Strangers in Time Chapter 43 Summary & Analysis
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
Molly and Charlie visit a secondhand shop where Charlie reluctantly accepts new clothes and boots. After a thorough bath at her parents’ home, they sit in her father’s study. Charlie admires the books and recalls shared reading with his mother, who died in a bombing. Molly lies that her father will return soon, then admits she has not seen him and does not know when she will. Charlie prepares to leave, but Molly insists he stay as a friend and agrees to help arrange his grandmother’s burial. The next morning they meet with Wilkinson the Second at the funeral home. Molly drops a glove so Charlie can fetch it, and during his absence the undertaker sets a fee of four and six—exactly what Charlie possesses. Charlie pays and schedules the burial in two days. He declines to view Gran’s body. On the way back, they discuss grief; Charlie fears that if he starts crying he might never stop.
Key Events
- Molly buys secondhand clothes, underwear, socks, and boots for Charlie.
- Charlie bathes thoroughly in the claw-foot tub at Molly’s parents’ home.
- In the study, Charlie and Molly talk about reading and their respective losses.
- Molly lies that her father will be home soon, then confesses she has not seen him.
- Charlie tries to leave, but Molly convinces him to stay and help with Gran’s burial.
- At Wilkinson & Dunn, Undertakers, Molly pretends to drop a glove so Charlie leaves the room.
- Wilkinson sets the burial fee at four and six, the exact sum Charlie earned.
- Charlie pays for Gran’s burial two days later at the Stepney church graveyard.
- Charlie refuses to see his grandmother’s body.
- Molly reveals she saw a nine-year-old boy in a coffin; she and Charlie discuss crying.
Character Development
- Molly shows guilt over her deception about her father and vulnerability when admitting she lied. Her care for Charlie deepens; she orchestrates the payment to preserve his dignity.
- Charlie demonstrates pride and independence by initially refusing charity. He opens up about his mother’s death and his fear that crying might be uncontrollable. His trust in Molly grows.
- Their friendship crosses class and circumstance, with Molly offering a safe haven and Charlie providing a perspective on loss that challenges Molly’s assumptions.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Grief and Emotional Restraint: Charlie’s fear of crying echoes the wartime stoicism expected of civilians. Molly’s earlier experience with the soldier’s coffin normalizes grief, but Charlie resists.
- Deception with Good Intentions: Molly’s lie about her father and the staged dropped glove are small deceptions meant to protect Charlie’s pride and to delay his departure.
- Class and Charity: Charlie’s reluctance to accept help stems from a sense of not being worthy; Molly’s insistence reframes help as friendship.
- Burial as Dignity: Proper funeral arrangements for Gran, despite wartime chaos, affirm the value of every life, especially the poor and orphaned.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter cements the emotional bond between Molly and Charlie by forcing them to confront their deepest losses together. Molly’s orchestration of the burial payment shows her growing maturity and resourcefulness, while Charlie’s refusal to view Gran’s body underscores his unresolved trauma. The chapter also highlights the mundane bureaucracy of death in wartime London—a world where undertakers ask no questions because so many have died. The discussion of crying and emotional control sets up future character choices as both navigate their grief.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Molly pretend to drop her glove at the undertaker’s?
Molly stages the dropped glove so she can speak privately with Wilkinson. She learns the fee and ensures Charlie can pay it himself, preserving his independence and pride.
2. What does Charlie mean when he says, “’Cause once you start, you might never stop”?
Charlie refers to crying. He fears that allowing himself to fully grieve his mother and grandmother will overwhelm him completely, so he represses his tears as a survival mechanism.
3. How does the conversation in the study reveal the differences between Molly’s and Charlie’s family situations?
Molly’s parents are alive but absent—her mother in a sanatorium and her father away. Charlie’s parents are dead, and his grandmother has just died. Molly can hope for reunion; Charlie has no such hope, which deepens his wariness of emotional attachment.