Chapter 47 Summary and Analysis – Simon’s Pilgrimage to Richmond Hill
⚠️ 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
Simon travels from Toronto to Richmond Hill to see the former Kinnear property. He talks to a local innkeeper who recalls Grace as a good-looking but wicked woman who led McDermott astray. Simon rides to the house, now shabbier than expected, and is mistaken for a potential buyer by the housekeeper. She gives him a thorough tour, ending in the cellar where the bodies were found. Simon then visits the Presbyterian churchyard where Kinnear and Nancy are buried in picket‑fenced graves, Nancy’s with a rose bush. Back in Toronto, he stops at the Adelaide Street Methodist Church graveyard to find Mary Whitney’s stone. The discovery both confirms and unsettles him: the grave exists, but it could be any Mary Whitney. On the train to Kingston, Simon fantasises about marrying Grace, imagining her as a locked‑away mistress and confronting the allure of her “murderess” identity.
Key Events
- Simon hires a horse in Toronto and rides to Richmond Hill, arriving after noon.
- At the inn, the landlord gives his opinion of Grace, McDermott, and Nancy, noting that Jamie Walsh has left the area.
- Simon rides to the Kinnear property; the orchard has grown, obscuring the view. He ends up at the front door.
- A housekeeper mistakes him for a house buyer and gives him a full tour, ending in the cellar where the murder victims were found.
- Simon visits the Presbyterian churchyard and finds Kinnear’s white‑picketed grave and Nancy’s black‑picketed grave with a rose bush. He picks a rose but decides not to take it to Grace.
- He spends an uncomfortable night at a provincial inn.
- The next day, before his train, Simon goes to the Adelaide Street Methodist Church graveyard and locates the stone of Mary Whitney—just the name, no dates.
- On the train back to Kingston, Simon indulges in a daydream of marrying Grace and keeping her as a secret mistress, grappling with the erotic charge of the word “murderess.”
Character Development
- Simon Jordan: His journey becomes increasingly personal and obsessive. He goes from detached researcher to a man who imagines a life with Grace. He admits the visit to the house is a “vulgar frisson” yet cannot stop himself. His fantasy of marriage reveals his desire for control, secrecy, and the allure of danger. He also confronts his own voyeurism and the limits of evidence.
- The Innkeeper: Provides a local perspective, reinforcing the town’s judgment that Grace was guilty and that she “led on” McDermott. He also shows that the murders remain the town’s defining scandal.
- The Housekeeper: A pragmatic, slightly theatrical woman who has turned the house into a de facto museum. Her relish in showing the cellar suggests how the story has been commodified.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- The Unknowability of Truth: The gravestone of Mary Whitney seems to confirm Grace’s story, but Simon realizes it proves nothing—the stone could belong to anyone. This echoes the novel’s central question: can we ever know what really happened?
- Voyeurism and Morbid Curiosity: Simon reflects on his own “morbid interest” and the “discreditable peepshow” of visiting the murder site. The town’s history of sightseers and souvenir‑hunters critiques the public’s appetite for tragedy.
- The Rose as Symbol: Nancy’s grave has a rose bush, referencing the ballad that predicted it. Simon picks a rose but does not take it to Grace, perhaps recognizing the gesture would be inappropriate or that he cannot bridge the gap between the dead and the living.
- Class and Gender Judgment: The innkeeper and housekeeper both blame Grace more than McDermott, embodying the double standard that women “get off easy” yet are deemed more wicked. Nancy’s black picket fence marks her as morally suspect even in death.
- Fantasy vs. Reality: Simon’s daydream of marrying Grace is a retreat from the messy evidence. He imagines a tamed, grateful Grace—a stark contrast to the woman who may have conspired in murder.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 47 is a turning point in Simon’s arc. His physical pilgrimage to the Kinnear house and the graves marks his psychological descent from rational investigator to emotionally entangled fantasist. The inconclusive evidence about Mary Whitney’s grave underscores the novel’s skepticism about objective truth. The chapter also deepens the reader’s awareness of how the murders have been mythologised by the community, with the house becoming a “grisly museum” and the graves serving as tourist attractions. Simon’s final fantasy brings his hidden desires into the open, setting up the crisis that follows.
Study Questions
1. Why does Simon feel that his visit to the Kinnear house is “discreditable”?
Simon recognizes that his curiosity is voyeuristic, not scientific. He has come to gawk at a crime scene, and the housekeeper’s assumption that he is a buyer only heightens his discomfort. The word “discreditable” shows his self‑awareness, yet he continues the tour, revealing the pull of morbid fascination even for an educated man.
2. What does the discovery of Mary Whitney’s grave actually prove—and not prove?
The stone exists and bears the name Mary Whitney, matching Grace’s account. However, it has no dates and may have no connection to Grace’s friend. The grave could be a coincidence that Grace incorporated into her story. Simon’s reaction—“nothing has been proved. But nothing has been disproved, either”—encapsulates the novel’s refusal to offer a definitive truth.
3. How does Simon’s fantasy of marrying Grace reflect his own psychology?
Simon imagines a Grace who is grateful, obedient, and sexually available, hidden away under a false name. He is excited by the word “murderess,” which he applies to her throat “like a brand.” This fantasy shows his desire for power, his fascination with transgression, and his need to possess something dangerous. It also reveals his loneliness and his inability to form a conventional relationship.