54 pages • 1 hour read
The Moving Finger
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Chapters 5-8Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death by suicide, death, gender discrimination, and mental illness.
Chapter 5 Summary
Jerry is walking through the village when he encounters Mrs. Dane Calthrop, who eagerly greets him. Mrs. Calthrop is married to the local reverend, Mr. Caleb Dane Calthrop. While the reverend is a quiet, absent-minded and highly intellectual person, Mrs. Calthrop is energetic and social. Jerry feels that the other locals are intimidated by her. Jerry puzzles over how Mrs. Calthrop seems to know everything about the villagers’ lives—and admits that she thinks it is her “function” as the reverend’s wife —but doesn’t come across as a nosy person.
Mrs. Calthrop asks Jerry about his experience with the anonymous letters, and shares that she has also received a few of them. She wonders why the letters are full of false accusations when there are real “shameful secrets” (62) in the village. Jerry realizes that Mrs. Calthrop knows all kinds of secrets, and believes that this is why the locals seem to be afraid of her.
The next morning Partridge shares the bad news quickly circulating the village: Mrs. Symmington, Megan Hunter’s mother, has died by suicide. Jerry and Joanna feel especially bad for Megan, and want to invite her to stay with them for a few days.
