59 pages • 1 hour read
Jennifer RyanThe Wedding Dress Sewing Circle: A Novel
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 17-24 Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 17 Summary: “Violet”
Violet goes to Darley Grange, Lord Flynn’s estate, to report for duty. She feels upbeat about the experience since her change in perspective, but her mood sours when she discovers she is assigned to Lieutenant MacCauley for driving duty. He teases her about her new seriousness for her duty and her haircut. On the drive, he presses her for conversation, and when she does not join in, he speculates what her life has been like. He guesses she was pampered, and although she was, she offers corrections, telling him she has endured losses, like the deaths of her mother and the man she nearly married. MacCauley apologizes for her loss, and he shares that his own parents did not show him much attention and that he has his own losses, like the coma his brother was in when MacCauley was 12. When Violet asks how his brother is now, he shares his concern over all the affairs his brother’s wife has, but he suspects his brother wants her to be happy. He jokes that perhaps one day Violet will find a man like that who pampers her, but he wonders aloud if that is what she truly wants. His words get Violet thinking, but she brushes him off. Back at the manor, she requests a transfer but is denied. Her commanding officer tells her, however, that the Americans should have their own drivers soon.
Chapter 18 Summary: “Cressida”
Cressida uses Grace as a model for her Utility Clothes fashion show submission. She observes the outfit on Grace, and they discuss small ways to make it more attractive while staying within the limitations of the rules. Cressida notes again Grace’s talent for design, and despite Grace’s continued protestations, Cressida wonders if she can perhaps convince Grace to pursue fashion. They discuss the state of the fashion world since the war, the role of Jewish designers in German fashion before the war, and Germany’s attempt to move the center of the fashion world from Paris to Germany.
Cressida thinks fondly about her walk with Ben earlier in the day. They climbed a hill nearby for the view and found a stray dog. On the walk, they spoke of their grief. Ben shared that talking about those he loved and lost helps him move through grief and allow the joys of life despite loss, and Cressida realized that she has been worsening her grief by avoiding it. She wondered when she forgot that life is meant to be lived.
Chapter 19 Summary: “Grace”
Grace dashes out in the rain with only some newspaper to protect her from the downpour. She runs into Hugh, and they go inside the nearby church so he can show her something he brought for her. As they head to the church, they race like they used to as children. Inside, Hugh tells Grace he found his mother’s veil while cleaning out the manor and wondered if Grace would like to use it. Grace recognizes the veil and compares it to her dress; they realize that it is a perfect match for the wedding dress and that Hugh’s mother must have donated her dress to Grace’s mother.
As they contemplate the coincidence and the now-reunited set, Hugh shares how he always thought they would be the ones getting married. He admits that he loved her, and he asks if she felt the same. Grace avoids the question. She has been plagued by memories of their childhood, and her feelings have returned, but she feels she cannot admit that to Hugh. She does not want to be hurt again, and she feels bound by her promise to Lawrence. When she speaks of Lawrence and how good a man he is, Hugh sadly admits that he and Grace are different people now. They both say goodbye and leave the church, but Grace feels as if they are saying goodbye to the relationship they have rebuilt these past few weeks.
Chapter 20 Summary: “Violet”
Violet and Lieutenant MacCauley are stopped on the road in a storm as Violet tries to figure out what is wrong with the car. MacCauley insists they find a garage and shelter in a pub in the meantime, but Violet proudly gets the car to start again after a time. They resume their trip to a naval base as part of MacCauley’s duties, and they spend the night at the base because of how far away it is. Violet spends the night with the American women on base, who ask her about the clothing rations, her plans to marry a duke, and more. They all insist they’ll marry for love, and Violet finds herself considering her life from another perspective. She shares some of her thoughts with MacCauley the next day and asks what he wants for his life. He shares that he enjoys his engineering work and that he wants a wife who loves him for who he is, quirks and all, and whom he can love the same way. He continues to flirt with Violet, suggesting perhaps a person like that could be found sitting next to him. Violet still clings to her plans to marry a titled man and brushes MacCauley off, but he warns her lightheartedly to make sure the “palace” she is aiming for does not turn into a prison.
Chapter 21 Summary: “Grace”
Grace meets Cressida at Aldhurst Manor for her final wedding dress fitting, praying she does not run into Hugh there. Cressida shares that she has decided to set up an actual studio in Aldhurst, and she offers Grace a job as her assistant so Grace can learn more skills and perhaps begin designing herself. She values Grace and her abilities, and Grace is flattered and excited until she remembers how Lawrence disapproves of such things. Cressida pushes back slightly but then steps back, giving Grace space to put on the dress. While she is out of the room, Grace sees Hugh outside, stepping into the lake. It reminds her of how carefree they both used to be.
When Cressida returns, Grace is struggling with what she wants from her life. She admits she is not sure if she should marry Lawrence, but she does not want to disappoint anyone. Cressida offers encouragement and shares her opinion that it is better to be alone and pursue one’s passions than to marry for anything less than real love. She helps Grace acknowledge, finally, that she does not want to marry Lawrence. Grace accepts Cressida’s job offer and returns home to draft a letter to Lawrence calling off the wedding.
Chapter 22 Summary: “Cressida”
Cressida and Grace head to the next Sewing Circle meeting, Cressida hoping the friendships they have built will help Grace as she copes with the aftermath of her broken engagement. Grace admits to the group that Lawrence took it all very well, and his inquiry about whether she knew another woman with parish experience proved he was looking more for a parish worker than a wife.
