It is important to note that Staverton is remarkably like Brydon in many ways. Both characters represent a troubled response to modernity and its economic and cultural upheavals, to the shock of the new. Upon his return to New York after a thirtythree- year sojourn in Europe, Brydon stands repelled by the altered face of modern urban life and defines both himself and Staverton in opposition to modern life. He finds solace amidst modern disorder in two places: in his family home—the "jolly corner" of the title—and in Alice Staverton's flat, which he values as "a small still scene where items and shades, all delicate things, kept the sharpness of the notes of a high voice perfectly trained, and where economy hung about life like the scent of a garden." Similarly, Alice Staverton's quarters in Irving Place, roughly like the jolly corner in...