The Duchess and the Jeweller Questions and Answers
by Virginia Woolf

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• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  Why do you think the Jeweller is dissatisfied with his life?
  In the short story “The Duchess and the Jeweller” by Virginia Woolf, the Jeweller is a dissatisfied with a life that includes the finest material things, servants, and a burgeoning jewelry...

  4 Educator Answers

• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  What is the relation between the jeweller and the Duchess?  
  The relationship between these two characters is somewhat complex. Oliver Bacon is in awe of the Duchess. So in that way, he is subordinate to her. The Duchess looks down on Oliver and people...

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• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  What is the story The Duchess and the Jeweller even about??
  There is a good summary here: http://www.enotes.com/duchess-jeweller-qn But basically, Woolf's story is about a Duchess who goes to a jeweller to sell her Jewels. Because the Duchess has a title,...

  1 Educator Answer

• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  In the story "The Duchess and the Jeweller", how is the duchess deceitful? details of how shes more deceitful than the jeweller?
  The duchess is deceitful in two crucial and related ways. First, she takes advantage of the jeweler's desire for Diana, and does so artfully, as seen in this passage: " “You will come down...

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• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  What seems to be missing in Oliver Bacon's life in "The Duchess and the Jeweller"?
  Though fantastically wealthy, Oliver Bacon has one thing missing in his life: social status. It doesn't matter how successful in business he becomes, or how much money he makes, he will never be...

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• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  To what animals is Oliver compared to in "The Duchess and the Jeweller"?
  Woolf describes Oliver's physical appearance at the beginning of the short story. As part of this description she compares his nose, "which [is] long and flexible," to "an elephant's trunk." She...

  1 Educator Answer

• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  Which of Woolf's word choices suggest Oliver is preoccupied with how others see him?
  In one particularly notable passage near the beginning of the story, Oliver Bacon looks down admiringly at his perfect trousers, his boots, and his spats. All of them were made in Saville Row by...

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• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  Describe the relationship between the Duchess and the jeweler in Virginia Woolf's "The Duchess and the Jeweler."
  Thanks for the question! The relationship between the duchess and the jeweler in Virginia Woolf's short story is complex. Before we place this relationship under the microscope, it might be helpful...

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• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  What animals are Oliver compared to in "The Duchess and the Jeweller," and what are the effects of these comparisons?
  Oliver's described as having a nose like an elephant's trunk—long and flexible. Like an elephant sniffing out for food, Oliver's always sniffing out for new opportunities, in this case...

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• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  What is Oliver's attitude toward his past in "The Duchess and the Jeweler"?
  Oliver Bacon has become a very successful businessman as a phenomenally wealthy jeweler. He has as much money as he can spend and leads a suitably lavish lifestyle. However, the one thing he lacks...

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• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  Why does the Duchess want to sell the pearls in "The Duchess and the Jeweller"?    
  Virginia Woolf's short story "The Duchess and the Jeweller" focuses on a wealthy London jeweler and his purchase of ten false pearls from the Duchess of Lambourne. The Duchess is described as "very...

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• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  In The Duchess and The Jeweller, what did Oliver discover about the pearls?
  At the end of the story, Oliver discovers that the pearls that the Duchess has given him are worthless. They are not real and so that means he has paid her a huge amount of money for fake jewels....

  2 Educator Answers

• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  Would you call the Jeweller a winner or a loser in his transactions with the Duchess?
  Oliver Bacon the Jeweller most definitely experiences "loss" in a material sense in the transaction with the Duchess. Specifically, he loses the twenty thousand pounds that he pays to the Duchess...

  1 Educator Answer

• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  From The Duchess and The Jeweller, what was Oliver's childhood like?  
  The Duchess and The Jeweller is a short story by Virginia Woolf which explores the lengths people may go to in order to attain a level of perceived success. Oliver Bacon is fairly smug in his...

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• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  In "The Duchess and the Jeweller," is the jeweller someone you would like to know?
  I guess this depends on which aspect of his character you look at. On the one hand, he is appealing because of his past. He was born poor and he has made it to the point where he can buy all these...

  2 Educator Answers

• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  Please provide a character sketch from The Duchess and the Jeweller by Virginia Woolf with any relevant quotes.
  Oliver Bacon is a man of habit and is the jeweller in The Duchess and the Jeweller. In the very first paragraph, the reader is introduced to a seemingly pedantic man, shallow and "proper" with the...

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• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  Why was Mr. Bacon still a sad man and what was the bigger bet he pined to win The Duchess and the Jeweller?
  Mr. Bacon, the jeweler is in sorrow; he pines for a woman to care for him. Although he is rich from the jewels he owns, there is something missing in his life: So the great jeweller, the greatest...

  1 Educator Answer

• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  Why do Oliver and the Duchess need each other in "The Duchess and the Jeweller"?  
  The Duchess of Lambourne needs Oliver to provide her with the money to pay her gambling debt, and Oliver needs her to provide him the opportunity to court her daughter Diana because he is not...

  1 Educator Answer

• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  From The Duchess and the Jeweller by Virginia Woolf, who is the old woman in the picture?
  The Duchess and The Jeweller is a short story by Virginia Woolf who recognizes the often conceited and pretentious upper classes and the plight of many within the British working classes. She is...

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• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  In The Duchess and the Jeweller, what was Oliver's childhood like? Please explain.
  We really are not told very much about Oliver Bacon's childhood. All that we really know is that A) it was a poor childhood where he had to work hard (and break laws) to get ahead and B) that he...