Grace offers her wedding dress to Lottie and reiterates her offer for anyone else to borrow the dress. The women discuss increasing demand for wedding dresses since the government no longer allows the purchase of white wedding dresses during the war. They come up with the idea to create the Aldhurst Wedding Dress Exchange, where they will facilitate women borrowing one another’s dresses and organize repairs and alterations.
They talk more about the government restrictions, moving on to discussion of undergarments, and Lottie shows off her camiknickers, which are shorter pairs of underwear that can be made from leftover fabric. She explains her trick of using gravy to make it look like she is wearing stockings, and she shows off her new brassiere when the older women wonder how she gets by without a corset. When they leave that evening, Cressida runs into Ben, who shares that he will keep the dog they found on their hike. As they talk, Cressida realizes she is happier now than she has been in quite some time.
Chapter 23 Summary: “Violet”
Grace meets Violet in the village as Violet heads home from duty. They hear a barn owl, and Grace clambers up the embankment to spot it. There, she and Violet see the silk of a parachute hanging on one of the trees nearby. Violet insists they grab the silk before reporting the downed parachute, but Grace does not want to break the rule against keeping parachute silk for personal use and is afraid that the soldier—possibly an enemy soldier—may still be nearby. Violet convinces her they should get the silk and use it to boost morale by creating more wedding dresses for the exchange, and Grace clambers up the tree to shake the parachute loose. The women’s report of the downed parachute is met with some suspicion because there is no silk with the parachute harness, but Grace surprises Violet with a smooth lie. They walk home that evening with the silk, laughing together.
Chapter 24 Summary: “Violet”
Violet and Cressida enter the church on the day of Lottie’s wedding to Lord Flynn. Despite wanting to be happy for Lottie, Violet feels that marriage is being turned upside down since people of different classes have been marrying during the war. Cressida shares her own thoughts on marriage and challenges Violet’s beliefs about her own parents’ marriage. Seeing Lottie and Flynn’s marriage, Violet begins to understand the importance of marrying for love.
On the way out of the church, Violet and Cressida see Hugh with Astrid Fortescue; Hugh’s father set up a betrothal between the two many years prior. Violet dreads the cold Astrid being the woman of the manor, in charge of both their ancestral home and the village. Cressida and Violet reveal to Hugh that Grace broke off her engagement, and he becomes distressed but rallies to get through the day with Astrid.
Violet runs into Lieutenant MacCauley as they all head to Darley Grange for the reception. Violet shares her excitement over being selected for potential officer training. They talk about Lottie and Flynn, and Violet expresses skepticism about the concept of chemistry between two people. When she asks if MacCauley has ever felt so strongly about a woman, he admits that he has, but he gives details that make it sound like he is pining after Violet. She thinks he is teasing her and moves on. At the reception, they notice some hubbub and find that Astrid is revealing to all her friends that she and Hugh are officially engaged. Violet anxiously searches for Grace and finds her fleeing the room.
Chapters 17-24 Analysis
In this section, Grace’s conflict over her impending marriage and career aspirations contributes to the theme of Pursuing Happiness and Throwing Off Expectations. Her re-appearing feelings for Hugh conflict with her desire to marry Lawrence and create the family she has always wanted, and Cressida offers her a real opportunity to pursue her own career rather than serving as a parish assistant of sorts for her father and then Lawrence. Her inter-relational conflict with Hugh continues to gain tension, but her inner conflict is partially resolved as she finally admits that she does not want to marry Lawrence. When she admits that she does not want to marry him, her voice is neither “scared nor upset. It [is] plain understanding, as if she [is] finally accepting something she had always known, deep inside” (214). In ending her engagement, Grace accepts her true self and makes a choice to pursue a life she loves.
Like Grace, who earlier sought to emulate her mother’s life by marrying a vicar, Violet initially viewed marriage primarily as a tool for perpetuating the status quo, a notion that she unlearns in this section. Her conversations with MacCauley are a major contributor to her changing beliefs. She wonders if “she [is] mistaken to marry for status rather than love […] the rest of her life [is] an awfully long time to be stuck with someone as dull as Davenport” (201). At Lottie’s wedding, Violet finally sees the value of a marriage between two people who truly love one another. Her newfound recognition that marriage should be about love, not status, directly counters her earlier biased beliefs that people should not marry outside of their class. In this way, Violet’s reflections on marriage both undo her class prejudices and open her up to the possibility of love.
Violet’s shifting perspective is due in part to the counsel of Cressida, who continues to provide an outsider’s perspective to both younger women even as she herself learns about the value of community. In this section, Cressida’s relationships with Ben, Grace, and Violet teach her about The Transformative Power of Community and Friendship. These friendships lead to the realization that she should stop putting her life on hold by living only for work. She wonders to herself, “When was it that I forgot […] that life is for living?” (182). She leans into her friendships and learns how to support others.
This section also illustrates Resilience in the Face of Great Difficulty as the Sewing Circle women share their solutions for many of the government’s rations and other wartime restrictions. Amid limitations, many British citizens developed innovative and creative solutions, like new kinds of women’s underwear or Lottie’s use of gravy to create the illusion that she is wearing stockings. Their conversation around these solutions highlights another element of their resilience: Despite the dangers of war and the difficulties of rationing, they still find ways to laugh together. They do not allow their enemy to steal away their joy.
