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Aircraft Structures
for engineering students
Sixth Edition
 Aircraft Structures
for engineering students
Sixth Edition

T. H. G. Megson

AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON

NEW YORK • OXFORD • PARIS • SAN DIEGO
SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO
Butterworth-Heinemann is an imprint of Elsevier
Butterworth-Heinemann is an imprint of Elsevier
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50 Hampshire Street, 5th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States

Copyright © 2017, 2013, 2007, 1999 T.H.G. Megson. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publisher. Details on how to seek permission, further information about the
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This book and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by the Publisher (other
than as may be noted herein).

Notices
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understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become
necessary.

Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using
any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods
they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a
professional responsibility.

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liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or
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material herein.

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warrant the accuracy of the text or exercises in this book. This book’s use or discussion of MATLABÒ software
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pedagogical approach or particular use of the MATLABÒ software.

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ISBN: 978-0-08-100914-7

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To the memory of my darling wife, Margaret.
Preface to the Sixth Edition
of Aircraft Structures
The publication of a sixth edition has enabled me to review some of the topics included in the fifth
edition and to provide additional worked-out examples and end-of-chapter exercises of a more prac-
tical nature than previously. It has also given me the opportunity to carefully examine the text and
correct the printing errors which had, unfortunately, crept into the fifth edition.
The layout of the book remains the same as that in the fifth edition with the first seven chapters
remaining unchanged. In Chapter 8 on structural instability of columns, I have included an additional
example and an additional end-of-chapter exercise illustrating the application of the reduced modu-
lus theory, while in Chapter 9 the work on the stability of thin-walled columns has been extended to
the determination of average failure stresses.
In Chapter 21 on the stress analysis of wing spars and box beams, I have illustrated the effects of
sweep in a wing which, of course, is particularly relevant to modern high-speed jet aircraft.
I have revised the theory presented in Chapter 23 for the determination of stresses in fuselage
panels containing cut-outs and provided an illustrative practical example together with an end-of-
chapter exercise.
The major modification in the sixth edition is the extension of the work on composite materials
and structures presented in Chapter 25. In the fifth edition, the theory was restricted to single-ply
laminates; this has now been extended to a consideration of multi-ply laminates. In this, the method
of specifying different ply lay-ups is presented together with the effects of symmetry and reinforce-
ment orientation. The calculation of the equivalent elastic constants of a laminate is presented for the
case of in-plane loading only since this is normally the situation in the thin skins of aircraft struc-
tures. The calculation of the distribution of stresses across the thickness of a laminate is illustrated
by an example and the strength of laminates investigated using the maximum stress theory. Several
additional examples are included as well as end-of-chapter exercises.
Finally, in Chapter 26, I have included a practical example on the effect of shear lag on the loads
in a wing panel containing a cut-out for an undercarriage bay.
T.H.G. Megson

xv
Preface
The idea of a textbook on aircraft structures for students of aeronautical engineering was born during
the early part of my career teaching the subject. I felt at that time that the books available were
either out of date or too specialised to fulfil the requirements of an undergraduate textbook. My
aim, therefore, was to fill this gap and provide a self-contained course in aircraft structures which
included not only the fundamentals of elasticity and aircraft structural analysis but also the asso-
ciated topics of airworthiness and aeroelasticity.
Developments in aircraft construction led me, in subsequent years, to re-examine the contents of the
book and introduce modifications. In the second edition I reorganised some of the text and expanded
the work on composite materials. I also introduced the analysis of more realistic structures such as fuse-
lages and wings containing cut-outs for door openings and undercarriage bays together with the analysis
of fuselage frames and wing ribs. The third edition saw the publication of an accompanying solutions
manual and a reorganisation of the contents into two parts as opposed, previously, to three. For the fourth
edition I decided that a major overhaul would be beneficial in the light of developments in the aircraft
industry and the fact that students were wanting more worked examples and end of chapter exercises. I
also felt that some of the chapters were too long so I therefore broke them down into shorter, more “digest-
ible”, ones. At the same time I rearranged the material to emphasize the application of the fundamentals of
structural analysis, contained in Part A, to the analysis of aircraft structures in Part B. I also expanded the
application of the powerful principle of virtual work to a complete chapter and extended the work on ten-
sion field beams to include post-buckling behaviour. The design of riveted connections was added and the
work on crack propagation extended. The study of composite structures was expanded and, finally, the
actual design of part of the rear fuselage of a trainer/semi-aerobatic aircraft was presented in an Appendix.
The fifth edition has been produced in response to requests for more worked examples and end
of chapter exercises and also for computer based solutions (MATLAB). The organisation of the
contents is the same as in the fourth edition. Part A, Fundamentals of Structural Analysis, comprises basic
elasticity, virtual work and energy methods, thin plate theory, structural instability and the vibration of
structures. Part B, Analysis of Aircraft Structures, includes the principles of stressed skin construction
from the points of view of materials and structural components, airworthiness and airframe loads and a
detailed study of fatigue including the prediction of aircraft fatigue life. Part B also includes the analysis
of thin-walled beams subjected to bending, shear and torsional loads and the method of idealising a struc-
ture into one more amenable to analysis. This then leads into the stress analysis of aircraft components
such as wing spars, fuselages, wings, fuselage frames and wing ribs. Composite structures are considered
and the effects on the analysis of structural and loading discontinuities investigated. An introduction to
aeroelasticity is given. Finally the design of a portion of the rear fuselage of a trainer/semi-aerobatic air-
craft is presented. I would like to thank Patrick Lewis in the Design Exploration Group at Brigham Young
University for providing examples, exercises and solutions using the MATLAB(r) program. I would also
like to thank Joe Hayton and Jeff Freeland of Elsevier for their sterling work on the production of the book.

SUPPORTING MATERIAL TO ACCOMPANY THIS BOOK

For instructors using this text in their course, a full set of worked solutions and electronic images of the figures in
the text are available by registering at: www.textbooks.elsevier.com

xvii
 CHAPTER

Basic elasticity

We consider, in this chapter, the basic ideas and relationships of the theory of elasticity. The treatment
1
is divided into three broad sections: stress, strain, and stress–strain relationships. The third section is
deferred until the end of the chapter to emphasize the fact that the analysis of stress and strain, for
example, the equations of equilibrium and compatibility, does not assume a particular stress–strain
law. In other words, the relationships derived in Sections 1.1–1.14 are applicable to nonlinear as well
as linearly elastic bodies.

1.1 STRESS
Consider the arbitrarily shaped, three-dimensional body shown in Fig. 1.1. The body is in equilibrium
under the action of externally applied forces P1, P2, . . . and is assumed to constitute a continuous and
deformable material, so that the forces are transmitted throughout its volume. It follows that, at any
internal point O, there is a resultant force dP. The particle of material at O subjected to the force
dP is in equilibrium, so that there must be an equal but opposite force dP (shown dotted in
Fig. 1.1) acting on the particle at the same time. If we now divide the body by any plane nn containing
O, then these two forces dP may be considered as being uniformly distributed over a small area dA of
each face of the plane at the corresponding point O, as in Fig. 1.2. The stress at O is defined by the
equation
dP
Stress ¼ lim (1.1)
dA!0 dA

The directions of the forces dP in Fig. 1.2 are such as to produce tensile stresses on the faces of the
plane nn. It must be realized here that, while the direction of dP is absolute, the choice of plane is arbitrary,
so that, although the direction of the stress at O is always in the direction of dP, its magnitude depends
upon the actual plane chosen, since a different plane has a different inclination and therefore a different
value for the area dA. This may be more easily understood by reference to the bar in simple tension in
Fig. 1.3. On the cross-sectional plane mm, the uniform stress is given by P/A, while on the inclined plane
m0 m0 the stress is of magnitude P/A0 . In both cases, the stresses are parallel to the direction of P.
Generally, the direction of dP is not normal to the area dA, in which case, it is usual to resolve dP
into two components: one, dPn, normal to the plane and the other, dPs, acting in the plane itself (see
Fig. 1.2). Note that, in Fig. 1.2, the plane containing dP is perpendicular to dA. The stresses associated
with these components are a normal or direct stress defined as
dPn
s ¼ lim (1.2)
dA!0 dA

Aircraft Structures for Engineering Students, Sixth Edition. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-100914-7.00001-3

Copyright © 2017 T.H.G. Megson. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
5
6 CHAPTER 1 Basic elasticity

FIGURE 1.1 Internal Force at a Point in an Arbitrarily Shaped Body

FIGURE 1.2 Internal Force Components at the Point O

and a shear stress defined as

dPs
t ¼ lim (1.3)
dA
dA!0

The resultant stress is computed from its components by the normal rules of vector addition, i.e.:
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Resultant stress ¼ s2 þ t2
Generally, however, as indicated previously, we are interested in the separate effects of s and t.
However, to be strictly accurate, stress is not a vector quantity for, in addition to magnitude and
direction, we must specify the plane on which the stress acts. Stress is therefore a tensor, its complete
description depending on the two vectors of force and surface of action.
 1.2 Notation for forces and stresses 7

