58 pages • 1 hour read
Marie BenedictLady Clementine
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2020A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 2, Chapters 6-18Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 2, Chapter 6 Summary
November 15, 1909
Bristol, England
Recuperating after the birth of her first child, Clementine rests in the country, while Winston, now the president of the Board of Trade, remains in London, caring for their new daughter Diana. Upon her return to London, Clementine discovers her mother-in-law has taken over Clementine and Winston’s home. Weeks later, Jennie leaves after her husband George Cornwallis-West beckons her, and Clementine recovers control.
Winston soon leaves for Germany at the Kaiser’s request, and then parliamentary matters consume Winston’s time. Clementine complains about her own time, saddled by domestic responsibilities in addition to supporting Winston’s political ambitions. Having switched from the Conservative to the Liberal Party, Winston pushes forward with social programs in his position on the Board of Trade. Clementine confesses, despite their harmony, that universal suffrage divides them—the suffragettes’ violent tactics disappoint Winston. Clementine nevertheless travels to Bristol to help Winston’s reelection campaign, and a suffragette attacks Winston at the Bristol train station, almost forcing him in front of a train with a whip. Clementine acts quickly, pulling him to safety.
Part 2, Chapter 7 Summary
June 22, 1911
London, England
Clementine attends the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary. As Home Secretary, Winston rides in the procession to Westminster in an open-air carriage with Clementine. She thinks about their place in the procession and Winston’s achievements so far juxtaposed with the reality of their money problems and the effort she puts forward to maintain their outward appearance. This dissonance makes her laugh, and, though she conceals it, Winston scolds her, reminding Clementine of her duties during the Coronation. Seeing he has made his wife angry, Winston apologizes for doubting her.
As she makes her way into Westminster Cathedral, Clementine sees Violent Asquith, who continues to chase Winston, and Lady St. Helier, who helped secure the marriage between Clementine and Winston.
Part 2, Chapter 8 Summary
November 14, 1911
London, England
Clementine and Winston move into the Admiralty House after Winston is made first lord of the admiralty. Clementine, still without enough servants or money, rushes to her bedroom before a reception to get dressed. Winston interrupts, asking her to edit his speech, before he rehearses it to her. Recalling their move to the Admiralty House, Clementine thinks about the cost to run a larger house and her reluctance to move, considering Winston’s expensive tastes. Returning to the present, Winston begins to give his speech, while Clementine worries about their guests. Clementine encourages Winston to change his speech to be less direct and communicate the rising threat from Germany.
Part 2, Chapter 9 Summary
January 2, 1912
London, England
At the Stanley family house in London, Clementine, her sister Nellie, and their cousin Venetia reminisce about their grandmother and her home in Scotland. Recalling her prohibitions against bike riding and croquet, they laugh as they describe how they hide these activities from their Grandmother Stanley. Sensitive to Venetia, who mentions her own childhood home and better economic circumstances, Clementine turns to Kitty’s memory.
Clementine’s children Diana and Randolph interrupt. As Randolph’s tantrum breaks Clementine’s focus, she thinks about her difficulties with Randolph and mothering. Nellie and then Venetia ask about Winston and Clementine’s health. Reluctant to speak freely in front of Venetia who maintains a friendship with Violet Asquith, Clementine demurs. Responding to Venetia’s critiques about her involvement with politics, Clementine references Venetia’s affair with the prime minister and their possible sharing of political news in personal letters. She excuses herself.
Part 2, Chapter 10 Summary
March 28, 1912
London, England
Following a miscarriage, Clementine faces four weeks of bed rest. Considering the causes of her miscarriage, Clementine wonders if the previous trip to Belfast triggered it, in light of the stresses of the trouble with Ireland and home rule. Clementine remembers that in Belfast, she and Winston were attacked in their car on the way to his speech. The car was nearly tipped over, and they were saved only by Clementine’s sharp responses to the men.
As she lies in bed, Winston enters her bedroom, telling her that he’s going to the Asquiths at 10 Downing Street. Responding to her entreaties not to go, he claims that he must maintain social ties with the prime minister, despite Violet’s attractions to Winston. Winston leaves, and her children say good night. Their appearance doesn’t comfort Clementine.
Part 2, Chapter 11 Summary
March 30, 1912
London, England
Sitting at a table with Winston while he drinks port, Clementine looks at the newspaper, fearful of his reaction. Confessing to herself that she has written a sarcastic reply to Sir Almroth Wright, who has accused women of being “inferior,” Clementine waits for Winston’s reaction. Playful, he regrets his earlier trip to the Asquiths and tells her that her editorial wasn’t necessary for his attention. The prime minister, however, has viewed her sentiments favorably, and Winston has told him that Clementine wrote the letter.
