Lucky Jim Chapter 12 Summary

  • Jim asks Carol what's going on, and she says that's what she'd like to know.
  • Jim has no clue what she's talking about.
  • Then she starts complaining about how Bertrand has been treating her, and Jim suddenly knows exactly what she means.
  • She plans on telling him about the affair she's been having with Bertrand.
  • Carol starts ranting about how Bertrand thinks she'll come running back to him whenever he asks.
  • She starts telling Jim about all of Bertrand's insecurities, which Jim could have spotted in five seconds.
  • But he's still happy to know that someone else thinks Bertrand is a big phony, too.
  • Carol finally comes out and says the she knows Jim's interested in Christine.
  • Jim's taken aback, but he can't deny it for long.
  • Carol asks what he plans on doing about his attraction to Christine, and he says he has no clue what he can do.
  • Carol tut-tuts him for being such a wimp, and advises him to stay away from Margaret.
  • Margaret will smother him if he's not careful.
  • She goes on to explain how Bertrand was originally supposed to bring her to the dance instead of Christine.
  • Finally, the two of them decide to go find a more private place. Jim asks her why she ever found Bertrand attractive to begin with.
  • She says that his determination is attractive, which just makes Jim feel bad for being such an unmotivated loser.
  • During this talk, Jim sort of asks if Carol thinks Bertrand and Christine have ever had sex.
  • Carol says she would bet against it, which makes Jim feel better.
  • Jim's next logical question is: how has she kept up her affair with Bertrand without her husband Cecil finding out?
  • Carol looks insulted, and says that she'd never do anything behind her husband's back. In other words, Cecil knows everything and is fine with it.
  • That brings the conversation back to what Jim plans on doing about Christine.
  • Carol tells him not to worry about Margaret, then laughs at him when he says that Christine is out of his league.
  • Carol suddenly cuts him off and says he's talking as if he's in love with Christine.
  • For some reason, Jim hears this remark as a compliment, as though Carol's telling him he's mature enough to love someone.
  • They decide to go back to the bar. Carol tells Jim that it's his moral duty to get Christine away from a guy like Bertrand.
  • Jim sees his housemate Alfred Beesley hanging out in a distant corner of the Ball.
  • Beesley isn't all that smooth with women, so Jim and Carol come over to keep him company. Carol eventually leaves them alone.
  • After a few minutes, Jim is terrified to realize that he's forming a plan and has every intention of carrying it out.
  • He walks over to Christine. Out of nowhere, he tells her that he's going to grab a cab back to the Welches' and that he wants her to come with him. Alone.
  • As you might expect, her initial reaction is "Wha? No way!" But Jim's a persistent (not to mention highly intoxicated) guy, and he keeps pressing her.
  • Finally, he leaves and says he'll be waiting for her.
  • Christine never says whether she'll come or not, which makes for pretty great drama, dontcha think?