FIGURE 1.3 Values of Stress on Different Planes in a Uniform Bar

1.2 NOTATION FOR FORCES AND STRESSES

It is usually convenient to refer the state of stress at a point in a body to an orthogonal set of axes Oxyz.
In this case we cut the body by planes parallel to the direction of the axes. The resultant force dP acting
at the point O on one of these planes may then be resolved into a normal component and two in-plane
components, as shown in Fig. 1.4, thereby producing one component of direct stress and two compo-
nents of shear stress.
The direct stress component is specified by reference to the plane on which it acts, but the shear
stress components require a specification of direction in addition to the plane. We therefore allocate
a single subscript to direct stress to denote the plane on which it acts and two subscripts to shear stress,
the first specifying the plane, the second direction. Therefore, in Fig. 1.4, the shear stress components
are tzx and tzy acting on the z plane and in the x and y directions, respectively, while the direct stress
component is sz.
We may now completely describe the state of stress at a point O in a body by specifying components
of shear and direct stress on the faces of an element of side dx, dy, dz, formed at O by the cutting planes
as indicated in Fig. 1.5.
The sides of the element are infinitesimally small, so that the stresses may be assumed to be
uniformly distributed over the surface of each face. On each of the opposite faces there will be, to
a first simplification, equal but opposite stresses.
We now define the directions of the stresses in Fig. 1.5 as positive, so that normal stresses directed
away from their related surfaces are tensile and positive; opposite compressive stresses are negative.
Shear stresses are positive when they act in the positive direction of the relevant axis in a plane
on which the direct tensile stress is in the positive direction of the axis. If the tensile stress is in the
8 CHAPTER 1 Basic elasticity

FIGURE 1.4 Components of Stress at a Point in a Body

FIGURE 1.5 Sign Conventions and Notation for Stresses at a Point in a Body
 1.3 Equations of equilibrium 9

opposite direction, then positive shear stresses are in directions opposite to the positive directions of the
appropriate axes.
Two types of external force may act on a body to produce the internal stress system we have already
discussed. Of these, surface forces such as P1, P2, . . . , or hydrostatic pressure, are distributed over the
surface area of the body. The surface force per unit area may be resolved into components parallel to
our orthogonal system of axes, and these are generally given the symbols X; Y; and Z: The second force
system derives from gravitational and inertia effects, and the forces are known as body forces. These
are distributed over the volume of the body and the components of body force per unit volume are
designated X, Y, and Z.

1.3 EQUATIONS OF EQUILIBRIUM

Generally, except in cases of uniform stress, the direct and shear stresses on opposite faces of an
element are not equal, as indicated in Fig. 1.5, but differ by small amounts. Therefore if, say, the direct
stress acting on the z plane is sz, then the direct stress acting on the z þ dz plane is, from the first two
terms of a Taylor’s series expansion, sz þ (@sz/@z)dz.
We now investigate the equilibrium of an element at some internal point in an elastic body where
the stress system is obtained by the method just described.
In Fig. 1.6, the element is in equilibrium under forces corresponding to the stresses shown and the
components of body forces (not shown). Surface forces acting on the boundary of the body, although
contributing to the production of the internal stress system, do not directly feature in the equilibrium
equations.

FIGURE 1.6 Stresses on the Faces of an Element at a Point in an Elastic Body

10 CHAPTER 1 Basic elasticity

Taking moments about an axis through the center of the element parallel to the z axis,
0 1
dx @ @txy A dx dy
txy dydz þ txy þ dx dydz  tyx dxdz
2 @x 2 2
0 1
@tyx A dy
@tyx þ dy dxdz ¼ 0
@y 2

which simplifies to
@txy ðdxÞ2 @tyx ðdyÞ2
txy dydzdx þ dydz  tyx dxdzdy  dx dz ¼0
@x 2 @y 2
dividing through by dxdydz and taking the limit as dx and dy approach zero.
9
txy ¼ tyx=
Similarly; txz ¼ tzx (1.4)
;
tyz ¼ tzy
We see, therefore, that a shear stress acting on a given plane (txy, txz, tyz) is always accompanied by
an equal complementary shear stress (tyx, tzx, tzy) acting on a plane perpendicular to the given plane and
in the opposite sense.
Now, considering the equilibrium of the element in the x direction,
0 1 0 1
@sx þ @sx dxAdy dz sx dydz þ @tyx þ @tyx dyAdxdz
@x @y
0 1
@tzx A
tyx dxdz þ @tzx þ dz dxdy
@z
tzx dxdy þ Xdxdydz ¼ 0
which gives
@sx @tyx @tzx
þ þ þX ¼0
@x @y @z
Or, writing txy ¼ tyx and txz ¼ tzx from Eq. (1.4),
9
@sx @txy @txz
þ þ þ X ¼ 0>
>
>
@x @y @z >
>
>
>
>
=
@sy @tyx @tyz
similarly; þ þ þY ¼0 (1.5)
@y @x @z >
>
>
>
@sz @tzx @tzy >
>
þ þ þ Z ¼ 0>
>
;
@z @x @y

The equations of equilibrium must be satisfied at all interior points in a deformable body under a
three-dimensional force system.
 1.5 Boundary conditions 11

1.4 PLANE STRESS

Most aircraft structural components are fabricated from thin metal sheet, so that stresses across the
thickness of the sheet are usually negligible. Assuming, say, that the z axis is in the direction of
the thickness, then the three-dimensional case of Section 1.3 reduces to a two-dimensional case in
which sz, txz, and tyz are all zero. This condition is known as plane stress; the equilibrium equations
then simplify to
9
@sx @txy
þ þ X ¼ 0>
>
>
@x @y =
(1.6)
@sy @tyx >
þ þ Y ¼ 0>
>
;
@y @x

1.5 BOUNDARY CONDITIONS

The equations of equilibrium (1.5)—and also (1.6), for a two-dimensional system—satisfy the require-
ments of equilibrium at all internal points of the body. Equilibrium must also be satisfied at all positions
on the boundary of the body, where the components of the surface force per unit area are X; Y; and Z:
The triangular element of Fig. 1.7 at the boundary of a two-dimensional body of unit thickness is then in
equilibrium under the action of surface forces on the elemental length AB of the boundary and internal
forces on internal faces AC and CB.
Summation of forces in the x direction gives
1
Xds  sx dy  tyx dx þ X dxdy ¼ 0
2
which, by taking the limit as dx approaches zero and neglecting second order terms, becomes
dy dx
X ¼ sx þ tyx
ds ds

FIGURE 1.7 Stresses on the Faces of an Element at the Boundary of a Two-Dimensional Body
12 CHAPTER 1 Basic elasticity

The derivatives dy/ds and dx/ds are the direction cosines l and m of the angles that a normal to AB
makes with the x and y axes, respectively. It follows that
X ¼ sx l þ tyx m
and in a similar manner
Y ¼ sy m þ txy l
A relatively simple extension of this analysis produces the boundary conditions for a three-
dimensional body, namely,
9
X ¼ sx l þ tyx m þ tzx n=
Y ¼ sy m þ txy l þ tzy n (1.7)
;
Z ¼ sz n þ tyz m þ txz l
where l, m, and n become the direction cosines of the angles that a normal to the surface of the body
makes with the x, y, and z axes, respectively.

1.6 DETERMINATION OF STRESSES ON INCLINED PLANES

The complex stress system of Fig. 1.6 is derived from a consideration of the actual loads applied to a
body and is referred to a predetermined, though arbitrary, system of axes. The values of these stresses
may not give a true picture of the severity of stress at that point, so that it is necessary to investigate the
state of stress on other planes on which the direct and shear stresses may be greater.
We restrict the analysis to the two-dimensional system of plane stress defined in Section 1.4.
Figure 1.8(a) shows a complex stress system at a point in a body referred to axes Ox, Oy. All stresses
are positive, as defined in Section 1.2. The shear stresses txy and tyx were shown to be equal in
Section 1.3. We now, therefore, designate them both txy. The element of side dx, dy and of unit

FIGURE 1.8 (a) Stresses on a Two-Dimensional Element; (b) Stresses on an Inclined Plane at the Point
 1.6 Determination of stresses on inclined planes 13

thickness is small, so that stress distributions over the sides of the element may be assumed to be
uniform. Body forces are ignored, since their contribution is a second-order term.
Suppose that we need to find the state of stress on a plane AB inclined at an angle y to the vertical.
The triangular element EDC formed by the plane and the vertical through E is in equilibrium under the
action of the forces corresponding to the stresses shown in Fig. 1.8(b), where sn and t are the direct and
shear components of the resultant stress on AB. Then, resolving forces in a direction perpendicular to
ED, we have
sn ED ¼ sx EC cosy þ sy CD siny þ txy EC siny þ txy CD cosy
Dividing through by ED and simplifying,
sn ¼ sx cos2 y þ sy sin2 y þ txy sin2y (1.8)
Now, resolving forces parallel to ED,
tED ¼ sx EC siny  sy CD cosy  txy EC cosy þ txy CD siny
Again, dividing through by ED and simplifying,
ðsx  sy Þ
t¼ sin2y  txy cos2y (1.9)
2

