitage. The kiss was not romantic, but rather contractual; they sealed a deal with a kiss so that Septimus will teach her to waltz. Septimus redirects the conversation to the book he is reading. The author demonstrates the transfer of heat, contradicting Newton. Lady Croom enters.
The scene begins to overlap, shifting back, with Chloe looking for Gus. Lady Croom is annoyed by the sound of Mr. Noakes’s engine. Chloe cannot find Gus for the photo. Hannah asks if Bernard has returned. Chloe steps into the garden. Valentine calls her “bossy” while Lady Croom wants Septimus to teach Hodge to be quiet. Lady Croom asks what Thomasina is learning about. Hannah shifts in her chair while reading, suggesting she is reading an account of what is being discussed in the past storyline.
Lady Croom describes how Chater was bitten by a monkey and died. Her brother Captain Brice has married Mrs. Chater and brought back a dahlia. Hannah, Valentine, and Chloe exit.
Thomasina explains what she has been thinking and how her ideas are developing. She expresses her disgust with geometry. Lady Croom asks how old Thomasina is, and she answers that she is 16 years, 11 months, and three weeks old. She tells her mom she will marry Lord Byron. Lady Croom and Septimus had bumped into Byron at the Royal Academy, where he was being sketched with a companion by Fuseli.
Noakes enters, stating he is behind and the dam will be repaired within the month. He is proud to show off a new steam pump. Lady Croom is frustrated with the noise and insults his work. Her ire is focused on the hermitage. She asks where she will find a hermit for the hermitage. Septimus asks if there is room for a piano.
Lady Croom, finding Thomasina overeducated, plans to have her engaged shortly. After telling Thomasina what to wear tonight, she exits. Thomasina expresses her disappointment in Lord Byron being with a lady. Septimus asks her to explicate her diagram for homework, even though she does not have the mathematics yet. She gives Septimus a drawing before exiting.
Augustus enters and apologizes. He asks if Septimus has an older brother, and Septimus says he does, and his brother is the editor of the Piccadilly Recreation (where he publishes his review). After some reluctance, Augustus finally asks if he can talk with Septimus about sex. They walk to dinner.
Overlapping with their exit, Bernard enters and is followed by Valentine and Hannah. They have the proof of their claims, which contradicts Bernard’s. Bernard is angry that his work has been disproven, and he tries to focus on his still-not disproven claims. Hannah is going to publish a public refutation of Bernard’s work in The Times, and she tells Bernard to write a dignified congratulations letter to her for the paper.
Chloe comes to collect Bernard and is frustrated he is not dressed in period clothes for the dance. Chloe has dressed as Jane Austen. They are taking a photo for the newspaper.
Septimus enters with an oil lamp. He has her algebra primer and her essay. Thomasina sneaks in, dressed in her nightgown. Worrying about turning 17 tomorrow, she kisses Septimus on the lips to pay him for dancing lessons, insisting she must know how to waltz before she turns 17. Septimus says he cannot, as the song being played is not a waltz. Thomasina says she will wait. She waits silently while Septimus reads her homework.
Hannah enters, dressed for the party. Valentine enters to retrieve the diagram. Across time, Septimus and Thomasina also study the diagram. Valentine praises her genius and explains why she was so far ahead of her time. A waltz-like song begins playing, and Septimus takes Thomasina in his arms to teach her.
Bernard enters, taking off his period coat and putting on his own. He is preparing to leave. Septimus and Thomasina kiss twice, this time in earnest.
Chloe bursts in, enraged at having been caught with Bernard in the hermitage by her mother. She wants to leave with Bernard, but he rejects her. Chloe leaves, and Valentine follows her. Hannah and Bernard talk about her upcoming book. He encourages her to publish, even if she cannot prove her hunch about the hermit’s identity. Bernard leaves.
Thomasina and Septimus waltz happily. Septimus lights a candle for her.
Gus enters.
Septimus sends Thomasina to bed with her essay and warns her to be careful with her candle. She says she will wait for him to come to her room, but he says he cannot, may not, and will not. Thomasina says she will stay and dance, then.
Gus gives Hannah a present: the drawing of Septimus. Gus bows, asking her to dance. Hannah hesitates, but gets up to dance. The two pairs dance.
Act II, Scenes 5-7 Analysis
In Act II, Bernard’s claims about Byron demonstrate how history can be sometimes misleadingly framed and interpreted, reflecting the theme of The Quest for Order out of Chaos. Historical prominence is random and chaotic, and sometimes figures can end up lionized or forgotten for arbitrary reasons. Bernard’s assertion about Byron and Chater is only meaningful because academia has placed value on Byron. Bernard has been able to shape the information in the book, letters, and game books to support his claim, even though the audience knows most of his claims are incorrect. History can even be reframed, as Hannah has done with Lady Caroline Lamb in her first book, suggesting that the chaos and randomness of the historical record can sometimes be re-ordered as well.
Valentine, “as a scientist” (59), understands knowledge differently than the Romantic-inclined Bernard, who uses intuitive and historical knowledge to make his claims. Valentine’s characterization therefore adds another important component to The Tensions Between Romanticism and the Enlightenment in the play. Since scientists value empirical data, Valentine uses computer models and data to support his claims. He uses his computer models to analyze the language in the two reviews to conclude that Byron did not write them. Bernard, as a scholar of history and literature, insists that you “can’t stick Byron’s head in your laptop” (60) because genius cannot be reduced to data points.
