Candy and Barbara See Their New House, Explained

What happens

Candy brings his new wife, Barbara, to the house and they choose the den together. She asks him never to change and never to leave, and he promises the house will always stand. Murdoch has everything ready, and then a letter from the Prisoners of War Committee reveals that Theo is in a camp in Derbyshire.

What's really going on

The scene is about making a home as a promise, and about how quickly promises are tested. Barbara asks the man she married not to change and never to leave the house, and Candy answers with a vow about the building itself: "even if there's a second Flood, this house shall always stand on solid foundations." The words are warm, but the film quietly marks them as too neat — a lifetime of change is exactly what the rest of the story will show. The friendly Murdoch, whose dry reply about visitors suggests he knows his master better than anyone, adds a comic note that keeps the vow from sounding pompous. Then the letter about Theo arrives, and the declaration about standing still is answered by the decision to move: they postpone Paris to go and meet him. Home, in this film, is always about to be left.

Key lines & what they mean

“No fear! And even if there's a second Flood, this house shall always stand on solid foundations.”

Candy turns a private promise into a boast about permanence: even a biblical flood could not move the house, and by implication, not him either.

“I think I shall like Murdoch. And I know I shall like this house.”

Barbara's first impressions, stated as certainties: she takes to the servant and the home at once, which makes the life she is choosing look settled and safe.

“I'm so sorry, Murdoch. You took such a lot of trouble.”

Barbara notices the work behind the welcome, a small courtesy that shows what kind of mistress of the house she intends to be.

“Hmm. It's a fine, solid-looking property. Like you.”

Barbara's compliment links the man and the building in one image: both look sturdy and dependable, which is exactly the reassurance she is looking for.

“Yes, ma'am. He said, "They all say that at first," ma'am.”

Murdoch's dry report punctures the promise: the porter has heard new owners swear they will change their ways before, and they never do.

“Clive, you won't change, will you?”

The question at the heart of the scene: she asks about the man, not the house, and the film spends the rest of its time answering her.

Theme

• Marriage — A newly married couple make the house a symbol of their life together, promising permanence in a world that has just shown how easily everything changes.
• Memory — The promise to stay put is almost immediately overruled by old loyalty: news of Theo sends them away from the house they have just sworn never to leave.