Eliot gives the impression that there are two people meeting for tea – an older presumptuous ‘lady’ who, according to the first section, has invited a younger man to tea. She controls the conversation and relentlessly talks about life in relation to age: “What life is”, “youth”, one about to reach her journeys end”. Throughout this the reader is given the impression that the man is not interested in what she is talking about since a simple action: “(slowly twisting the lilac stalks)”, is enough to distract him from her words, and “I smile, of course | And go on drinking tea,” implies that he’s simply obliging her wishes by being there and ironically reiterates the line before “and smile’s at situations which it cannot see”. He describing her as “the voice” insinuates that the man isn’t interested in her as a person and is not looking at her given that ‘the voice’ is disembodied and by describing her as “the insistent out-of-tune of a broken violin” Eliot relates the man’s feelings of annoyance.
This reflects Eliot’s belief that his own society isn’t romantic or perfect, by containing personas that are plain and ordinary.
A strong analysis, Kim. I think too that the lilac stalks being twisted are indicative of her need to control him, and perhaps her insecurity that she isn't.
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