Example 1.1
A cylindrical pressure vessel has an internal diameter of 2 m and is fabricated from plates 20 mm thick. If the
pressure inside the vessel is 1.5 N/mm2 and, in addition, the vessel is subjected to an axial tensile load of
2500 kN, calculate the direct and shear stresses on a plane inclined at an angle of 60 to the axis of the vessel.
Calculate also the maximum shear stress.
The expressions for the longitudinal and circumferential stresses produced by the internal pressure may be
found in any text on stress analysis1 and are
pd
Longitudinal stress ðsx Þ ¼ ¼ 1:5  2  103=4  20 ¼ 37:5 N=mm2
4t
pd
Circumferential stress ðsy Þ ¼ ¼ 1:5  2  103=2  20 ¼ 75 N=mm2
2t
The direct stress due to the axial load will contribute to sx and is given by
sx ðaxial loadÞ ¼ 2500  103=p  2  103  20 ¼ 19:9 N=mm2
A rectangular element in the wall of the pressure vessel is then subjected to the stress system shown in Fig. 1.9.
Note that no shear stresses act on the x and y planes; in this case, sx and sy form a biaxial stress system.
The direct stress, sn, and shear stress, t, on the plane AB, which makes an angle of 60 with the axis of the
vessel, may be found from first principles by considering the equilibrium of the triangular element ABC or by
direct substitution in Eqs. (1.8) and (1.9). Note that, in the latter case, y ¼ 30 and txy ¼ 0. Then,

sn ¼ 57:4 cos2 30 þ 75 sin2 30 ¼ 61:8 N=mm2

t ¼ ð57:4  75Þ½ sinð2  30 Þ=2 ¼ 7:6 N=mm2
14 CHAPTER 1 Basic elasticity

σy  75 N/mm2

σn
57.4 N/mm2
57.4 N/mm2 σx  37.519.9  57.4 N/mm2
τ
60°
C B

75 N/mm2
FIGURE 1.9 Element of Example 1.1

The negative sign for t indicates that the shear stress is in the direction BA and not AB.
From Eq. (1.9), when txy ¼ 0,
t ¼ ðsx  sy Þð sin2yÞ=2 (i)

The maximum value of t therefore occurs when sin2y is a maximum, that is, when sin2y ¼ 1 and y ¼ 45 . Then,
substituting the values of sx and sy in Eq. (i),
tmax ¼ ð57:4  75Þ=2 ¼ 8:8 N=mm2

Example 1.2
A cantilever beam of solid, circular cross-section supports a compressive load of 50 kN applied to its free end at a
point 1.5 mm below a horizontal diameter in the vertical plane of symmetry together with a torque of 1200 Nm
(Fig. 1.10). Calculate the direct and shear stresses on a plane inclined at 60 to the axis of the cantilever at a point on
the lower edge of the vertical plane of symmetry.
The direct loading system is equivalent to an axial load of 50 kN together with a bending moment of 50  103 
1.5 ¼ 75,000 Nmm in a vertical plane. Therefore, at any point on the lower edge of the vertical plane of symmetry,

60 mm diameter

1.5 mm
1200 Nm
50 kN
FIGURE 1.10 Cantilever Beam of Example 1.2.
 1.7 Principal stresses 15

28.3 N/mm2

A
28.3 N/mm2

σn
21.2 N/mm2 sx  17.7  3.5  21.2 N/mm2
21.2 N/mm2
τ
60° τxy  28.3 N/mm2
C B
28.3 N/mm2
FIGURE 1.11 Stress System on a Two-Dimensional Element of the Beam of Example 1.2

there are compressive stresses due to the axial load and bending moment that act on planes perpendicular to the axis
of the beam and are given, respectively, by Eqs. (1.2) and (16.9); that is,
sx ðaxial loadÞ ¼ 50  103=p  ð602=4Þ ¼ 17:7 N=mm2
sx ðbending momentÞ ¼ 75; 000  30=p  ð604=64Þ ¼ 3:5 N=mm2
The shear stress, txy, at the same point due to the torque is obtained from Eq. (iv) in Example 3.1; that is,
txy ¼ 1200  103  30=p  ð604=32Þ ¼ 28:3 N=mm2

The stress system acting on a two-dimensional rectangular element at the point is shown in Fig. 1.11. Note that,
since the element is positioned at the bottom of the beam, the shear stress due to the torque is in the direction shown
and is negative (see Fig. 1.8).
Again, sn and t may be found from first principles or by direct substitution in Eqs. (1.8) and (1.9). Note that
y ¼ 30 , sy ¼ 0, and txy ¼ –28.3 N/mm2, the negative sign arising from the fact that it is in the opposite direction
to txy in Fig. 1.8.
Then,
sn ¼ 21:2 cos2 30  28:3 sin60 ¼ 40:4 N=mm2 ðcompressionÞ
t ¼ ð21:2=2Þ sin60 þ 28:3 cos60 ¼ 5:0 N=mm2 ðacting in the direction ABÞ
Different answers are obtained if the plane AB is chosen on the opposite side of AC.

1.7 PRINCIPAL STRESSES

For given values of sx, sy, and txy, in other words, given loading conditions, sn varies with the angle y
and attains a maximum or minimum value when dsn/dy ¼ 0. From Eq. (1.8),
dsn
¼ 2sx cosy siny þ 2sy siny cosy þ 2txy cos2y ¼ 0
dy
Hence,
ðsx  sy Þ sin2y þ 2txy cos2y ¼ 0
16 CHAPTER 1 Basic elasticity

or
2txy
tan2y ¼ (1.10)
sx  sy

Two solutions, y and y þ p/2, are obtained from Eq. (1.10), so that there are two mutually perpen-
dicular planes on which the direct stress is either a maximum or a minimum. Further, by comparison of
Eqs. (1.9) and (1.10), it will be observed that these planes correspond to those on which there is no shear
stress. The direct stresses on these planes are called principal stresses and the planes themselves,
principal planes.
From Eq. (1.10),

2txy sx  sy
sin2y ¼ qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi cos2y ¼ qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ðsx  sy Þ2 þ 4t2xy ðsx  sy Þ2 þ 4t2xy

and
2txy ðsx  sy Þ
sin2ðy þ p=2Þ ¼ qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi cos2ðy þ p=2Þ ¼ qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ðsx  sy Þ2 þ 4t2xy ðsx  sy Þ2 þ 4t2xy

Rewriting Eq. (1.8) as

sx sy
sn ¼ ð1 þ cos2yÞ þ ð1  cos2yÞ þ txy sin2y
2 2
and substituting for {sin2y, cos2y} and {sin2(y þ p/2), cos2(y þ p/2)} in turn gives
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
sx þ sy 1
sI ¼ þ ðsx  sy Þ2 þ 4t2xy (1.11)
2 2
and
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
sx þ sy 1
sII ¼  ðsx  sy Þ2 þ 4t2xy (1.12)
2 2
where sI is the maximum or major principal stress and sII is the minimum or minor principal stress.
Note that sI is algebraically the greatest direct stress at the point while sII is algebraically the least.
Therefore, when sII is negative, that is, compressive, it is possible for sII to be numerically greater
than sI.
The maximum shear stress at this point in the body may be determined in an identical manner.
From Eq. (1.9),
dt
¼ ðsx  sy Þ cos2y þ 2txy sin2y ¼ 0
dy
giving
ðsx  sy Þ
tan2y ¼  (1.13)
2txy
 1.8 Mohr’s circle of stress 17

It follows that
ðsx  sy Þ 2txy
sin2y ¼ qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi cos2y ¼ qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ðsx  sy Þ2 þ 4t2xy ðsx  sy Þ2 þ 4t2xy
ðsx  sy Þ 2txy
sin2ðy þ p=2Þ ¼ qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi cos2ðy þ p=2Þ ¼ qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ðsx  sy Þ2 þ 4t2xy ðsx  sy Þ2 þ 4t2xy

Substituting these values in Eq. (1.9) gives

qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
1
tmax;min ¼  ðsx  sy Þ2 þ 4t2xy (1.14)
2
Here, as in the case of principal stresses, we take the maximum value as being the greater algebraic
value.
Comparing Eq. (1.14) with Eqs. (1.11) and (1.12), we see that
sI  sII
tmax ¼ (1.15)
2
Equations (1.14) and (1.15) give the maximum shear stress at the point in the body in the plane of
the given stresses. For a three-dimensional body supporting a two-dimensional stress system, this is not
necessarily the maximum shear stress at the point.
Since Eq. (1.13) is the negative reciprocal of Eq. (1.10), the angles 2y given by these two equations
differ by 90 or, alternatively, the planes of maximum shear stress are inclined at 45 to the principal
planes.

