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social-class-contrast
The differing responses to similar symptoms between Lady Pole and Stephen highlight class-based disparities in society.
1 chapter across 1 book
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (2004)Susanna Clarke
Chapter 41
In this chapter, Stephen Black, the butler, suffers from a mysterious malady similar to Lady Pole's, manifesting as exhaustion and detachment from reality. He experiences strange, dreamlike visions of an ancient, vast mansion called Lost-hope, which contrasts with his bleak daily life. Stephen encounters a mysterious, silver-haired gentleman in a coffee-house who claims to have enchanted him and speaks nostalgically of London's lost grandeur and the enduring reality of Lost-hope.