Part 2, Chapter 12 Summary
May 12 and 18, 1913
HMS Enchantress and Athens, Greece
Winston arranges a trip onboard the Enchantress, the official yacht of the lord admiral, with the prime minister, his wife and daughter Violet, and Winston’s mother Jennie. Aboard the yacht, Clementine thinks about Jennie’s recent divorce and her improving relationship with the Asquiths before she criticizes Winston about the cost of champagne he’s brought abroad for the prime minister.
Once in Athens, Jennie asks to see the Parthenon in the moonlight, and Winston reluctantly agrees. As they climb the steps toward the ruins, Winston and the prime minister bemoan the state of the Parthenon. At the same time, Clementine inwardly acknowledges that the current government of Greece cannot be held responsible, and that the Earl of Elgin has removed artifacts from the Parthenon that the British Museum possesses. After Winston removes his hat and comforts his mother, Clementine puts the hat on as a joke. Wounded by Winston’s subsequent scolding, Clementine confronts him.
As the party returns to the yacht, Violet continues to drink. Jennie, Violet, Winston, and Clementine play bridge, until Winston recoils from the table, and Clementine sees Violet’s foot pull back. Encouraging Winston to take his mother to bed, Clementine confronts Violet about her flirting.
Part 2, Chapter 13 Summary
July 26 and August 15, 1914
Overstrand, England
Clementine notes that war is imminent—the death of Archduke Ferdinand will serve as the first step toward a larger conflict due to the treaties and agreements between the different countries.
Clementine and Winston rent a cottage on the beach in Norfolk in a village called Overstrand, where she can rest while pregnant with her third child. While Winston has promised to visit, he tells Clementine that war approaches—he must return to London. Frustrated with her situation at the beach, Clementine packs for London, until her maid tells Clementine that the movie theater in Overstrand plays a trailer encouraging viewers to enjoy their holiday because the Churchills remain in Overstrand.
Clementine’s mother asks to return to England from France, and Nellie helps bring her to Clementine in Overstrand. After her mother claims to see a suspicious figure scaling the cliff near the cottage, the children overwhelm Clementine, and she confesses to herself that motherhood doesn’t satisfy her.
Part 2, Chapter 14 Summary
October 7, 1914
London, England
As Clementine gives birth to her third child Sarah, she recounts various events of the war. In between contractions, she notes that Winston faces pushback from his men in the navy, he has replaced the chief of the home fleet, and that the Germans have invaded Belgium and are approaching Antwerp. Offering to lead the forces in Antwerp, Churchill takes a momentary leave from his position as first lord of the admiralty to conduct combat. The Germans take Antwerp and Churchill must face the consequences of his military defeat. As Clementine reviews these events, she sees Sarah, her newest child, face-to-face.
Part 2, Chapter 15 Summary
January 3, 1915
London, England
At a meeting with several high-ranking government figures, including Winston, Clementine becomes frustrated at their lack of enthusiasm and energy in planning the war and ensuring victory. As she eats her soup, Clementine describes the recent arrival of her sister Nellie, who has served as a nurse in the war and has been released from capture by the Germans. Clementine recalls Nellie’s concern for Clementine.
Back in the present, Clementine watches as Winston suggests a naval invasion of the Dardanelles to capture Constantinople, depriving Germany of an ally. Clementine scans the men’s faces, as she weighs the wisdom of her encouragement of Winston’s plan.
Part 2, Chapter 16 Summary
May 20, May 26, and June 3, 1915
London, England
The planned invasion of the Dardanelles has failed and thousands of soldiers—British, French, Australian, New Zealanders, and Indians—die. Winston blames the lack of reinforcements, and Clementine begins to blame herself, as she notes others had just as much responsibility in the plan and its execution. Rumors circulate that Winston will be removed from his position, and, almost a week later, Asquith replaces Winston.
They leave Admiralty House, renting another house in London, as their home has a current tenant. They receive a letter from the prime minister, which Clementine assumes will reference her harsh letter to the prime minister following Winston’s removal. Instead, the prime minister and his wife invite the Churchills to dinner and Clementine to tea earlier with his wife Margot.
They argue, and Clementine accuses the Asquiths of abandoning Churchill. The prime minister hears her raised voice and cautions her to think of Winston and not to imperil Winston’s prospects.