1.8 MOHR’S CIRCLE OF STRESS

The state of stress at a point in a deformable body may be determined graphically by Mohr’s circle of
stress.
In Section 1.6, the direct and shear stresses on an inclined plane were shown to be given by
sn ¼ sx cos2 y þ sy sin2 y þ txy sin2y ð1:8Þ
and
ðsx  sy Þ
t¼ sin2y  txy cos2y ð1:9Þ
2
respectively. The positive directions of these stresses and the angle y are defined in Fig. 1.12(a).
Equation (1.8) may be rewritten in the form
sx sy
sn ¼ ð1 þ cos2yÞ þ ð1  cos2yÞ þ txy sin2y
2 2
or
1 1
sn  ðsx þ sy Þ ¼ ðsx  sy Þ cos2y þ txy sin2y
2 2
18 CHAPTER 1 Basic elasticity

FIGURE 1.12 (a) Stresses on a Triangular Element; (b) Mohr’s Circle of Stress for the Stress System Shown in (a)

Squaring and adding this equation to Eq. (1.9), we obtain

 2  2
1 1
sn  ðsx þ sy Þ þ t2 ¼ ðsx  sy Þ þ t2xy
2 2
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
which represents the equation of a circle of radius 12 ðsx  sy Þ2 þ 4t2xy and having its center at the
point [(sx – sy)/2, 0].
The circle is constructed by locating the points Q1 (sx, txy) and Q2 (sy, – txy) referred to axes Ost,
as shown in Fig. 1.12(b). The center of the circle then lies at C, the intersection of Q1Q2 and the
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Os axis; clearly C is the point [(sx – sy)/2, 0] and the radius of the circle is 12 ðsx  sy Þ2 þ 4t2xy ;
as required. CQ0 is now set off at an angle 2y (positive clockwise) to CQ1, Q0 is then the point
(sn, – t), as demonstrated next. From Fig. 1.12(b), we see that
ON ¼ OC þ CN
or, since OC ¼ (sx þ sy)/2, CN ¼ CQ0 cos(b – 2y), and CQ0 ¼ CQ1, we have
sx þ sy
sn ¼ þ CQ1 ð cosb cos2y þ sinb sin2yÞ
2
But,
CP1 ðsx  sy Þ
CQ1 ¼ and CP1 ¼
cosb 2
Hence,
sx þ sy sx  sy 
sn ¼ þ cos2y þ CP1 tanb sin2y
2 2
which, on rearranging, becomes
sn ¼ sx cos2 y þ sy sin2 y þ txy sin2y
 1.8 Mohr’s circle of stress 19

as in Eq. (1.8). Similarly, it may be shown that

s  s 
Q0 N ¼ txy cos2y 
x y
sin2y ¼ t
2
as in Eq. (1.9). Note that the construction of Fig. 1.12(b) corresponds to the stress system of Fig. 1.12
(a), so that any sign reversal must be allowed for. Also, the Os and Ot axes must be constructed to the
same scale or the equation of the circle is not represented.
The maximum and minimum values of the direct stress, that is, the major and minor principal stres-
ses sI and sII, occur when N (and Q0 ) coincide with B and A, respectively. Thus,

sI ¼ OC þ radius of circle
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ðsx þ sy Þ
¼ þ CP21 þ P1 Q21
2
or
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ðsx þ sy Þ 1
sI ¼ þ ðsx  sy Þ2 þ 4t2xy
2 2
and, in the same fashion,
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ðsx þ sy Þ 1
sII ¼  ðsx  sy Þ2 þ 4t2xy
2 2
The principal planes are then given by 2y ¼ b(sI) and 2y ¼ b þ p(sII).
Also, the maximum and minimum values of shear stress occur when Q0 coincides with D and E at
the upper and lower extremities of the circle.
At these points, Q0 N is equal to the radius of the circle, which is given by
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ðsx  sy Þ2
CQ1 ¼ þ t2xy
4
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Hence, tmax;min ¼  12 ðsx  sy Þ2 þ 4t2xy ; as before. The planes of maximum and minimum shear
stress are given by 2y ¼ b þ p/2 and 2y ¼ b þ 3p/2, these being inclined at 45 to the principal planes.

Example 1.3
Direct stresses of 160 N/mm2 (tension) and 120 N/mm2 (compression) are applied at a particular point in an elastic
material on two mutually perpendicular planes. The principal stress in the material is limited to 200 N/mm2 (tension).
Calculate the allowable value of shear stress at the point on the given planes. Determine also the value of the other prin-
cipal stress and the maximum value of shear stress at the point. Verify your answer using Mohr’s circle.
The stress system at the point in the material may be represented as shown in Fig. 1.13 by considering the
stresses to act uniformly over the sides of a triangular element ABC of unit thickness. Suppose that the direct stress
on the principal plane AB is s. For horizontal equilibrium of the element,
sAB cosy ¼ sx BC þ txy AC

which simplifies to
txy tany ¼ s  sx (i)
20 CHAPTER 1 Basic elasticity

FIGURE 1.13 Stress System for Example 1.3

Considering vertical equilibrium gives

sAB siny ¼ sy AC þ txy BC

or
txy coty ¼ s  sy (ii)

Hence, from the product of Eqs. (i) and (ii),

t2xy ¼ ðs  sx Þðs  sy Þ

Now, substituting the values sx ¼ 160 N/mm2, sy ¼ –120 N/mm2, and s ¼ s1 ¼ 200 N/mm2, we have
txy ¼ 113 N=mm2

Replacing coty in Eq. (ii) with 1/tany from Eq. (i) yields a quadratic equation in s:
s2  sðsx  sy Þ þ sx sy  t2xy ¼ 0 (iii)

The numerical solutions of Eq. (iii) corresponding to the given values of sx, sy, and txy are the principal stresses at
the point, namely,
s1 ¼ 200 N=mm2
given
sII ¼ 160 N=mm2
Having obtained the principal stresses, we now use Eq. (1.15) to find the maximum shear stress, thus
200 þ 160
tmax ¼ ¼ 180 N=mm2
2
The solution is rapidly verified from Mohr’s circle of stress (Fig. 1.14). From the arbitrary origin O, OP1, and
OP2 are drawn to represent sx ¼ 160 N/mm2 and sy ¼ –120 N/mm2. The mid-point C of P1P2 is then located. Next,
OB ¼ s1 ¼ 200 N/mm2 is marked out and the radius of the circle is then CB. OA is the required principal stress.
Perpendiculars P1Q1 and P2Q2 to the circumference of the circle are equal to  txy (to scale), and the radius of the
circle is the maximum shear stress.
 1.8 Mohr’s circle of stress 21

FIGURE 1.14 Solution of Example 1.3 Using Mohr’s Circle of Stress

Example 1.3 MATLABÒ

Repeat the derivations presented in Example 1.3 using the Symbolic Math Toolbox in MATLABÒ. Do not recreate
Mohr’s circle.
Using the element shown in Fig. 1.13, derivations of the principal stresses and maximum shear stress are
obtained through the following MATLAB file:
% Declare any needed symbolic variables
syms sig tau_xy sig_x sig_y theta AB BC AC

% Define known stress values

sig_x ¼ sym(160);
sig_y ¼ sym(-120);
sig_val ¼ sym(200);

% Define relationships between AB, BC, and AC

BC ¼ AB*cos(theta);
AC ¼ AB*sin(theta);

% For horizontal equalibrium of the element

eqI ¼ sig*AB*cos(theta)-sig_x*BC-tau_xy*AC;

% For vertical equalibrium of the element

eqII ¼ sig*AB*sin(theta)-sig_y*AC-tau_xy*BC;
22 CHAPTER 1 Basic elasticity

% Solve eqI and eqII for tau_xy

tau_xyI ¼ solve(eqI,tau_xy);
tau_xyII ¼ solve(eqII,tau_xy);

% Take the square-root of tau_xyI times tau_xyII to get tau_xy

tau_xy_val ¼ sqrt(tau_xyI*tau_xyII);

% Substitite the given value of sig into tau_xy

tau_xy_val ¼ subs(tau_xy_val,sig,sig_val);

% Solve eqI for theta and substitute into eqII

eqI ¼ simplify(eqI/cos(theta));
theta_I ¼ solve(eqI,theta);
eqIII ¼ subs(eqII,theta,theta_I);

% Substitute the value of tau_xy into eqIII and solve for the principal stresses (sig_p)
sig_p ¼ solve(subs(eqIII,tau_xy,tau_xy_val),sig);
sig_I ¼ max(double(sig_p));
sig_II ¼ min(double(sig_p));

% Calculate the maximum shear stress using Eq. (1.15)

tau_max ¼ (sig_I-sig_II)/2;

% Output tau_xy, the principal stresses, and tau_max to the Command Window
disp([‘tau_xy ¼ þ/-’ num2str(double(tau_xy_val)) ‘N/mm^2’])
disp([‘sig_I ¼’ num2str(sig_I) ‘N/mm^2’])
disp([‘sig_II ¼’ num2str(sig_II) ‘N/mm^2’])
disp([‘tau_max ¼’ num2str(tau_max) ‘N/mm^2’])

The Command Window outputs resulting from this MATLAB file are as follows:
tau_xy ¼ þ/- 113.1371 N/mm^2
sig_I ¼ 200 N/mm^2
sig_II ¼ -160 N/mm^2
tau_max ¼ 180 N/mm^2

1.9 STRAIN
The external and internal forces described in the previous sections cause linear and angular
displacements in a deformable body. These displacements are generally defined in terms of strain.
Longitudinal or direct strains are associated with direct stresses s and relate to changes in length, while
shear strains define changes in angle produced by shear stresses. These strains are designated, with
appropriate suffixes, by the symbols e and g, respectively, and have the same sign as the associated
stresses.
Consider three mutually perpendicular line elements OA, OB, and OC at a point O in a deformable
body. Their original or unstrained lengths are dx, dy, and dz, respectively. If, now, the body is subjected
 1.9 Strain 23

