So this is where you laid your plans.Enola Holmes · 2020 — Chapter 7 of 12 · 3'47" · B1
Enola Meets the Dowager, Explained: lead someone astray
Disguised as a maid, Enola is caught snooping at Basilwether and brought before the Dowager, who tests her with polite menace. "That is what it is to be an ancestral landowner," the old woman says, turning privilege into an argument for an England that must never change.
What happens
At Basilwether Hall, Enola arrives disguised as a maid and is recognized by the Dowager, the family matriarch. The two women trade jabs: the Dowager questions her name and age and threatens to dismiss the gardener, while Enola admits she tied him up and knows jujutsu. The old woman ends by asking Enola to pass a message to her grandson.
Listen for
lead someone astraylet someone gooff you gobreadcrumb trail
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Phrase of the scene
lead someone astray
to guide someone away from the right path
伊诺拉沿途留的线索其实是故意放的，为的是把追踪她的人引向错误方向。
Bad advice can lead a young investor astray.
Also in this scene
- let someone go
to dismiss someone from a job
- off you go
a casual way to send someone off
- breadcrumb trail
a series of clues that lead somewhere
Everything marked in this scene
21 notes across 61 lines
to guide someone away from the right path
You were leading them astray.a series of clues that lead somewhere
Oh, you tickle me, Viscount Tewkesbury.You magnificent Marquess of blooming Basilwether.And you're a cleverer boy than I perhaps gave you credit for.comparative with than
And you're a cleverer boy than I perhaps gave you credit for.as ... as comparison
WOMAN: It's not as stable as you think. [gasps]Would you care to come down?He'll probably want to come by.flap
Twenty two.to dismiss someone from a job
I'll have to let the gardener go for lending you his uniform.Tied him up.Or should I say missus?My condolences, by the way.passive voice
It feels important that these ideas of England are preserved.Never could focus on what was.Will you tell him that I care about him a great deal?liaison
Will you tell him that I care about him a great deal?a casual way to send someone off
Off you go.liaison
Off you go.Enola Meets the Dowager, explained
What's really going on
Under the manners, this is a contest over inheritance and England itself. The Dowager is not fooled for a second — "I believe we've already met," she says, letting Enola know she has been recognized. Her talk of protecting the land is really a defence of a fixed order: "That is what it is to be an ancestral landowner." She contrasts her late son, who "was always about what could be," with her grandson, who she suspects is the same, framing change as a family failing. Yet her final request is tender and calculated at once: she asks Enola to tell the boy she cares for him "a great deal," keeping a claim on him even as she treats him as a threat to her world.
Theme
ClassThe Dowager's pride in the land turns privilege into duty and defends an unchanging order.
GenerationsShe pits her late son and her grandson, both new thinkers, against the world she means to preserve.
What you'll learn
- 'leading them astray' carries more than its dictionary gloss.
- 'breadcrumb trail' changes the pressure of the reply.
- The surrounding lines set the social temperature.
Listen for
- Twenty two — flap
- about him — liaison
- Off you go — liaison
And you re a cleverer boy than I perhaps gave you credit forA grudging admission that someone is sharper than expected; to give someone credit here means to acknowledge their ability.
will you tell him that I care about him a great dealA warm-sounding request that doubles as a claim: she wants the boy to know she cares, on her own terms.
That is what it is to be an ancestral landownerHer definition of nobility: inheriting land means protecting it, and she uses it to justify a fixed social order.
I suspect my grandson is the sameShe links her grandson to her late son, both drawn to what could be rather than what is, as a quiet warning.
Questions about this scene
Why does the Dowager recognize Enola right away?
She says they have already met, though Enola was dressed differently. As head of the family she clearly keeps track of who comes and goes at Basilwether, so the maid disguise does not fool her.
What does the Dowager mean by 'that is what it is to be an ancestral landowner'?
She means that owning inherited land comes with a duty to protect it and the old order. It is her way of saying that change threatens England and must be resisted.
Why does the Dowager ask Enola to deliver a message to her grandson?
She wants the boy to hear that she cares about him a great deal, which keeps an emotional hold on him even as she treats him as a rival for the inheritance.
What does Enola admit about the gardener?
That she forced him into helping, tied him up, and that she knows jujutsu, a martial art. She refuses to let the servant take the blame for lending her his uniform.
Enola Holmes · 12 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 8do funny things to someoneTewkesbury Finds Enola's Hideout
Chapter 1one's own companyEnola Confronts Her Brothers
Chapter 2unpickEnola Decodes Her Mother's Message
Chapter 3leave someone strandedEnola Hides on the Train
Chapter 4the game is afootSherlock and Mycroft Argue Over Enola
Chapter 5prepare the groundEnola Bluffs Her Way Into Basilwether
Chapter 6for better or worseA Talk of Power Over Tea
Watching · Chapter 7lead someone astrayEnola Meets the Dowager
Chapter 8do funny things to someoneTewkesbury Finds Enola's Hideout
Chapter 9fend for oneselfEnola at Miss Harrison's School
Chapter 10pick my brainsSherlock Visits Enola
Chapter 11see right through someoneEnola Sneaks into the Finishing School
Chapter 12right a wrongEnola and Tewkesbury Flee the SchoolChapter 7 of 12 · about 18 min to go