How Well Do You Know the Play Arcadia?

Septimus Hodge is Thomasina’s tutor in the play. He is a twenty-two-year-old scholar who teaches Thomasina and engages in intellectual discussions with her. His role is pivotal as he nurtures Thomasina’s curiosity and encourages her to question and explore the world around her, thus driving the narrative of the play.

The play is set in Derbyshire, England. The action takes place in the front room of an old estate surrounded by a beautiful, traditional, and park-like landscape. This setting provides a serene and idyllic backdrop to the unfolding drama, symbolizing the tranquility and order of the past that is disrupted by the events of the play.

Jellaby is the butler in the play. He interrupts the conversation between Septimus and Thomasina to deliver a letter to Septimus from Mr. Chater. His role, while minor, serves to advance the plot by facilitating the communication between characters and adding a layer of realism to the portrayal of life in the estate.

Thomasina asks Septimus about the meaning of “carnal embrace”. This question reveals her curiosity and the nature of their intellectual discussions. It underscores Thomasina’s innocence and her thirst for knowledge, while also hinting at the themes of love and desire that permeate the play.

Lady Croom, the mistress of the estate, is very upset by Noakes’s plans for the landscaping of Sidley Park. She believes that the park is beautiful and an “Arcadia” as it is. Her resistance to change reflects the struggle between tradition and progress that is a central theme of the play.

Bernard Nightingale is a critic in the play. He comes to meet Hannah at the estate and expresses his desire to collaborate with her on a project. His character introduces the element of literary criticism and scholarly debate into the play, enriching its intellectual depth.

Bernard believes that Lord Byron killed Chater in a duel. He thinks that Lord Byron slept with Chater’s wife, which led Chater to challenge Lord Byron to a duel. This belief forms the basis of Bernard’s theory and sets in motion a series of events that unravel the mysteries of the past.

Thomasina wants to create equations that make nature. She believes that Septimus’s equations are only for commonplace manufactured forms and expresses her desire to create something more complex and natural. Her ambition reflects her genius and foreshadows the revolutionary ideas she develops, highlighting the play’s exploration of the intersection of science and art.

The pages of Thomasina’s book are filled with iterated equations or equations that feed solutions of one equation into the next. This surprises Valentine because iteration has only been practiced for the last twenty years. This revelation underscores Thomasina’s ahead-of-her-time brilliance and the play’s theme of the interplay between past and present.

Mr. Chater is still angry with Septimus. This conflict adds a layer of drama to the play. It not only fuels the tension between characters but also serves as a catalyst for the unfolding of secrets and revelations that shape the course of the story.