FIGURE 1.15 Displacement of Line Elements OA, OB, and OC

to forces that produce a complex system of direct and shear stresses at O, such as that in Fig. 1.6, then
the line elements deform to the positions O0 A0 , O0 B0 , and O0 C0 shown in Fig. 1.15.
The coordinates of O in the unstrained body are (x, y, z) so that those of A, B, and C are (x þ dx, y, z),
(x, y þ dy, z), and (x, y, z þ dz). The components of the displacement of O to O0 parallel to the x, y, and z
axes are u, v, and w. These symbols are used to designate these displacements throughout the book and
are defined as positive in the positive directions of the axes. We again employ the first two terms of a
Taylor’s series expansion to determine the components of the displacements of A, B, and C. Thus, the
displacement of A in a direction parallel to the x axis is u þ (@u/@x)dx. The remaining components are
found in an identical manner and are shown in Fig. 1.15.
We now define direct strain in more quantitative terms. If a line element of length L at a point in a
body suffers a change in length DL, then the longitudinal strain at that point in the body in the direction
of the line element is
DL
e ¼ lim
L!0 L

The change in length of the element OA is (O0 A0 – OA), so that the direct strain at O in the x di-
rection is obtained from the equation
OA0  OA O0 A0  dx
ex ¼ ¼ (1.16)
OA dx
Now,
 2  2  2
0 0 2 @u @v @w
ðO A Þ ¼ dx þ u þ dx  u þ v þ dx  v þ w þ dx  w
@x @x @x
24 CHAPTER 1 Basic elasticity

or
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
   2  2
0 0 @u 2 @v @w
O A ¼ dx 1þ þ þ
@x @x @x
which may be written, when second-order terms are neglected, as
 1
@u 2
O0 A0 ¼ dx 1 þ 2
@x
Applying the binomial expansion to this expression, we have
 
0 0 @u
O A ¼ dx 1 þ (1.17)
@x
in which squares and higher powers of @u/@x are ignored. Substituting for O0 A0 in Eq. (1.16),
we have
9
@u
ex ¼ > >
@x >
>
>
>
>
>
@v =
It follows that e y ¼ (1.18)
@y >
>
>
>
@w>>
ez ¼ > >
@z ;

The shear strain at a point in a body is defined as the change in the angle between two mutually
perpendicular lines at the point. Therefore, if the shear strain in the xz plane is gxz, then the angle
between the displaced line elements O0 A0 and O0 C0 in Fig. 1.15 is p/2 – gxz radians.
Now, cosA0 O0 C0 ¼ cos(p/2 – gxz) ¼ singxz and as gxz is small, cosA0 O0 C0 ¼ gxz. From the
trigonometrical relationships for a triangle,
ðO0 A0 Þ2 þ ðO0 C0 Þ2  ðA0 C0 Þ2
cosA0 O0 C0 ¼ (1.19)
2ðO0 A0 ÞðO0 C0 Þ
We showed in Eq. (1.17) that
 
@u
O0 A0 ¼ dx 1 þ
@x
Similarly,
 
0 0 @w
O C ¼ dz 1 þ
@z
But, for small displacements, the derivatives of u, v, and w are small compared with l, so that, as we are
concerned here with actual length rather than change in length, we may use the approximations
O0 A0  dx; O0 C0  dz
 1.10 Compatibility equations 25

Again, to a first approximation,

 2  2
0 0 2 @w @u
ðA C Þ ¼ dz  dx þ dx  dz
@x @z
Substituting for O0 A0 , O0 C0 , and A0 C0 in Eq. (1.19), we have
ðdx2 Þ þ ðdzÞ2  ½dz  ð@w=@xÞdx2  ½dx  ð@u=@zÞdz2
cosA0 O0 C0 ¼
2dxdz
Expanding and neglecting fourth-order powers gives
2ð@w=@xÞdxdz þ 2ð@u=@zÞdxdz
cosA0 O0 C0 ¼
2dxdz
or,
9
@w @u>
gxz ¼ þ >
@x @z> >
>
>
>
>
@ v @u =
Similarly; gxy ¼ þ (1.20)
@x @y >>
>
@w @ v >
>
>
gyz ¼ þ > >
@y @z ;

It must be emphasized that Eqs. (1.18) and (1.20) are derived on the assumption that the displace-
ments involved are small. Normally, these linearized equations are adequate for most types of structural
problem, but in cases where deflections are large, for example, types of suspension cable, the full,
nonlinear, large deflection equations, given in many books on elasticity, must be employed.

1.10 COMPATIBILITY EQUATIONS

In Section 1.9, we expressed the six components of strain at a point in a deformable body in terms of the
three components of displacement at that point, u, v, and w. We supposed that the body remains con-
tinuous during the deformation, so that no voids are formed. It follows that each component, u, v, and w,
must be a continuous, single-valued function or, in quantitative terms,
u ¼ f1 ðx; y; zÞ; v ¼ f2 ðx; y; zÞ; w ¼ f3 ðx; y; zÞ
If voids are formed, then displacements in regions of the body separated by the voids are expressed as
different functions of x, y, and z. The existence, therefore, of just three single-valued functions for dis-
placement is an expression of the continuity or compatibility of displacement, which we presupposed.
Since the six strains are defined in terms of three displacement functions, they must bear some re-
lationship to each other and cannot have arbitrary values. These relationships are found as follows.
Differentiating gxy from Eq. (1.20) with respect to x and y gives
@ 2 gxy @2 @v @ 2 @u
¼ þ
@x @y @x @y @x @x @y @y
26 CHAPTER 1 Basic elasticity

or, since the functions of u and v are continuous,

@ 2 gxy @ 2 @ v @ 2 @u
¼ 2 þ 2
@x @y @x @y @y @x
which may be written, using Eq. (1.18), as
@ 2 gxy @ 2 ey @ 2 ex
¼ 2 þ 2 (1.21)
@x @y @x @y
In a similar manner,
@ 2 gyz @ 2 ey @ 2 ez
¼ 2 þ 2 (1.22)
@y@z @z @y
@ 2 gxz @ 2 ez @ 2 ex
¼ 2 þ 2 (1.23)
@x@z @x @z
If we now differentiate gxy with respect to x and z and add the result to gxz, differentiated with respect
to y and x, we obtain
   
@ 2 gxy @ 2 gxz @ 2 @u @ v @ 2 @w @u
þ ¼ þ þ þ
@x@z @y@x @x@z @y @x @y@x @x @z
or
   
@ @gxy @gxz @ 2 @u @ 2 @ v @w @ 2 @u
þ ¼ þ 2 þ þ
@x @z @y @z@y @x @x @z @y @y@z @x
Substituting from Eqs. (1.18) and (1.21) and rearranging,
 
@ 2 ex @ @gyz @gxz @gxy
2 ¼  þ þ (1.24)
@y@z @x @x @y @z
Similarly,
 
@ 2 ey @ @gyz @gxz @gxy
2 ¼  þ (1.25)
@x@z @y @x @y @z
and
 
@ 2 ez @ @gyz @gxz @gxy
2 ¼ þ  (1.26)
@x@y @z @x @y @z
Equations (1.21)–(1.26) are the six equations of strain compatibility which must be satisfied in the so-
lution of three-dimensional problems in elasticity.

