How we cite our quotes: Volume.Part.Chapter.Paragraph
Quote #7
"Questions of identity, where instances of personal resemblance are concerned, are, in themselves, the hardest of all questions to settle." (3.1.4.24)
Words of wisdom from Mr. Kyrle. Even in the eyes of the law, identity isn't necessarily absolute, which was a scary thought for the Victorians.
Quote #8
The idea that he was not Sir Percival Glyde at all, that he had no more claim to the baronetcy and to Blackwater Park than the poorest labourer who worked on the estate, had never occurred to my mind. (3.1.10.26)
Sir Percival not really being Sir Percival kind of blew our minds, too. We (like the Victorians) are trained to take people on their word, and are rattled when people are (dun dun dun) not what they appear to be.
Quote #9
"I beg your pardon, Sir Percival—" he began.
I stopped him before he could say more.
"The darkness misleads you," I said. "I am not Sir Percival."
The man drew back directly.
"I thought it was my master," he muttered in a confused, doubtful way. (3.1.10.51-5)
In one of the coolest scenes in the novel, a servant mistakes Walter for Sir Percival. It's like a thematic anvil to the head. Mistaken identity! Foils! Freaky connections! By being mistaken for one another Sir Percival and Walter are being compared to Anne and Laura.