Cranford

During teatime, Matty tells the narrator stories of her childhood. She pulls out her collection of old letters; she has been longing to read them but plans on burning them to prevent the letters from falling into the wrong hands. Miss Matty and the narrator agree to read the contents of each letter before burning them one by one. The narrator remarks that she never realized how sad it is reading old letters, even when the letters are happy. Reading them makes her feel like she is vividly experiencing the letters’ events in the present, as if the past never slipped away.

She and Miss Matty read letters written by Matty and Deborah’s parents, Molly and John, before they married. The narrator is surprised to learn from the letters that Matty and Deborah have a brother.

Once they finish with Molly and John’s letters, Miss Matty and the narrator come upon Deborah’s letters. Miss Matty simply can’t burn them because Deborah’s writing was so superior that she feels anyone would delight in reading them. The narrator finds Deborah’s letters boring and long-winded, though she doesn’t mention that to Miss Matty.

They read letters between Matty and Deborah’s father and their brother, Peter Marmaduke Arley Jenkyns, whom Miss Matty refers to as “poor Peter!” (97).