1.11 PLANE STRAIN

Although we derived the compatibility equations and the expressions for strain for the general three-
dimensional state of strain, we shall be concerned mainly with the two-dimensional case described in
Section 1.4. The corresponding state of strain, in which it is assumed that particles of the body suffer
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 CHAPTER III
THE FIRST TRANT EPISODE
§1
JUNE sunlight was scorching the tarred asphalt of the Ridgeway,
and Catherine and Helen were sauntering homewards beneath the
heavy trees. Their conversation savoured of “shop.”
“Two hours the last map took me,” said Catherine, indignantly,
“and we’ve got another in less than a fortnight.... Rivers and
mountains as well.... And it isn’t as if North America was easy, either
... there’s all those lakes....”
“I shan’t put in those islands at the top, anyway,” observed Helen.
“I shall leave mine till to-morrow morning,” continued Catherine.
“That is, if I do it at all.... And I shall do it on typewriting paper so I
can trace it.”
“She won’t take it if you do.”
“She’ll have to....”
At the corner of the Post Office the conversation took a personal
turn.
“We’re having a social at the Baptist Church next Saturday. Will
you come?” asked Helen (Helen attended a rather prosperous
Baptist establishment in Upton Rising).
Catherine walked on for some moments before answering. She
seemed to be weighing things up.
“I might,” she answered. Then, as an after-thought, she added: “I
suppose you’ll all be there?”
 “Oh yes. There’ll be me and father and mother and Millie,
perhaps the Lester girls as well....”
“George?” Catherine’s voice rather overdid itself in the effort to
appear casual. Helen looked at her keenly.
“Possibly,” she replied, in a voice that might have meant
anything. There came a rather curious pause. They had reached the
corner of the High Street before Helen spoke again.
“So that’s it, is it?” she remarked, as they crossed the tramway
junction.
“That’s what?” said Catherine gruffly.
“That’s what’s been making you so ... so different—lately.... I’d
been wondering what it was. I never guessed it was George.”
“How did you find out?”
“I didn’t find out. You just told me.”
Catherine turned down Hanson Street, the road immediately
opposite the Ridgeway.
“Let’s go down here,” she suggested. “It’s quieter. I can see
you’ve a lot to say to me.”
Helen took her arm.
“No, I haven’t.... I don’t know that I can say anything, really....
Only I think you’re silly.”
“Why?” The word rang out like a pistol-shot.
The reply did not come immediately. When it did it sounded limp
and uncertain.
“Because ... because you’ll be disappointed in him.”
“What’s the matter with him, then?”
“Nothing much. He’s all right ... only ... he’ll disappoint you, one
way or another. He’s not as clever as he seems. Besides——”
“Yes?”
 “He doesn’t like you.”
“He doesn’t? Has he told you so?”
“Not in so many words. But I know. He may like you to flirt with,
but he doesn’t like you. My advice is, if you’re getting serious, give
up the flirting. With him, at any rate.... After all, you can always find
plenty of chaps to flirt about with....”
(Her father had said “fellers.” She said “chaps”!)
“But I don’t want them, maybe.”
“Well, go without them, then.” (They were at the corner of
Kitchener Road.) ... “I never thought much of flirting about as a
pastime.”
It was a curiously elliptical conversation throughout, and at the
gate of No. 24 they both seemed eager not to prolong it by standing.
They said good-bye immediately, and both were conscious of
electricity in the atmosphere.
That evening Catherine found herself unable to concentrate on
homework. Mr. Weston was out at night-school, and she was thus
left alone in the house. The nine o’clock rule was now virtually
inoperative, since her father did not return till half-past ten on three
nights out of the week. At about ten past nine Catherine put aside
her books and went out for a walk. She had finished all her work
excepting the map.
Cubitt Lane at this time on a glorious June evening was full of
courting couples. They lurched along in a peculiarly graceless
fashion, each leaning against the other.
“I wouldn’t do that,” thought Catherine, virtuously. “That is silly, if
you like.”
At the bridge over the railway she heard a brisk “good evening”
addressed to herself. She turned and saw it was George Trant....
“Where’re you off to?” he asked good-humouredly.
“Taking a walk.”
 “So’m I.... Let’s go up the road....”
“All right.” ... They climbed the hill past the King’s Arms, and
entered the Forest.

§2
The first leaves of autumn were beginning to fall when Catherine
returned to Bockley after a fortnight at Hastings. Day after day of
glorious September weather had covered her cheeks and arms and
hands with freckles: her hair, too, was fluffed and shining with
continual sea-bathing: her general appearance was rather wild and
undomesticated for such a place as Bockley. She returned on
Saturday night, and Sunday found her waiting outside the Baptist
Church at Upton Rising. Evening service was over at eight o’clock,
and she judged that Helen would be there.
Helen greeted her at the church door.
“Only you?” said Catherine.
Helen nodded. “The others went for a walk.... It’s a fine night—
let’s take a tram to the Forest.”
The trams of the London County Council ran along the end of the
road. They boarded one; it was full, and they had to stand on the top.
“You look well,” remarked Helen.
“Oh, I’m all right,” replied Catherine, and the conversation
languished.
What ensued after that would always in Catherine’s mind be
inextricably bound up with the sway and purr of trams along the high
road.
“George has gone away,” remarked Helen, à propos of nothing.
“Oh?”
“His firm’s given him a job in Manchester. A good opening, it
seems.... I got a letter from him yesterday. He enclosed a note for
you: I suppose he didn’t know your address.... I believe I’ve got it on
me....”
She fished in her hand-bag and extracted an envelope, from
which she took a folded half-sheet of paper and handed the latter to
Catherine.
It was rapidly getting dusk, but the lights in the tram were not yet
lit. On every alternate tramway standard hung an arc lamp, and
these were now fizzing and spluttering into pale brilliance. Catherine
read the note (it was roughly written in copying pencil) in quick
spasms as the car swirled along.
my dear cathie,
As you will perceive, I have got shifted to Manchester, where I
shall no longer have the pleasure of your delightful society, which, as
you will not doubt, is a great loss to me personally. However, I am
likely to enjoy my stay here: there are some splendid girls working in
the same office with me, though none of them has your own
Inimitable red hair. If there is one thing I regret it is that the before-
mentioned red hair has occasionally led me to say things I did not
mean and to do things I did not mean to do. I am sure that you, with
your wonderful capacity for understanding, will grasp what I am
trying to sketch out. We have had some interesting discussions
together during the last few months, and for these at least (not to
mention the spiritual inspiration given me by the passionate flame of
your hair) I am deeply grateful.
I hope you will always believe me to be what I am, viz., your
sincere admirer,
george trant.
P.S.—My lodgings are not permanent, so there would be little
point in enclosing my address.
Catherine was slow to grasp the full meaning of the note. As it
dawned upon her her lips tightened, and she gripped fiercely the rail
against which she was leaning. The tram lurched to a standstill, and
there was the usual scramble to get down the stairs. “High Wood,”
the conductor called out.
 “Come on,” said Helen, and they descended.
In the Forest glades the night air was cool and sweet. For some
distance they walked on in silence. Catherine was the first to speak.
They had reached a clearing, and under the open sky the daylight
still lingered.
“I daresay you’d like to read it,” said Catherine. She held out the
note at arm’s length.
Helen gave a queer ejaculatory laugh.
“I’ve already done so,” she said.
“What?”
“Oh, I know it’s not quite the thing to read other people’s letters....
But I wanted to know what ... what he would say to you, and I
thought perhaps you wouldn’t show me.”
Catherine crumpled up the note and put it in her pocket.
“Well, you know, anyway,” she said gloomily.
They passed again into the cool Forest glades.
“I was right,” said Helen, quietly. “I knew he’d write you something
like that. He’s good at that kind of letter-writing ... sort of cheap
cleverness he excels at I’d half a mind not to let you see it.”
There came a long pause. They had reached the high road to
Chingford before it was broken.
Catherine suddenly took the crumpled letter from her pocket, and
began tearing it up into minute fragments.
“See,” she cried passionately, “you can tell him this is what I did
with his letter I You can tell him there’s better fellows in the world
than he is, and Cathie Weston isn’t going to break her heart over
him! ... Tell him I’m not a soppy little schoolgirl.”
She flung the pieces on the ground, and began stamping on
them.
“You’re being silly,” said Helen, quietly.
 “And tell him,” went on Catherine, “that if he thinks he’s under an
obligation to me, he’s made a mistake. I’m grateful to him—for letting
me see what he really is.”
Her words rattled like the passage of a lorry over granite setts.
“Come on,” said Helen, “we’ll get to Chingford, and take the train
back.”
“You’ll tell him?”
“I don’t promise. I think you’d better forget all about him ... after
all, you can’t do anything....”
“I don’t want to! I merely want him to know that I don’t mind.”
“Well, that’s all right, then. He’ll know that if he hears nothing from
you.”
“He won’t. He’ll think he’s left a broken-hearted girl to cry over
him.”
“I don’t think he will.”
“... because I don’t believe in being broken-hearted. I don’t think
it’s possible to die of a broken heart. I’m certain I shan’t, anyway. I
won’t let any man mess about with my life. It’ll take a pretty big
misfortune to make life not worth living to me. If he’s tired of me I’m
just as tired of him. Tell him that!”
“This way ...” said Helen, guiding her into the Station Road. “We’ll
just be able to catch the 9.45....”

