The Bell

Michael has known Nick Fawley since the younger man was his pupil. When Michael was 25, he was struggling with his mission to become a priest because he had discovered he was attracted to men. After a while, Michael starts believing he has “cured” himself of his perceived vices, but when he meets 14-year-old Nick, he develops feelings he has never experienced before. A year later, they enter into an illicit yet platonic affair, which ends in Nick admitting everything to the headmaster while making the affair seem more sordid and sexual. Michael is dismissed from his job, and the Bishop refuses his planned ordination.

Years later, Michael is hugely dismayed to meet Catherine Fawley at Imber Abbey, realizing immediately that she must be Nick’s sister, as they resemble each other uncannily. He also grasps that Catherine knows about him, but they never speak of it. It surprises him when Catherine asks him to bring Nick to the community so he can escape the life of “dissolution” in London. After much deliberation, Michael agrees and, filled with trepidation, goes to meet Nick at the station.

Nick is by now a man, heavier and less innocent, and they greet each other nervously and shyly. Soon, Michael starts adapting to Nick’s presence but decides to avoid the young man as much as he can, although it is obvious that Nick would like to talk to him alone. Michael holds on to a vague hope that life at Imber might help not only Nick but also their relationship.

That Saturday evening, after the Meeting, Michael finds himself pondering whether it is time for his ordination. The next day, as Catherine, James, and the Straffords begin their choir rehearsal, Peter leads the rest of the group (except for Nick) to visit the bird traps he sets in meadows across the lake. They cross the water in the boat, all filled with Sunday laziness and a kind of peace, and witness Nick’s dog, Murphy, swimming in the lake.

In the woods, Michael observes Toby, “obviously very happy” (123), and ponders his attractiveness, wondering if it might provoke Nick into mischief. Michael remembers seeing the boy naked at the lake, and the thought fills him with disquiet.

As they reach the bird traps, everyone marvels at Peter’s adroitness in tagging the two birds. The delicate nature of the operation and the birds’ tiny bodies overwhelm Dora, who gives an “exclamation of alarm, excitement, and distress” (127). Michael and Toby start to return together as Peter poses Dora for a picture, and they both feel relaxed and at ease until four jet planes fly low across the sky. The planes’ “noise and speed and beauty” render Michael speechless (130), and he realizes he is holding Toby’s arm in his grip.

James is giving the address in the community’s chapel, speaking of virtue and sin and of the dangers of experience and thinking too much of oneself. Dora, feeling “restless and dejected” and missing her London life (133), spends her time observing the congregation, trying to determine which of the men is most attractive; she finds her husband to be the one. She then observes Catherine and her beauty, feeling relief that she will soon be entering the convent.

James uses the bell as a metaphor for speaking the truth and mentions Catherine as a paragon of virtue. After the sermon, he apologizes, confused by his outburst of emotion. Dora walks a while with Catherine, who mentions she is afraid of water and often dreams of drowning. Dora is convinced that the girl has not chosen a nun’s life of her own will, as she sees no reason why she should.

Paul interrupts them, causing Dora to feel irritated and suffocated and to question her decision to return to the marriage. Angry, Paul states that Catherine is his ideal of a woman, “lovely, gentle, modest, and chaste” (139). He says he has no respect for Dora but unfortunately loves her, which causes Dora to start crying.

After the sermon, Toby sets off from the Lodge, where he leaves Nick still lounging in bed, and runs through the woods with Murphy to the lake. At one point, he reaches the part of the woods where the convent’s enclosure stops and glimpses to his surprise two nuns walking in the woods across the lake. He hears one of them laughing, and the sound both dismays and thrills him. He feels overjoyed with life and faith and, after finding an abandoned, ancient barn, reaches a secluded stone ramp that leads into the lake.

Having enjoyed the sun on his skin, he enters the lake and, diving, soon comes up against something solid on the bottom. He tries to free it but realizes it must be larger than he thought, and its shape reminds him of a bell.

At James’s suggestion, Michael takes Toby with him to Swindon to pick up the mechanical cultivator. The boy eagerly agrees to come, and they spend a pleasant afternoon driving to the town and having a drink at the pub. Toby expresses admiration for Michael and his ability to create “Something so sort of pure and out of the modern world” (153).

As darkness falls and they head back to Imber, Toby falls asleep in the Land Rover, his head nestled on Michael’s shoulder. Michael vividly imagines grabbing Toby and holding him; he attempts to curb this line of thinking while enjoying the feel of Toby’s body next to him. As they arrive at the gate, the boy wakes up and runs out of the car to see whether his eyes will glow in the light of the headlights. As he runs to the car and leans into Michael’s window the man kisses him, putting his arm across Toby’s shoulder. Toby immediately steps back and remains rigid for a moment while Michael attempts to apologize somberly. At the same moment, they see someone coming into view, and Michael recognizes Nick. Fearing that Nick might have witnessed the scene, he leaves Toby with Nick and drives off toward the house.