Immediately, it seems, upon meeting Emily, Charles loses his quality of sympathetic involvement with mines, in which they hold a "dramatic" (i.e., emotional) interest for him. It is as if he at once signs over that part of himself to her. Their single trip to the quarry is like a snapshot of the change as it occurs; this is something that only "resembles" mining, the difference being that the quarry is a purely practical enterprise. The language--"work," "tearing," "raw material"--is markedly different from that of his previous attraction to mines as semi-personalities.

"Marble" is used elsewhere in this chapter for two highly symbolic props: the statue of Charles IV (representing bygone conquest) and the urn at the Marquesa's palace (representing degraded Italy). Both embody a combination of grandeur and futility. The marble quarries here suggest a compromise between Charles' love of mining and Emily's love of luxury (note that they travel in a "carriage"), in which Charles moves from a personal fascination towards a grander idealism.