§3
Helen left the train at Upton Rising, but Catherine went on to
Bockley. The Town Hall struck the hour of ten as she was walking up
the station approach. At this time the crowds along the High Street
were beginning to disperse; the trams and buses were full of
returning excursionists. Neglectful of the time and with no very
definite aim in view, Catherine turned into the Ridgeway. It was
directly opposite to the quickest way home, but its shady avenues
and flower-scented front gardens suited her mood better than the
stark frowsiness of Hanson Street. Her mind was in flux. She did not
know whether what had happened was going to be an important
stage in her life or not. She did not know how much of her feeling
was disappointment, and how much was mere wounded dignity. She
could not estimate the depth of the feeling she had had for George
Trant. It seemed inconceivable that she had ever been in love with
him....
She started to administer to herself wholesome correctives. “It’s
no good,” she told herself brutally, “your imagining yourself the
heroine of a tragedy, suffering more poignantly than ninety-nine
people out of every hundred, because it’s not the truth. What you are
feeling now is felt sometime or other by the majority of all people:
there’s nothing a bit singular or exceptional in your case. It’s a
mistake to pride yourself on suffering more exquisitely than other
people.”
Then she poured cold logic over herself.
“He’s only one man among millions, and in no sense is he
markedly superior to the average. A certain spurious cleverness, a
talent for mockery, a deft finesse in expressing cruel things in soft
words ... absurd that he should become so much to you or to any girl
... there’s nothing admirable in him, therefore you are lucky to get rid
of him.”
It sounded convincing enough.
She walked on, scarce heeding whither she was going, and all
the time her mood alternated between stormy resentment and cold
self-reproach. There were moments too of grey hopelessness, and it
was only her constantly recurring indignation that swept her out of
these. Every inch of the roads she traversed was associated with
him: every gate and tree seemed to call out in mocking melancholy
—“This was where ... this was where....” Not a street corner but was
inextricably bound up in her mind with some remark of his and the
exact phase of their relationship when he had uttered it....
 Under heavy trees that split the moonlight into a thousand
fragments she suddenly heard the rich hum of a grand piano. She
stopped. She stood in the shadow of the hedge and listened in
rapture. The house was a large one, with a corner bay-window wide
open, and it was from that room evidently that the music was
proceeding. It was some rapid piece full of rippling streams of notes
with very few chords, octaves in the base clef that thundered like the
oncoming tide, swirling waves of treble triplets that were light as air,
yet beneath all the laughter and freedom, a sense of dim, unuttered
passion, half hopeful, half melancholy. Long afterwards she knew it
was Chopin’s Black Note Study in G flat. But then it had no name to
her. It might have been the latest ragtime craze for all she knew: all
she cared was that it expressed all the feelings in her own heart that
she had thought inexpressible, things that she had often and in vain
tried to wring out of the Collard and Collard at home. At that moment
it is probable that she would have given everything she had in the
world for that piano. It stood to her as the one way to salvation. She
would have bartered her soul for it. As it was, she stood there in the
spattered moonlight and cried for it. At any rate, she cried.... The
piece finished up in a tremendous cascade of double octaves, and
she waited nearly half an hour after that, hoping the playing might
begin again. Then she walked back to Kitchener Road almost in a
state of trance. The Bockley High Street was very white and
deserted, and far into the dim distance stretched the tram-rails, blue
and infinite. It was long past eleven. But Catherine was dreaming—
dreaming of one thing only (though that one thing was strangely
complicated by other things)—dreaming of a grand piano, dreaming
of the ecstasy of playing it as she had heard it played that night. The
vision of her ambition came to her as she turned into Kitchener
Road. She would become a great pianoforte player. Already
discerning critics—adjudicators at musical festivals and such like—
had prophesied a career for her if she would work hard. Hitherto it
had not seemed worth while to work hard. Now it became suddenly
and tremendously worth all the soul and energy she could give to it.
Nothing else mattered. Nothing else could ever matter. Whatever
stuff her soul was made of, music was part of it, and music would
answer everything her soul asked.
 At home her father was waiting up, vaguely remonstrative as
usual.
“Worse and worse it gets, Cathie ...” he began ... “the first night
you’re home after your holiday you land in at twenty to twelve! ... it’s
not good enough ... you’ve had all the morning and afternoon. I can’t
think what makes you want to go walking the streets this time....”
“I’m not having any supper,” she said brusquely. “Good-night....”
“But——”
“Oh, don’t worry ... I’ve had some,” she lied. As she fled upstairs
she heard him murmuring something. A great change had come over
him since his wife died. He had been getting ever slower and feebler.
It was becoming more and more evident that it had been only his
wife’s incessant nagging that had spurred him to the minimum of
activity. Now he pottered aimlessly about the garden. His
attendances at the Duke Street Chapel became more and more
infrequent, and finally ceased altogether. People said (often
facetiously) that he was pining away of grief at his wife’s death. It is
doubtful if this were a complete diagnosis....
Up in the little back bedroom Catherine did a thing which she had
not done for a long time. She prayed. Ch-artinevin was no longer a
choleric old gentleman with white side-whiskers and a devouring
passion for adulatory worship. He had long ago ceased to be that,
and he had not begun to be anything else. Catherine, though she
never altogether recognized her position, had no very definite belief
in either Him or the rest of the accepted doctrines of Christianity. She
prayed, not out of religious fervour, but from a variety of complex
motives, one of which was certainly a desire to straighten out her
own ideas by reducing them to more or less coherent form. Among
other things, she prayed for a grand piano. “Lord, give me a grand
piano,” was her unorthodox variant upon the more usual bedtime
supplications. “Lord, do give me a grand piano,” she pleaded. It is
curious, but she did not in the least expect the Lord to take any
notice. She was even doubtful whether the Lord were listening. Yet
she kept on repeating the demand for a grand piano. Also she
decided how she would catalogue the whole George Trant episode.
It was nothing. It was to be regarded as nothing. Tears broke in upon
her decision to regard it as nothing. The grand piano and all that it
meant to her kept looming on the horizon. Then she felt a little
ashamed of crying. “I never used to cry,” she thought. “Not even after
a sound thrashing.” She tried to calm herself. “I’m getting soppy,” she
reflected. “Crying like a little kid. All because of that piano. That’s
what done it....” It was long past midnight when she fell into troubled
sleep.
 CHAPTER IV
NOCTURNE
§1
ON a certain bitterly cold night in November, Catherine stood on the
doorstep of No. 24, Kitchener Road, with her overcoat and hat in her
hands. Despite the chilliness of the atmosphere her cheeks were hot
and flushed, and her sensations took no notice of the blustering wind
that raged along the road. For several moments she stood still on the
doorstep, with heaving breast and head flung back defiantly. Then,
still carrying her hat and overcoat, she went out into the street,
omitted to shut the gate behind her, and walked at a terrific pace in
the direction of the Bockley High Street.
It was eleven p.m. Her steps rang loudly along the deserted
pavements; occasionally she lurched forward as if desiring to
increase her pace, and this disturbed the rhythmic beat of her steps.
She passed nobody, except at the junction of Hanson Street, where
a couple of belated revellers slunk past with the furtive attitude of
those who know they ought to have been home long since. They
were too intent upon their destination to notice her. Only where there
were large front gardens did her passing excite attention, and here
congregations of cats, gathered for midnight revelry, dispersed with
mournful sound as her footsteps approached.
At the corner of the High Street she stopped. It seemed to occur
to her for the first time that to carry one’s hat and overcoat upon
such a night was in some degree unusual. With careful deliberation
she put them on. Then she laughed softly, and her laugh was a
strange mingling of rapture and defiance. That which she had
thought impossible had come to pass. After years of undeviating
placidity fate had at last done something dramatic with her.
 She had been turned out of the house at No. 24, Kitchener Road.
Her father had done what he had never before been known to do:
he had lost his temper, and lost it thoroughly.
He had said: “My God, Cathie, I won’t stand that! ... Out you go!”
He had pushed her into the lobby, and while she was reaching for
her hat and coat he had struck her on the face with the back of his
hand.
“Out you go!” he repeated, and Catherine saw that his temper
had not yet reached its height. “I’m done with you! ... Are you going?”
He actually picked up an umbrella and began brandishing it with his
hand grasping the ferrule.
Catherine had opened the front door in vague terror of what he
was going to do. The door was banged after her with a vicious kick
from within. Then her cheek where he had struck her began to
hurt....