The tension between these two approaches to knowledge is further exemplified in the misunderstanding about the word “trivial.” For Valentine, it is a “technical term” (60), but Bernard understands it as a dismissive reduction of his work. The intensity of this conflict in knowledge systems is reflected in Bernard’s violent image of pushing scientists off a cliff. However, the play suggests that these approaches should not be in conflict: Valentine describes how Bernard is “not against penicillin”—representative of science—and that he himself is “not against poetry” (62). In the end, both modes of thinking are needed.
Septimus’s letters also play with the tensions between Romantic and Enlightenment modes of being and thinking. His letters illustrate that, despite his bravado, he was concerned about his fate in a duel. His letter to Thomasina is “full of rice pudding” and the letter to Lady Croom is filled with “the most insolent familiarities regarding several parts of [her] body” (69). His confession of love to Lady Croom and his writing about mathematical thought to Thomasina illustrate the importance of different kinds of knowledge to the human experience. When Septimus reflects upon his life and death, he seeks to express both kinds of knowledge, valuing both.
Based on new information about the hermit’s age at his death, Hannah begins to suspect that Septimus was the hermit. This revelation causes her to reframe his identity and significance in a new way. Before, he was an “idiot in the landscape” (66). Now, he is the “genius” of the “Age of Enlightenment banished into the Romantic wilderness” (66, emphasis added). Hannah’s ability to adjust her theory contrasts with Bernard’s reaction to information that disproves his claims. However, Hannah’s personal views are still fundamentally the same: she is critical of Romanticism and favors the Enlightenment, suggesting that she may secretly share in Bernard’s desire to be right more than she admits. Considering the ways in which Septimus has both Enlightenment and Romantic tendencies, her insistence in placing him so firmly only in one category also speaks to her biased and imperfect understanding of how he really was.
Act II also plays with The Importance of Knowledge and Truth by suggesting that although intuition can be misused, it can also be rooted in truth in its own way. When discussing the Fuseli ink study of Lord Byron and Lady Caroline Lamb on Hannah’s book cover, Hannah and Bernard reverse their positions from Act I. Bernard presents a study that “analysed” the cover to conclude that it is not them (62). On this topic, Bernard uses the formal approach to knowledge that requires documented proof. Hannah, on the other hand, asserts that “[e]veryone knows” and that she “know[s] it’s them” (62). Despite her claims of unbiased and rational academic interest, she, too, depends on intuitive knowledge from time to time. The two types of knowledge are not as distinct and separate as Hannah sometimes asserts, and the audience is aware that Hannah is, in fact, right: Septimus and Lady Croom see Lord Byron and Lady Caroline being sketched by Fuseli, proving Hannah’s gut instinct correct. This illustrates the value of intuitive knowledge and the limits of rationality: Things cannot be proven true, only false.
Stoppard also uses the knowledge the audience gains in the present about the past to support The Importance of Knowledge and Truth. When Septimus enters with two guns, the audience assumes the threatened second duel has taken place. However, just like Bernard’s claims about the past, this assumption is incorrect: Neither Septimus nor Byron fight Chater in a duel. The reveal of Chater’s departure also presents the absolute truth about Chater’s challenge, as despite the signs in the letter, the historical record is incomplete because a duel never took place at all. Chater himself dies of a monkey bite, not in a love duel gone wrong. In creating these humorous subversions of what the audience—and the characters—assume they know or do not know, Stoppard challenges the audience to question their own understandings of the past and how they create knowledge.
For the final scene, the modern characters are preparing for the dance that night. The dance has a Regency theme, and Chloe, Gus, and Valentine spend the act wearing Regency period clothes. These clothes link the plotline to the past and the modern Coverly siblings to their past family. These costumes are contrasted with the modern props, like Valentine’s laptop, suggesting that the modern understanding of the past is as constructed as their costumes.
For the first time in the play, the timelines begin to overlap. While characters share the same physical space, they do not share the same temporal space. Throughout the play, the plots have been in dialogue together, but here the characters seem to speak directly to each other. The overlapping also underscores the iterations through time. The first overlap has a discovery and a rediscovery of an idea. Thomasina explains her discovery to Septimus, while Valentine explains the theorem to Hannah. The second overlap also focuses on a discovery and rediscovery, but this time of history: The death of Chater is announced by Lady Croom while simultaneously being rediscovered by Hannah. The past uses this moment to herald the discovery of the dahlia, while the present has recovered Chater’s life from obscurity.
The waltz serves as a symbol for the blending of math and emotion to create heat. The waltz is a dance with a repetitive meter while also representing romance, with the close touching of bodies symbolizing a sexual heat. Septimus and Hannah agree to dance with their respective partners once they understand the importance of both intellect and emotion, thereby reconciling The Tensions Between Romanticism and the Enlightenment. Septimus now respects Thomasina’s ideas and sees her as an equal, if not superior, intellectual. Hannah, after rejecting men’s advances throughout the play, finally accepts Gus’s romantic gesture. The final dance and the final image are bittersweet: In the moment, both pairs are happy, yet death looms, even though the experiences and patterns of history continue to repeat themselves as past and present merge.
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By Tom Stoppard
