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Chapter XV
Summary
While Mr. Osmond wanders with Isabel during their private talk to the end of the garden, Madame Merle and the Countess discuss the implications of the meeting between Osmond and Isabel. The Countess detects Madame Merle’s motive and perfectly appreciates the fact that Osmond is likely to marry Isabel’s seventy thousand pounds.
Pansy and the livery-boy layout the tea-things in the garden. The Countess “trembles for Isabel’s happiness” as Osmond is very hard to satisfy and hopes that Isabel would refuse him.
Critical Analysis
The insinuating Countess suggests the darker side of Florence, beyond the accumulated treasures of art and grand scenic beauty. Does not Countess present a more accurate and deeper evaluation of Osmond than Madame Merle ?