§2
The cause of the altercation had been Catherine’s determination
to accept a situation which he did not wish her to accept. She had
answered the advertisement, interviewed her prospective employer,
and received word that she had been appointed before even
mentioning the matter to him. Then at teatime on a Friday afternoon
she casually remarked:
“By the way, I’ve decided to get some work.”
He looked up at her as if the word were unfamiliar to him.
“Work?” he said, astounded. “What do you mean?”
“I mean I’ve applied for a job and been offered it.”
He seemed to have difficulty in comprehending what she said.
“A job? What job?”
“They want a pianist at a cinema. Good salary. Only work in the
evenings....”
 “But, my dear girl——”
“Well?”
“Don’t cut me short like that.... I was about to say....”
“Oh, I know what you’re about to say. You’re hopelessly against
it, aren’t you?”
“Well, if I am, you——”
“Why are you?”
“I do wish you’d give me time to speak, Catherine. You spring this
on me so suddenly.... I had no idea you were ever thinking of such a
thing, to begin with. Even now it seems incredible to me. I can’t
understand it.”
“Can’t understand what?”
“Why you want to do it ... it’s ... it’s unnecessary. Haven’t you
enough money?”
“Oh, it’s not a question of money. I want to have some work to do,
something to get interested in.”
“But you have the work of the house to carry on with. Surely
that’s enough.”
“Oh, that’s enough. In fact, that’s a great deal too much. I’m sick
and tired of housework. Some girls may like it, but I don’t. I’d sooner
pay some girl who likes it to do it for me. Besides, I want to be
independent.”
He gave a start of surprise. “What’s that you said?” he asked,
incredulously.
“I said, independent.”
There was a tense pause.
“Somebody’s been putting some silly modern ideas into your
head. All that bosh about independence, I mean. A girl’s place is in
the home, when she’s got one. Until you make a home of your own
your place is here.”
 “I suppose you think I ought to get married.”
“Married? ... Heavens, no! ... You’re only nineteen! Why, I never
even met your mother until I was twenty-four! Don’t you worry your
head about marriage. Let it alone until the right feller comes along. I
expect you’ve been reading too many trashy novels lately, that’s
what it is.”
An angry light leapt into her eyes.
“Well, if you think I’m going to scrub floors and wash dishes until
the right feller comes along, as you call it, you’re jolly well mistaken. I
wouldn’t do it even if I was sure the right feller would come along. I’m
not made that way. I want a bit of liberty. I want to live.”
“My dear Catherine, you have everything you need. I can’t see
what you’re making all this fuss about. Really I can’t.... You’re a good
deal better off than some girls, I can tell you. What about poor Nellie
Selborne and——”
“Oh, what on earth have they got to do with it?”
“Well, if you won’t listen to me, I suppose ...” He waved his hand
deprecatingly. “Suppose we stop arguing. Let’s hold the matter over.
I’m certain that with a few days’ thought you’ll——”
“But I can’t hold the matter over.”
“Why not?”
“Because the situation’s been offered me. I’ve either got to
accept it or reject it on the spot.”
“Well, Catherine, I’m sorry to go against you, but it will have to be
so, in this case. Understand, I mean it. I mean to have my own way
in this matter. I won’t have you strumming away every night in a
third-rate picture house. I’m going to put my foot down firmly in this
matter. You must reject the offer.”
He made a gallant but not entirely successful attempt to appear
dignified by resuming the perusal of his newspaper. Catherine bit her
lip and went a little pale.
“That’s a pity,” she said quietly.
 “Why is it a pity?”
“Because I’ve decided to accept it.” Her lips were tight, and there
was the suggestion of restrained emotion in her voice.
Something happened to his eyes. They opened terrifically wide
and gazed at her expressionlessly for several seconds.
“What’s that?” he said.
His eyes unnerved her somewhat. But she steeled herself to
repeat her ultimatum.
“Because—I’ve—decided to—to accept.”
Pause. “That’s all,” she added, irrelevantly, as if by way of
clinching the matter.
Another pause. The clock tactfully struck in with the
announcement of six o’clock. That seemed to break the spell. He
rose and made for his hat.
“H’m,” he ejaculated, sharply. “I see. That’s what it amounts to, is
it.... Well, you’ll have time to think it over. I’m off to school now.”
He took a sheaf of night-school exercises from his desk and
stuffed them in his pocket. Not another word came from him.
Catherine was almost hypnotized by his quick, startling movements,
so unlike his usual apathy. He strode firmly down the lobby and shut
the door after him more noisily than usual. She could hear his
footsteps along the street, and he was walking at a pace that was for
him unprecedentedly rapid. When he was quite out of hearing she
sank down into the chair he had just vacated. The tension of the
argument had given her a sense of physical exhaustion. Yet
spiritually she was thrilled by a strange feeling of exhilaration: it
seemed to her that after an interval of drudgery she was once again
being drawn into the vortex of momentous happenings. She was
absolutely certain of one thing: she would not give way. If he chose
to make her disobedience a “test-case” of the father’s right to inflict
his will upon the daughter she would await whatever steps he took
with calmness and determination. But she would never give way.
She was nineteen, and to her nineteen seemed old age. Things he
had said in the course of the argument had annoyed her
inexpressibly. They were little things, mostly. Bringing in the case of
Nellie Selborne, for instance, was silly and entirely irrelevant. Nellie
had paralysis down one side, and existed apparently for the purpose
of proving to all other girls how lucky they were. Then again,
Catherine disliked intensely his massive declaration that “a girl’s
place is in the home.” He had talked about “waiting for the right feller
to come along,” and this passive method of getting through life
roused all the scorn and contempt in her nature. Also he had talked
about her “strumming in a third-rate picture house.” It was typical of
him to assume that it was third-rate before he had heard even the
name of it. He had been ridiculously unfair....
She went over to the writing-desk where he marked his school
exercise books. Something within her said: You are angry and
excited now, but you will soon cool down and then probably you will
give in to him.... To this she replied passionately: I won’t give in to
him.... But, continued the part of her which always told the truth, you
will give in to him if you wait till your temper has cooled down....
Better write now accepting the situation, and post it before he comes
back from night-school. Then the matter will be really settled. Then
you can say to him when he comes in: “It’s no use arguing about it
any more. I’ve written to accept the job. The thing’s done now and
can’t be undone.”
She wrote the letter as quickly as she could, for the feeling of
supreme depression, the feeling that she was doing something
regrettable and irretrievably silly, was becoming heavier upon her
every second. She was just addressing the envelope after fastening
it when she heard the key fumbling at the front door. For the moment
a kind of panic fear seized her. He was coming back. He must have
turned back before reaching the school. His footsteps down the
lobby sounded brutal and unnecessarily noisy. She swung round in
her chair and sat awaiting his entrance with the penholder stuck
between her teeth. The half-addressed envelope lay on the desk
invisible behind her back.... He flung down his hat and coat on the
table.
 The moment was so tense that Catherine spoke merely to
interrupt the horrible silence of it.
“Was there no school to-night?” she asked, with an effort to
appear perfectly casual.
“I’m not going,” he snapped curtly, and took down the red-ink
bottle from the corner of the mantelpiece. That meant he was going
to spend the evening marking exercise books.
She was thoroughly frightened. Her mother’s tempers and tirades
had never frightened her, because she was used to them and knew
them intimately, as a doctor knows the illness of a familiar patient.
But her father was normally so quiet and placid and mild-mannered:
she had never seen him in a temper, although when she was a little
girl, boys who were in his class at school had told her that on rare
occasions he got “ratty.” But she had never known him in such a
condition. In this phase he was a complete stranger to her. And she
was apprehensive, as she would have been if a stranger had
entered the house when she was alone.
He came to the desk to get his exercise books. She thought at
first he was going to strike her. But he merely leaned over her and
lifted the lid. As he did so he must have seen the half-addressed
envelope lying on the top. But he did not say a word. His silence was
unnerving.
Always he used the desk for marking exercise books. But this
time he arranged the pile of books and the pen and ink on the dining-
table.
“You can use the desk,” he said curiously, “if you’re wanting to.”
His politeness, his unusual solicitude for her comfort, was horrible!
Normally, if she had been at his desk, he would have said: “Now look
here, Cathie, it’s too bad of you to want to use my desk when I want
it. After all, it’s my desk. You’ve got all the day to use it when I’m out.
Can’t you use the table?”
She would have understood a speech like that. But for him to say
so thoughtfully, so obsequiously, “You can use the desk if you’re
wanting to,” was charged with all the nameless horror of the
unprecedented.
It was half-past six. The clock struck. He was assiduously and
seemingly quite normally putting red-ink ticks and crosses on
algebra sums. Yet she knew that the atmosphere was very far from
being normal. She took a book from the shelf and sat down in the
chair by the fire, but it was difficult to read. She could hear the ticking
of the clock and the steady scratching of his pen, and flipping of
pages. He went on for hours. When he had finished one pile of
books he went to his desk and fetched out another. Then again, if he
had not done so the first time, he must have seen the envelope with
its incomplete address. But he went on with his work at the table.
Supper time came, but he made no sign of clearing away his books.
And then his surliness and sulkiness, whichever it was, ceased to
frighten her, but began to annoy her acutely.... The last post went at
eleven-thirty. Come what might she would post that letter. At five
minutes past eleven she went over to the desk with the intention of
finishing the address. She had got as far as the “p” in “Upton” when
she saw that he was regarding her intently. As soon as he saw that
she had noticed his glance he put down his pen and swung back on
his chair.
“Now then, Cathie,” he began brusquely, “this matter’s got to be
settled.... You understand. No nonsense. What’re you going to do?”
She bit the end of the penholder.
“I’m going to accept the thing,” she said firmly, though she had
difficulty in restraining her apprehension and excitement.
“You’re not!” he cried, advancing menacingly. “Understand, I
forbid it! I’m going to be firm in this business. You’re not to accept
that situation. D’you hear?”
He picked up the envelope she had been engaged upon. She
knew that he had seen it before. But he pretended not to have done.
She despised him for that little perfidy.
“What’s this?” he cried, snatching it up vehemently. Then he
pretended to realize. “You’ve been writing to accept it?”
 “Yes.”
For a moment she thought he was going to do her physical
violence. Then he tore the envelope across and flung the two pieces
into the fire.
“Oh, that doesn’t matter,” she said contemptuously, “that’s merely
childish. I can easily write another.” (In her anger she did not
remember an occasion when she had been smitten with the same
kind of childishness).
It was then that he cried: “My God, Cathie, I won’t stand that! ...
Out you go!”

§3
At the corner of the Bockley High Street her only feeling was one
of nervous jubilation. The clock chimed the quarter. She
remembered with a little thrill of ecstasy how on all other occasions
at night when she had heard the clock chime a quarter past eleven
she had been anxiously wondering what sort of a row there would be
when she reached home. Now she was free. She was not returning
home. She was leaving. She was free to go where she liked and do
what she liked....
If it were summer time, she thought, I would walk to the Forest
and sleep out under the stars....
But it was November.... She decided to travel up to the City and
spend the night in one of the waiting-rooms at the big terminals. The
next day she would look out for lodgings.... Money was a difficulty. In
her pocket was a purse containing the residue of the week’s house-
keeping money. It amounted to five and sevenpence half-penny.
There were also a couple of penny stamps....
The ideal time for this enterprise would have been a Monday
evening in June or July.
Still, she would have to make the best of it. With light step she
passed along the wide expanse of the High Street in the direction of