Caleb Williams

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1794

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Volume 1, Chapters 3-4Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Volume 1, Chapter 3 Summary

The chapter begins by introducing Barnabas Tyrrel, Fernando’s neighbor. Barnabas is someone who would have “passed for a true model of the English squire (74). His mother spoiled him, feeling that “everything must give way to his accommodation” and that he must “never be teased or restricted by any forms of instruction” (75). He grew into a muscular man who was “arrogant, tyrannical to his inferiors, and insolent to his equals” (75).

Barnabas felt threatened when Ferdinando came to town, seeing Ferdinando as “an animal that was beneath contempt” because of his smaller appearance and thinner frame (78). The townspeople also noticed the differences between the men: “[T]hey could not help remarking the contrast between the two leaders in the field of chivalry,” as Barnabas seemed to pay “no attention to any one’s pleasure but his own,” whereas Ferdinando seemed to be “all good-humor and benevolence” (79). At a dance, a single woman named Miss Hardingham flirted with Ferdinando to see what Barnabas would do, and the two men argued over her before Ferdinando left angry.

Volume 1, Chapter 4 Summary

Mr. Clare, a retired poet, who had a “suavity of manners, and a comprehensiveness of mind” (83), was the only person who seemed able to mediate between Ferdinando and Barnabas. One day at a townhall meeting, Mr. Clare read a poem written by Ferdinando at the request of one of the women there, and Barnabas got angry. He ranted about his dislike for Ferdinando and asked the room if they thought Ferdinando would still write poetry “if he could do anything better” (85); the argument between Barnabas and the others at the meeting escalated, and he “grew more violent in his invectives” before being asked to leave (85).

A few days later Ferdinando visited Barnabas at his home and asked that they try to resolve their differences before they escalated into a reason to actually hate each other. Barnabas said that he would only be happy if the other man left town, and they did not come to an agreement. However, Ferdinando revised his opinion of Barnabas because the man had the backbone to address him in person—even though he still disliked the man as a whole.

Volume 1, Chapters 3-4 Analysis

Godwin juxtaposes Barnabas and Ferdinando in a way that invites comparison. Barnabas and Ferdinando are complete opposites in physical appearance—Barnabas is tall and muscular, whereas Ferdinando is of medium stature and thin—yet the pride that the two men hold is the same. Neither is willing to back down, though Ferdinando does try to come to some sort of agreement where the two men would plan to stay out of each other’s way. Even this agreement, however, reflects Ferdinando’s recognition that the differences between them are too pronounced to allow for any common ground. The tension between the two men resembles a type of alpha male conflict, where two men of similar status but different personalities are pitted against each other. Ferdinando will emerge as the winner, but his decline over the course of the novel suggests that this kind of contest does more damage than good.

Like Ferdinando and Caleb, Barnabas can be labeled a tragic hero. Barnabas grew up with the impression that the world—and his social “inferiors” in the nearby town—owed him everything that he wanted. This feeds his pride and prevents him from letting the conflict with Ferdinando go, sealing his fate. Tragic heroes often begin in a position of elevated status or authority, making their downfall a disaster not only for themselves but for those around him. However, unlike a more typical tragedy, Caleb Williams criticizes this premise, noting that Barnabas’s class and wealth give him a type of control over the town that no man should have. This foreshadows the injustices that Caleb will later experience at Ferdinando’s hands.