The Canterville Ghost IV Summary

Summary

The chapter follows Sir Simon de Canterville during the weeks after his first encounters with the Otis family. Physically weakened and shaken by the family's practical jokes and lack of reverence, he keeps his room for several days and reluctantly abandons some of his proud habits — though he insists on maintaining certain scheduled appearances. He takes precautions to make his nightly excursions stealthy, including removing boots and oiling his chains with the Rising Sun Lubricator, and at one point sneaks away a bottle of the lubricator from Mr. Otis's bedroom.

Despite these efforts, he continues to be plagued by practical jokes. The Otis twins lay traps — strings, a butter-slide and finally a heavy jug of water — which cause him a humiliating fall while he is dressed as “Reckless Rupert.” Later, while impersonating “Jonas the Graveless,” he is frightened by the twins' cry and hemmed in by Washington Otis with a garden-syringe, forcing him to escape through the stove and flues in a state of dirt and disorder. These repeated affronts leave him an invalid and unwilling to undertake further nocturnal appearances. The household, thinking the ghost has gone, resumes normal life: Mr. Otis returns to his political work, Mrs. Otis organizes social events, the boys play American games, and Virginia spends time with the young Duke of Cheshire — whom Sir Simon had hoped to frighten because of family connections. In the end, Sir Simon plans one final appearance for the Duke but, intimidated by the twins, remains in his room; the Duke sleeps peacefully and the ghost's influence appears broken for now.

Key events

1. Sir Simon weakens, keeps to his room and decides to abandon the blood-stain point.
2. He takes precautions for nightly appearances and steals Rising Sun Lubricator.
3. He slips on a butter-slide set by the twins and suffers a severe fall while in costume.
4. A heavy jug drenches him when he opens the Blue Bed Chamber door.
5. While dressed as Jonas the Graveless he is scared by figures and escapes through the stove and chimneys.
6. The family assumes the ghost has left; life at Canterville resumes normally.

Analysis

This chapter shifts the tone from the ghost's initial menace to farce and humiliation, emphasizing Wilde's satirical treatment of English aristocratic dignity confronted by American practicality. Sir Simon's rituals and pride in his supernatural pedigree are repeatedly undermined by modern, pragmatic pranks: lubricator oil, butter-slides, jugs of water, and a garden-syringe. The chapter exposes the collision between symbolic, hereditary prestige and a utilitarian, unromantic worldview; the Otises treat the ghost as a nuisance to be managed, not a sacred relic. Structurally, the episode advances the plot by neutralizing the ghost as an active threat while deepening characterization: Sir Simon moves from terrifying presence to a pitiable invalid, and the Otis family is shown as resilient, energetic, and unembarrassed by tradition. The chapter also develops recurring motifs — appearance versus reality, tradition versus modernity, and the comic emasculation of old authority. Wilde's narrative voice blends mock-solemn commentary with comic detail (e.g., the “Rising Sun Lubricator”), using ironic distance to undercut the ghost's self-importance. Foreshadowing appears in Sir Simon's desperate insistence on duty and in references to earlier ruinous episodes (Lady Barbara, duels), hinting that consequences to family reputation have long followed his manifestations; yet here the consequences mainly become source of absurdity rather than terror.

Important quotes

“HE MET WITH A SEVERE FALL”

NarratorChapter heading that signals the comic disaster Sir Simon suffers while attempting a dramatic appearance.

“A HEAVY JUG OF WATER FELL RIGHT DOWN ON HIM.”

NarratorDescribes the humiliating moment when the twins' prank drenches the ghost as he opens the Blue Bed Chamber door.

“SUDDENLY THERE LEAPED OUT TWO FIGURES.”

NarratorMarks the moment the twins leap out to cry 'BOO!', forcing the ghost into a panicked escape through the flues.

Characters in IV

• Hiram B. Otis
• Mrs. Otis
• Virginia Otis
• Washington Otis
• The Otis Twins
• Sir Simon de Canterville
• Lord Canterville
• The Duke of Cheshire
• Lady Barbara Modish
• Jack Castletown
• Lord Rufford
• Lord Francis Stilton
• Colonel Carbury
• Sieur de Bulkeley
• Lady Startup