Chapter 5 Summary and Analysis

Graves early pre-school childhood was largely spent at Wimbledon. Childhood pursuits were serious and did not include theater or common literature. Instead, Graves and his siblings were schooled from an early age and their entertainment was always educational. Amalie told the children moralistic stories and was a penurious woman and an inveterate packrat. Even though Wimbledon appears to have been a normal childhood experience, Graves looked back upon it with distaste. Instead, Graves remembered summer trips to the North Welsh coast as being pleasant and enjoyable and felt the countryside to be a peaceful home and a preferable alternative to the London area.