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Unit 3: Charles Lamb-Dream Children : A Reverie-A Detailed Study

(iii) Lamb’s beloved sister kept in a private mad house in Islington called Notes

(a) Prison (b) Mad House
(c) Fisher House (d) Safe House
(iv) Grandmother Mrs. Field was tall and upright but later she bowed down by a disease
called
(a) Tuberculosis (b) Fever
(c) Cancer (d) None of these

3.4 Summary

• The children of James Elia, John and Alice, asked him to tell them about his grandmother-
their great grandmother- Mrs. Field who used to live in a great mansion in Norfolk.
The house belonged to a rich nobleman who lived in another new house. Grandmother
Field was the keeper of the house and she looked after the house with great care as
though it was her own. The tragic incident of the two children and their cruel uncle
had taken place in the house. The children had come to know the story from the ballad
of ‘The Children in the wood’. The story was carved in wood upon the chimney piece.
But a foolish rich person later pulled down the wooden chimney and put a chimney
of marble. The new chimney piece had no story on it. Alice was very unhappy that the
rich man had pulled down the chimney piece with the story. She looked upbraiding
and her anger was like her mother’s.
• When the house came to decay later, after the death of Mrs. Field the nobleman carried
away the ornaments of the house and used them in his new house. The ornaments of
the old house looked very awkward in the new house, just like the beautiful tombs of
Westminster Abbey would look awkward if placed in someone’s drawing room. Things
looked beautiful only if they are in harmony with the surroundings. John enjoyed the
comparison and smiled as if he also felt it would be very awkward indeed. Grandmother
Field was a very good lady. She was also very religious for she was well acquainted
with ‘The Book of Psalms’ in ‘The Old Testament’ and a great portion of ‘The New
Testament’ of ‘The Bible’. Alice here spread her hands as if she was not interested in
the praise of a quality of the grandmother that she herself did not have. Children find
it difficult to learn lessons by heart.
• Grandmother Field did not fear the spirits of the two infants which haunted the house
at night. So she slept alone. But Elia used to sleep with his maid as he was not so
religious. John tried to look courageous but his eyes expanded in fear. When the grandmother
died many people in the neighbourhood including the gentry or the aristocrats attended
her funeral. She was also a good dancer when she was young. Here, Alice moved her
feet unconsciously as she too was interested in dancing. Grandmother Field was tall
and upright but later she was bowed down by a disease called cancer. She was good
to her grand children. Elia in childhood used to spend his holiday there. He used to
gaze upon the bust of the twelve Caesars or roam about in the mansion or in the
garden. In the garden, there were fruits like nectarines, peaches, oranges and others.
Elia never plucked them but rather enjoyed looking at them. Here John deposited a
bunch of grapes upon the plate again. He was showing that he too was not tempted by
fruits.
• His farce, Mr H, was performed at Drury Lane in 1807.
• Fortuitously, Lamb’s first publication was in 1796.
• His collected essays, under the title Essays of Elia, were published in 1823.

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