Mr. Ranford

Mr. Ranford is first mentioned when Hartley arrives at the Brympton place. It is said that Mrs. Brympton is currently having a visitor, which is why Hartley cannot meet the mistress yet. Mr. Ranford is a neighbor who lives “a mile or two beyond Brympton, at the end of the village”.¹ Hartley has often heard his name in the hall before, but the first time she sees him is when he is walking with Mrs. Brympton along the terrace. She describes him as “a slight tall gentleman of about thirty“² who seems to be “rather melancholy looking”³ until she sees his smile, and she compares it with “the first warm day in spring”.⁴ Mr. Ranford would come to visit Mrs. Brympton every winter because he has “the habit of spending his winters in the country”.⁵ Moreover, as he is a “great reader”,⁶ he would read aloud for the mistress, and they are “forever borrowing books of one another”.⁷ Spending time at the Brympton house, it appears that he would sometimes talk to the servants as well as he always has “a friendly word for every one of [them]”⁸ when he comes over. The servants like him and are glad that the mistress has such “a pleasant companionable gentleman”⁹ to keep her company when her husband is away. It appears that Mr. Ranford and Mr. Brympton get along very well, too, to Hartley's suprise since the two of them are complete opposites personality-wise.

The reader gets the impression that Mr. Ranford and Mrs. Brympton share a more intimate relationship than just friendship since Mrs. Brympton seems more cheerful when she is with him (“She had met Mr. Ranford in the grounds, and the two came back together, I remember, smiling and talking”¹⁰) than when she is with her husband (“She was white, and chill to the touch”¹¹). However, unlike Mrs. Brympton who has implied that she sees Mr. Ranford as a love interest through a “secret note”, Mr. Ranford has never really shown any direct signs of reciprocation. It does seem like he enjoys visiting Mrs. Brympton during the winter season, though, and spending time with her. They appear to be very friendly with each other, enough for Mr. Brympton to even notice how close they are, which makes him feel jealous.¹²

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1 Lewis, R. W. B. The Collected Short Stories of Edith Wharton. (Vol. 1. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1968. 457-474, Print.), 462.

2 Ibid.

3 Ibid.

4 Ibid.

5 Ibid.

6 Ibid.

7 Ibid.

8 Ibid.

9 Ibid.

10 Ibid., 462.

11 Ibid.

12 Ibid., 464 f.