I feel like Andromeda chained to a rock with you lot hovering over me.Downton Abbey: A New Era · 2022 — Chapter 1 of 18 · 3'44" · C1
Violet Gives Sybbie a French Villa, Explained: who are we to argue
The Dowager Countess stuns the family by announcing she owns a villa in the South of France and has given it to Sybbie. Why she never mentioned it, and why she won't refuse it, turn into a masterclass in aristocratic nerve: "who are we to argue?"
What happens
At Downton, the Dowager Countess tells the family she has come into possession of a villa in the South of France and has signed it over to her great-granddaughter Sybbie. The family presses her for the story, and she finally explains the eccentric gift from the Marquis de Montmirail more than sixty years ago.
Listen for
come into possession ofwho are we to argueNor do weMore's the pity
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Now
Phrase of the scene
who are we to argue
我们凭什么反对；哪轮得到我们争
家人质疑别墅的归属，提到遗孀准备把这件事告上法庭时，有人这样回应。
It's her decision in the end, and who are we to argue with that?
Also in this scene
- come into possession of
获得；拥有（某物）
- Nor do we
我们也不；我们也一样不
- More's the pity
可惜啊；真遗憾（常带点调侃）
Everything marked in this scene
24 notes across 69 lines
I feel like Andromeda chained to a rock with you lot hovering over me.liaison
I feel like Andromeda chained to a rock with you lot hovering over me.I've come into possession of a villa in the South of France.And he invited me to spend some time at a villa he'd just bought.A year or so later, he wrote to me and said he'd transferred the villa into my name.past perfect
A year or so later, he wrote to me and said he'd transferred the villa into my name.I never thought he was serious, so I didn't pay any attention.But it wasn't a joke? It seems not.Your children are well set up here,double possessive
and Edith's are more than taken care of, but Brompton will go to a child of Tom and Lucy's.The mother is keen they should take the matter to court.- Well, you can't blame her. - Why?If her husband wanted me to have the place, who are we to argue?Do I look as if I'd turn down a villa in the South of France?as if clause
Do I look as if I'd turn down a villa in the South of France?liaison
Do I look as if I'd turn down a villa in the South of France?More's the pity.Well, I think it's marvelous of Granny to take care of Sybbie.weak form
Well, I think it's marvelous of Granny to take care of Sybbie.Even if Monsieur de Montmirail was as mad as a rat.As far as she's concerned, she received a very eccentric letter more than half a century ago.as far as concerned
As far as she's concerned, she received a very eccentric letter more than half a century ago.She considered it potty at the time and never gave it another thought.Violet Gives Sybbie a French Villa, explained
What's really going on
The comedy of the scene is that Violet drops a fortune on the table as if it were nothing. A villa in the South of France, a dead marquis who signed it over to her decades ago, and she never bothered to mention it, because she thought it was a joke. The family scrambles for explanation, and she refuses to supply one: "when the truth is I do not know." What she will defend is the gift itself. When someone suggests she might have turned it down, she is almost offended: "Do I look as if I'd turn down a villa in the South of France?" and "who are we to argue?" Underneath the wit, she has also done something deliberate, redirecting the estate so that "darling Sybil's only daughter will inherit little, and I wanted to correct that." It is less an inheritance than a last act of fairness, delivered in the driest possible tone.
Theme
Family loveViolet gives the villa to Sybbie so that her late daughter's child is not left out of the family's wealth.
GenerationsA gift from sixty years ago resurfaces and links Violet's youth to a great-granddaughter she wants to provide for.
What you'll learn
- 'andromeda chained to a rock' carries more than its dictionary gloss.
- 'come into possession of' changes the pressure of the reply.
- The surrounding lines set the social temperature.
Listen for
- chained to a rock — liaison
- turn down a villa — liaison
- care of — weak form
I feel like Andromeda chained to a rock with you lot hovering over me.Violet's joke about being surrounded: she compares her family to the mob that watched Andromeda, making her the helpless center of attention.
If her husband wanted me to have the place, who are we to argue?Her defense of keeping the villa: since the marquis chose to give it to her, nobody has standing to question the gift.
She considered it potty at the time and never gave it another thought.The family's explanation of Violet's silence: to her the letter was nonsense, so she filed it away and forgot it.
Do I look as if I'd turn down a villa in the South of France?Her mock-serious reply to the idea of refusing the gift, as if the question answered itself.
Questions about this scene
Where did Violet's villa in the South of France come from?
The Marquis de Montmirail, whom she met in France more than sixty years earlier, transferred the villa into her name. She assumed it was a joke and ignored it.
Why has Violet given the villa to Sybbie?
She says Sybil's only daughter would otherwise inherit very little, while the other grandchildren are provided for, so she wants to correct an unfair division.
Why won't Violet refuse the villa?
She argues that the marquis wanted her to have it, so questioning the gift is pointless. She also jokes that no one would turn down a villa in the South of France.
What does the marquis's family plan to do?
His widow and son are upset that the villa went to Violet, and the widow is keen to take the matter to court.
What does "who are we to argue" mean here?
It means there is no good reason to object. Violet uses it to say that since the marquis made the gift, the family has no right to dispute it.
Downton Abbey: A New Era · 18 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 2take a dim viewJack Barber Pitches Filming at Downton
Watching · Chapter 1who are we to argueViolet Gives Sybbie a French Villa
Chapter 2take a dim viewJack Barber Pitches Filming at Downton
Chapter 3wouldn't hear of itHollywood Comes to Downton
Chapter 4frighten the horsesThe Family Dines with Myrna Dalgleish
Chapter 5eye someone upDinner at the Villa of the Doves
Chapter 6in a wayTom and Lucy Inherit the Villa
Chapter 7perform miraclesMary Saves the Talkie
Chapter 8On an impulseMolesley Pitches His Own Ending
Chapter 9trouble in paradiseMary Talks About Her Marriages
Chapter 10more than capableRobert Learns Cora Is Ill
Chapter 11in your handsMyrna Walks Off the Set
Chapter 12washed upThe Maids Talk Myrna Down
Chapter 13had in mindViolet Says Goodbye to Tom
Chapter 14await developmentsGuy Offers Barrow a Hollywood Job
Chapter 15an object of desireBarber Asks to Kiss Mary
Chapter 16a fool for loveViolet Tells Mary the Truth
Chapter 17what the blazesMolesley Proposes to Baxter
Chapter 18last the courseViolet's Deathbed GoodbyesChapter 1 of 18 · about 36 min to go