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• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  What is the main theme of "The Duchess and The Jeweller" by Virginia Woolf?
  Virginia Woolf delves into the theme of the affect of greed on decision making in her story “The Duchess and the Jeweller.” In the story, both the Duchess and the jeweler have agendas, and both are...

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• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  What kind of relationship is it between the Duchess and the Jeweller in "The Duchess and The Jeweller"?
  The Duchess and the jeweler need each other. She needs his money, and he needs her daughter Diana. They have an unusual bond. The two of them are intimately contrary to one another. They are...

  1 Educator Answer

• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  How does the reader know that Mr. Oliver Bacon is a successful and wealthy man?
  In the short story "The Duchess and the Jeweller," Oliver Bacon is shown in his stock room and his private residence. To give an understanding of the wealth and success he has achieved, the reader...

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• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  Why does the Duchess invite Oliver to her estate?
  In my opinion, the Duchess does this to try to distract Oliver Bacon and to make him more likely to accept her "jewels" and pay a high price for them. The Duchess is really in a desperate situation...

  2 Educator Answers

• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  What is the setting of "The Duchess and the Jeweller"?
  There are several settings in Woolf's short story. It begins in Oliver Bacon's home "overlooking the Green Park." He then walks along Piccadilly, on his way to his shop on Bond Street. All of these...

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• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  This story reflects the moral decadence of modern society. Discuss QUESTION SHOULD BE EXPLAINED WITH REFERENCE TO OLIVER BACON AND DUCHESS.BOTH OF THEM STAND FOR 2 DI FFERENT CLASSES.ANIMAL IMAGINARY IS USED FOR BOTH CHARACTERS WHICH CAN DESCRIBE...
  I do not think the story reflects actual moral decadence. I think, instead, that it reflects the age in which Woolf wrote it. During that time, English people probably felt that their world was...

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• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  In "A Room of One's Own" by Virginia Woolf, what is the main argument, topic or symbolic meaning of her discussion about "What if Shakespeare Had Had a Sister?"  I need to write an argument paper in reference to this essay. Thanks.
  The point of Virginia Woolf's essay is to question the role of a female writer's in society. This is a common theme in many of her essays. She poses this question to ask the reader to consider...

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• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  Why were the duchess and the Oliver Bacon friends as well as enemies at the same time?  
  Although Woolf does say that these two people are friends as well as enemies, she does not really mean that they are friends in the way we generally use the term. These are not people who really...

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• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  What seems to be the only thing that is more important to Oliver than money and success?
  More than anything else, Oliver craves social respectability. He has the money, he has the success, but the one thing he doesn't have in life is social standing. That explains why this hard-headed...

  1 Educator Answer

• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  Please provide me with a thematic study of "The Duchess and the Jeweller."
  The most abiding theme in the story is the way that money corrupts people, making them do things they really should not do. The jeweler, Oliver Bacon, has money, plenty of it, but the one thing he...

  1 Educator Answer

• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  What does the statement "the truffle he had routed out of earth" was "Rotten at the center - - rotten to the core!" mean?
  Ah, an interesting question. Truffles are considered quite precious. (They are very expensive food!) For one to be rotten is a terrible disappointment. Pigs are often used to sniff out truffles,...

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• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  From The Duchess and The Jeweller, explain the statement about things being "rotten at the core" in the context of the narrative.
  In The Duchess and The Jeweller, Oliver Bacon, has not always been "the richest jeweller in England." Oliver, in fact, had very humble beginnings and remembers his life "in a filthy little alley."...

  1 Educator Answer

• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  What do these comparisions suggest in The Duchess and the Jeweller: pearls to tears, rubies to heart's blood, diamonds to gunpowder.
  By making these comparisons, the author is bringing out the theme of class conflict. She is showing A) how hard Oliver has had to work to get himself up from poverty and B) how much he resents...

  1 Educator Answer

• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  What association does the mention of Diana's name arouse in the jeweller? Why do these associations create conflict for him?
  When Oliver hears Diana's name, he feels and thinks several things. First and most immediately, he loves her, so any mention of her name brings forth a surge of fond emotion and fantasy. He wants...

  1 Educator Answer

• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  i this story the writer has thrown light on human nature of modern man(of that time),which z right 'rotten at the center,rotten at the core'.elaborate plz elaborate the point the way it z with reference to the story..including quotations..at least...
  We are not able to write whole essays for you on this site. It is recommended that we answer in around 90 words. I will try to help point you in the right direction. If I had to agree with that...

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• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  What associations do the mention of Diana's name arouse in the jeweler?
  Ah, a subtle question. First and most simply, we're told that the jeweler loves Diana. Therefore, the first association is that of love. After that, though, hearing her name reminds him that there...

  1 Educator Answer

• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  In The Duchess and The Jeweller, how did Oliver act around his four friends.
  The Duchess and the Jeweller exposes the superficial environment in which so many people exist. In an effort to appear to be privileged and successful, Oliver Bacon, who was not actually born into...

  1 Educator Answer

• The Duchess and the Jeweller
  What is the significance of the line "Was she lying again?"?
  The single word, "again", suggests a great deal in this line and in this story. It means that the jeweller, Oliver Bacon, knows that the Duchess is dishonest when it comes to selling her jewelery;...

  1 Educator Answer