Part 2, Chapter 17 Summary
September 22 and November 4, 1915
Surrey and London, England
Retreating to the country, Clementine and Winston take up residence at Hoe Farm in Surrey, along with his cousin Jack and his family. Winston’s mood darkens, as news from the war comes to them. Winston takes up painting and finds the children to be a nuisance, as Randolph acts out. Removed from the War Council, Winston struggles to find a way back to power. Clementine cosigns Winston’s earlier idea to fight at the front, and Winston agrees it’s time to fight in the field.
Part 2, Chapter 18 Summary
November 16, 1915, to April 6, 1916
London, England
Winston heads to the front at the border between France and Belgian. He accosts Clementine with multiple requests for supplies and luxuries, as she continues to live together with Jack and Goonie’s family on Winston’s reduced salary. She embarks on a series of initiatives to revive Winston’s reputation and embraces causes that help empower women. Winston writes her to announce he’s coming home, and, as Clementine thinks about his short time in the field, she writes him to convince him to stay longer.
Part 2, Chapters 6-18 Analysis
Part 2 presents a more balanced and nuanced picture of The Nature of Marriage and Partnership as well as motherhood, depicting Clementine as a reluctant mother and a wife whose greatest joy in marriage seems to lie in subverting its traditional boundaries. As Clementine becomes more pivotal to Winston’s career, she becomes more like her own mother, whose pleasure in flouting the norms of marriage animates her. Clementine, too, defines her own role as a mother and wife by subverting the very traditions she chases. How they grapple with these restrictions reveals the challenges women face in balancing their domestic and public roles when they become ambitious and enter the worlds of business, politics, and government.
Clementine views motherhood similarly to how Clementine claims her own mother does. Children seem to be something to suffer through, another possession the aristocracy must claim. Rather than evince personal joy, Clementine argues that children become another job or chore to complete. As she grapples with Winston’s shifting political fortunes, her feelings toward her children turn toward obligation: “How long has it been since I read Randolph, Diana, and Sarah a bedtime story? I wonder. That ritual was once my favorite, a bright light amid the onerous darkness of children’s chores” (136). As Clementine finds Randolph’s temper and difficulties with social interactions a source of anger and sadness, her role as mother loses its appeal. The very marriage Clementine sought to escape her unhappy childhood begins to produce the same environment for her children. Even before her transformation toward her children, reading them stories appears as a rare pleasure amid drudgery.
Clementine’s difficult negotiating of motherhood becomes central as her workload and responsibilities become clearer and heavier. Finding pregnancy to be difficult—she has a miscarriage and experiences long periods of bed rest—Clementine describes it almost as a disease or a prison she’s unwilling to remain in for long: “With each movement forward, the confinement of pregnancy, the birth itself, and the long, sometimes lonely, recovery afterward are shed, like an unwanted skin” (49). The snake-like imagery and the process of outgrowing pregnancy present the sometimes confining nature of motherhood, reflecting The Complexities of History and Gender. Clementine’s traditional role as a woman is to be a wife and mother, but as her active involvement in Winston’s career demonstrates, her ambitions exceed what is offered to her in the domestic realm.
While Clementine will appraise her own parenting style more critically later, early in her marriage she and Winston are defined by their single-minded pursuit of power: his through politics, and hers through his positions, which he executes successfully with her help and intervention. Despite the unorthodox manner of their marriage, the gender restrictions of Edwardian Britain prove resilient. At the Acropolis, after Winston seems to chide Clementine, Clementine complains that she has “served as a good wife and political asset to him for years […] Must every act I undertake and every statement I make be dictated by the rubric of his political success and the demands of his personal comfort?” (95). Although he offers Clementine some freedom and agency, he remains a creature of his class, demanding her total attention. At such moments, Clementine chafes against feeling like his shadow instead of his true equal.
Her yoking, however, of good wife and political asset places Clementine outside the boundaries of conventional marriage and the conventional infidelities that, if discreet, can be excused in their set. Clementine’s sister Nellie notices as much when she remarks, “Winston’s work is important. But you have three young children and this vast house to run” (116). As Nellie attempts to encourage her sister to divide her time more evenly, she cuts Clementine by reminding her that Winston is the lord admiral and not Clementine. Nellie reinforces the boundaries of traditional motherhood and marriage and, simultaneously, uncovers that Clementine’s ambitions match, or even exceed, those of her ambitious husband. These restrictions and Clementine’s flouting of them seem more unforgivable to their aristocratic friends because they serve work and a higher purpose, rather than pleasure and personal enjoyment. As the prime minister encourages Clementine’s silence, she claims that he “seeks adoration from women—not challenge—and prefers his ‘ladies’ to have a malleable morality” (126). For Clementine, seeking to make her mark politically and historically thus means having to overcome challenges both within her marriage and in the social world that surrounds it.
Related Titles
By Marie Benedict
